I don't think the vast majority of people have that problem or there would be a riot at Motorola headquarters. But what I'm saying is, just wait and see. You don't *have* to buy an iPad for a good tablet. I don't hate Apple (I have three of those fucking iPod things) but I just think the market is still nascent and it's only going to get better. Contrary to what those ads on TV with the happy music and the slick transitions tell you, you don't need a tablet right now.

Notes? In college? Wha?

On topic: I can't think of one situation where I would want or need a smart phone, let alone a really big one without the phone part.

Really? I thought I need it right now? *has desktop pc, laptop, and netbook*

Christmas? iPad2 will be nothing more than a forgotten relic of a bygone age by then.

Aside from the moral issues, you really should look into it.
I really think the ipad isn't optimal for what you need it.
I think some netbook still would be better, you can play some basic games,
they are affordable, the are very portable, and they consume less energy,
due to less powerful and hungry hardware and a smaller display, and you still will be able to use it,
to do your work that you have to do on the go, or during a reading.
Your papers will not say "owns an ipad" once you are through learning.
But if you are hellbent to get an tablet, then by now there are also many other tablet pcs out there,
that can multitask, that take other devices like usb drives, with which you can mess any way you like.
I know it's much more exciting to get an ipad, but keep in mind, it must serve your daily needs.

Believe it or not, i own neither of those, and clothes from big brands are rare in my house,
so is gadgetry, i just don't see the need, but i'm a very practical person, as practical as musicians can be at least.
I'm sure there may be some things i wouldn't like in my pc, but i need it to survive myself, but i tried.
I get what you want to say though, sadly i know, it is almost unavoidable
not to support companies that treat their workers wrong,
or damage the planet in one way or the other, i'm aware of that,
but responsibility doesn't necessarily mean that.
Responsibility is not the same as an obligation, it leaves you choices.
You can ignore it, and if that's your choice, then i'm not in the position to mess with it,
but at least i made you aware of it.
No offense intended - well not much at least. ;D

To add to that, if the only problem is you running low on battery by time you're done then you could buy another battery. Switch them out in the middle of the day.

Actually, there was a rumour the iPad 2 would see an early release because the iPhone 4's features were exposed prematurely. It didn't happen. It would take something truly incredible to persuade Apple to deviate from their regular release schedule (if that were even possible.) Don't forget that the hardware would need to be magically assembled early though they often can't even meet demand when the product is released on time.

Yeah, BSD. Which is less of a hastily built shanty town and more of a well-planned and maintained uptown area.

I understand. Thanks for sharing your viewpoint with me. I will definitely consider my different options. It's not like I would be getting it immediately anyway; I'm giving it a few months, maybe four. That should be plenty of time to see if the Motorola Xoom gets some proper support, and will give me a glimpse into the other products like WebOS and whatever Microsoft has cooked up.

Why you shouldn't buy into the iCulture:

- it's superficial and shows bandwagon behaviour

- it's a locked down market with severely restricted options

- Apple only looks out for themselves and will omit vital additions to their hardware to force people to keep buying their overpriced toys. Why do you think there's no USB port on the iPad? No Flash? Not because of battery drainage or whatever other bullshit reason they gave - don't kid yourself.

- there's simply better and cheaper alternatives out there that provide a much more open market and more options

- no proper multi tasking

- for support, you only have a single manufacturer for the entire platform and Apple are known to have pretty bad support.

- you're tied to a single mobile provider - again, no choice.

- Apple will be quickly lagging behind technology-wise - their iPhone 4 is already outdated and old junk compared to the new Android phones. Expect the Android market to overshadow the iOS market soon - already apps are made that look better on Android phones.

Seriously, it all boils down to having no choice, few options, and being tied to a company with a pretty poor track record of the past 5 years. Apple has been quickly overtaking Microsoft when it comes to being a bully in the market.

Oh: and my android phone is solid as a rock. It beats the iPhone 4 in most benchmarks, has extra touches the iPhone 4 lacks and this at less than half the price without being tied to one mobile provider.

You want a stupid, useless toy? Good for you. If you have so much money to waste, I can give you my PayPal account to let you dump it there, too....

Want to throw in fanboy or iSheep or other mindless insults? Almost all of these points are either gross exaggerations or just dead wrong. I could make a similar list for Android and Google or any of the handset/tablet/netbook/computer manufacturers, but I wouldn't believe it any more than I believe what you wrote. I hope for your sake, that you wrote this for "internets series of tubes lawls" and don't actually believe it.

Android is a good platform. It is. iOS is a good platform; Palm had a good platform but it didn't sell; now HP might have a good platform depending on what they did with Palm's; WinP7 is a little late to the game but is ... ok from what I hear; RIM is well ... I'm sure they're trying and we'll see what the playbook is like. Those cover the major US players (obviously minus Nokia and their products).

Seriously the bandwagon behavior displayed by iSheep or whatever you want to call them is really no different from any gadget obsessed person who must have the latest shiniest toy from whatever their maker of choice is. If you actually believe everything you just wrote, then you're no better than the people you're castigating of which no one else in these forums seems to be.

I know it might be hard to hear, but competition from other platforms and device makers is a good thing ...

Oh yeah, I'm not doubting the power of the Android. I have an Android phone myself. What I do doubt is the reliability of the devices and the fragmentation. I'm still angry that I haven't been given 2.3 Gingerbread yet, as my phone came out July of last year and should be up for one. Worse yet are the people still stuck on 1.6, or those unfortunate souls who bought a Samsung Fascinate only to realize they swapped out Google for Bing almost everywhere on the phone, removing the benefits of a Google phone with free GPS. What about all the people who can't install an app as simple as Angry Birds on their phone, even though their phone is clearly capable of playing it? "Oh, sorry, your phone manufacturer has blocked you from accessing this particular app, so I guess you're fucked." That's not even accounting for the mountains and mountains of virus-laden apps with misleading names. I shouldn't have to get an anti-virus suite for my phone.

People complain about Apple's habit of making something obsolete a year later. Android phones are obsolete the day you get them, with another, much more powerful phone announced quickly. Right after I got my Droid X, news of the Atrix 4G started circulating. They're also releasing another X soon. There is so much market saturation that my parents didn't know that the specific Android phone they were getting, the Samsung Fascinate, was a piece of shit. I tried to warn them, tried to convince them to get the same phone I got. But no, to the average consumer, one Android phone is indistinguishable from another. One has that stupid MOTOBLUR (I had to remove all those Moto widgets from my screen to make the phone presentable), to that 3D box-like menu, to a traditional Google menu.

As for WebOS, I don't trust HP. HP has constantly shafted our family with shitty products. Shitty printers, shitty desktops, you name it.

Also, for the first time in a long while, Apple's device is less expensive than the competition. No Apple Tax in effect. And say what you will about Flash; it is on its way out. HTML5 and Silverlight are the two big technologies every company is jumping on. Besides, Flash does make a difference on my laptop, where interacting with Flash ads or movies can make my battery drain an hour faster.

I'm not abandoning Android entirely; I like my X more than I liked my iPhone.

Make that 1.5. I was one of the stupid ones who got fooled into buying an LG GW620 (Eve). The OS was obsolete before the phone was released, and the only official updates have come to canadian and korean users.