Taking the new iPad to races

[WhiteBlue]

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=854974



It would be cool to take one of these to a race and watch the race online if you are not just do live timing or other things on it.

[tarzoon]

Could be... unfortunately I don't live with my parents anymore, I pay my bills and for those two reasons alone I am not a mac fanboy.

In the meantime, I will wait for something cheaper and more competent. And with flash support.

[Richard]

It would be cool to take one of these to a race and watch the race online if you are not just do live timing or other things on it.

I hadn't realised it had rugged waterproof, drop proof, scratch proof, outdoor protection in its sleek frame ... along with everlasting battery life and super loud outdoor speakers.

[DaveKillens]

I like it, it's very cool and does some amazing things in wonderful ways.

Of course, if you take it to the track it will be fragile and have to rely on a car charger to keep going all weekend. But then again, a case of beer is also fragile and requires care..............

I've never used anything in the past when at a track, but I would really appreciate it. Personally, not when the cars are on track, but when the track falls silent from the sound of engines, when the cacaphony of rock music and drunken revelers picks up, surfing to collect relevant information would be ultra-cool.

Holy crapola .. I just checked this item at Apple, and .. honestly, it suddenly becomes a realistic canditate for purchase. Price? umm, they say it starts as low as $ 499.

I really like the idea of taking this to an event. For instance, you hear that a couple of cars had a coming-together during practice. Naturally, you were at a different location and never saw it, had no idea what really happened, and the causes. But surf over to Youtube to watch it, then visit F1T to debate it...

It does not have a built-in camera (yet), but has a connection kit for a camera. Take some high-quality pics with your camera, load them into the tablet, and view, store, or send them to a web site or friend.

Thanks WB, you really lit a fire in my brain over the possibilities this cool tool can deliver. Now comes the hard part ...... convincing the wife. But then again, I just may fall back on the plan that always works... buy a tablet for 500 bucks, and then spend 500 bucks on gold and diamonds to placate the wife.

[segedunum]

Alas, you cannot do pretty much anything with these things - including watching videos.

[DaveKillens]

But you can. With it's fantastic connectivity with WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n), 3G, and Bluetooth downloading is a snap.

Video
The large, high-resolution screen makes iPad perfect for watching any kind of video: from HD movies and TV shows, to podcasts and music videos. You can also easily move between wide-screen and full-screen with a double-tap. And because it’s essentially one big screen, with no buttons or anything to distract you, the picture fills your line of sight. So you feel completely immersed in what you’re watching.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/

[Fil]

Holy crapola .. I just checked this item at Apple, and .. honestly, it suddenly becomes a realistic canditate for purchase. Price? umm, they say it starts as low as $ 499.

that's for the non-3G version tho.. which you'd need if you want any hope of streaming at an event.


iPad is an odd product for Apple.. it has enhanced features over what the iPhone has, but reduced from what the Macbook has.. but does both products' jobs very very well!

Product/Market cannibalism hasn't usually been a feature of Apple's product strategy in the past.

[WhiteBlue]

If I want to survive a race without a serious headache I need ear protectors anyway. So why not use a good headphone instead and listen to the commentary online. Of course it isn't cheap and you need the flat rate for the week end but nothing comes free and as a piece of hardware it is more versatile than one of these kangaroo TVs. Its a good device for the bathroom as well. Keeps you entertained at potty time.

[Giblet]

I like Apple, and while this seems an OK product, this is so much better, and deserves a look, even if you have a poster of Steve Jobs over your bed.

This can do everything the maxiPad can do, but it can also multitask, and do flahs, and doesn't come with iWork, which even the most hardcore Mac user tends to sidestep to use Office like the rest of the planet.

Courier

No flash on the iPad borders on inexcusable. On my iPhone, thats fine, I have a youtube app, but not being able to watch Vimeo is a mild inconvenience.

Do I need a $300 netbook to glue to my iPad so I can do the most basic of computing? I think Apple has gone a tad too far trying to change the game. I would rather get my timing/video on my iPhone or similar device, so I can enjoy the race, look then I need to, and not feel like I constantly protecting a giant piece of glass.

iPad can do video you convert to Mp4 format and copy over to it with iTunes. You can also stream mp4's. You cannnot however, stream any one of the more commonly used formats, like WMV, DivX, XVid, or flash, rendering that majority of video streaming outside of Apple Movie Trailers, pointless.

This would be as useful at a race as a big screen TV camping. You got the screen, just nothing to see on it.

[tarzoon]

If you really want something for the racetrack (rugged, waterproof, whatever), then you should check Panasonic U1:



Toyota team used a different tablet, so it should survive the conditions, even if the team didn't.

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wc ... ughbook-07

[WhiteBlue]

This would be as useful at a race as a big screen TV camping. You got the screen, just nothing to see on it.

I'm not sure of this. Some of the streaming stuff requires Windows for sure. So your scenario could actually happen. Apple is a real PITA when it comes to content they do not sell themselves online. Just compare their attitude towards Blu-Ray. Sometimes they include things in Safari so that you can make it work. But they will have no interest whatsoever in F1. So it could really be as bad as you say. I was just getting excited about this.

[roost89]

iPad can do video you convert to Mp4 format and copy over to it with iTunes. You can also stream mp4's. You cannnot however, stream any one of the more commonly used formats, like WMV, DivX, XVid, or flash, rendering that majority of video streaming outside of Apple Movie Trailers, pointless.

This would be as useful at a race as a big screen TV camping. You got the screen, just nothing to see on it.

That makes this product reeedundant. A rotten Apple is this. As with all Apple products, there'll be better ones for the same price or less.

[Giblet]

update:

CUPERTINO, CA—Claiming that he completely forgot about the much-hyped electronic device until the last minute, a frantic Steve Jobs reportedly stayed up all night Tuesday in a desperate effort to design Apple's new tablet computer. "Come on, Steve, just think—think, dammit—you're running out of time," the exhausted CEO said as he glued nine separate iPhones to the back of a plastic cafeteria tray. "Okay, yeah, this will work. This will definitely work. Just need to write 'tablet' on this little strip of masking tape here and I'm golden. Oh, come on, you piece of ---! Just stick already!" Middle-of-the-night sources reported that Jobs then began work on double-spacing his Keynote presentation and increasing the font size to make it appear longer.

[segedunum]

But you can. With it's fantastic connectivity with WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n), 3G, and Bluetooth downloading is a snap.

But you can't - despite what the press releases say. Flash isn't included and there is no way to add many common video or audio codecs, which makes the thing completely stillborne from a multimedia point of view.

It's a worse device than when Microsoft and Bill Gates went through their tablet 'moment'.

[tarzoon]

Apple is too close minded for me. Very inflexible when it comes to changing or adding stuff to their devices. While that is perfectly ok with music players (although I still installed ipodLinux), I want more from my smartphone or computer.

The iPad is the same thing over and over: if you watched the keynote, you could easy notice that they spent their time saying how great it is because of the screen and the ebooks and the "internet experience" - without flash. Games were the same sh!t - no keys, no precision - and email is way better in a blackberry (on the move and beyond the screen size). AND NO MULTITASKING!!!

Even reading a book from a bright screen is not my cup of tea, it gets me dizzy and tired. And that typing on the screen? F#@k me, I would keep on missing the right ones - and I'm a typist!

Besides, if you want a F1 app, it'll probably have a price tag on it! Either that or you have to develop it yourself.

So, would I spend $500 in a portable internet machine with no flash? NO!

I know I'm being a bit grumpy about it, just that I can't see the point of buying such a piece of... well, you know!

Better if you wait for the Google tablet, or a Maemo tablet, or maybe the WinMo7 one...