iPad!

[mabelsound]

What, no iPad posts yet?!!? Looks like a pretty nice device--IPS screen, could be very good for flogging your portfolio, and large and clear enough for viewing other people's as well.

That said, in terms of photography, it seems like something you'd invent excuses to own, rather than a vital tool you couldn't do without.

[Jamie Pillers]

Has anyone heard what the iPad will cost? And how do you think this device could be put to beneficial use for photographers?

[semordnilap]

What, did I miss the rf window in the upper left? and the accessory shoe for external viewfinders? It'a an appleica?

[Paul T.]

DO we know pricing yet?

I must admit to being hugely impressed by the iPod touch, of which this is an overgrown version. The user interface is amazing, much better for surfing the web than a laptop. But if the iPad approaches the price of a laptop, fuggeddit.

[venchka]

What about instant review of digiphotos in the field? Smaller/lighter than a full on notebook confuser. Might work.

[semordnilap]

It'd be cool if you could tether to it...

Ah wayne you beat me to it.

[semordnilap]

I don't see pricing info yet. Only $14.99 and $29.99 for 3g plans. No contract.

[mabelsound]

Originally Posted by venchka

What about instant review of digiphotos in the field? Smaller/lighter than a full on notebook confuser. Might work.

That's what I kept thinking...would be great to back up your SD cards to and keep track of what you're shooting. But again, more of a delightful luxury than a vital application.

I don't think they've announced pricing yet...

[semordnilap]

$499 is the starting price. wow!

[mabelsound]

Originally Posted by semordnilap

$499 is the starting price. wow!

That really is a shocker!

[semordnilap]

I know! $499 for 16gb, up to $599 & $699. plus $130 for 3g capacity–optional.

[f16sunshine]

If It has a nice storage capacity and maybe the ability to load LR it could be a great device for travel. I left my MBP at home during the last 2 months in Central America. In the end, the iPhone kept me in touch well enough. While the notebook would have been nice for storage and editing during down time. It was just to much extra bulk for this trip. This thing could be just the ticket

[benmacphoto]

I wish it was an actual tablet computer and not a larger ipod touch.
It will be nice to surf the web on it though.

[Paul T.]

That's shocked a few peope = who were speculating it would be $1000. Which would be a disaster.

$499 is 16GB, which is tiny. $599 for the 32GB. About twice as much as the iPod touch. Not bad! Esepcially as you can use iWorks on it...

[semordnilap]

There's a dock, too, with a keyboard attached, so you can use it as a laptop. This might finally replace my 12" powebook!

@benmach: You can wordprocess and do spreadsheets on it, too. I think it'll have some pretty good functionality.

[Paul T.]

It will have iWork, which is a pretty good package for basic wordprocessing etc.

What's the betting you will get Lightroom or some other editing package at some point?

[semordnilap]

I'd be surprised if there's a full featured lightroom–maybe a light version. Image editing, probably: anyway there's already some basic image editing software for the iphone. RAW converter, perhaps–it'll probably have the horsepower, though not super fast, I expect.

[coelacanth]

I'm sure I'm getting one. Most likely 3G model.

[benmacphoto]

Lightroom would be great on this tablet. And that's what I was wishing for from Apple.
A small light, netbook or tablet, with a light version of snow leopard so I wouldn't have
to bring my powerbook or macbook pro around with me all the time.

But at $500 the ipad doesn't seem to bad.
I'll have to see if a photo app comes out for it.

[dazedgonebye]

$500 is a great starting price, but I'd want the 3g and more memory, so more like $750. Still, it'd be a hell of a toy.

[mabelsound]

Yeah, since it's essentially running the iPhone OS, I doubt there will be a full-featured Lightroom.

I could certainly justify getting one for work though--de-paperizing my student manuscript factory would be a freaking delight. Though probably I would just read RFF with it.

[semordnilap]

Looks like it'll have a 'camera connector kit'

The Camera Connection Kit gives you two ways to import photos and videos from a digital camera. The Camera Connector lets you import your photos and videos to iPad using the camera’s USB cable. Or you can use the SD Card Reader to import photos and videos directly from the camera’s SD card.

Methinks we'll see some kind of RAW converter for sure.

[dazedgonebye]

Wait till they put college text books on it....

[dcsang]

Originally Posted by benmacphoto

Lightroom would be great on this tablet. And that's what I was wishing for from Apple.
A small light, netbook or tablet, with a light version of snow leopard so I wouldn't have
to bring my powerbook or macbook pro around with me all the time.

But at $500 the ipad doesn't seem to bad.
I'll have to see if a photo app comes out for it.

Unless you're going to be able to calibrate the device (which is unlikely) I wouldn't be doing any editing on this thing.

That said, I strongly suggest that photographers who have websites offering their professional services had best be figuring a way out to either get rid of any flash in their sites since it cannot be viewed on any of these Apple mobile devices.

Cheers,
Dave

[dcsang]

Oh.. and regarding the name - as I said earlier while watching the keynote: "iPad" sounds too much like an Apple branded feminine hygiene product.



Dave