If we are talking laptops Apple has the Macbook Air - less then 1 inch thick (0.16-0.76 inch), 1.86GHz or 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a 1280 by 800 screen. It's a tad heavier at 3.0 pounds but its still pretty small / light for what it does.

As someone said earlier, this is not a replacement for a laptop - but a compliment. I know people who travel with 2 laptops (personal and work) and this would replace their personal laptop for travel. It's a niche product but as you state, because of fanboys, should do well.

All I can say is that as an rkitec you must have some respect for design and packaging. I said earlier that I just don't like showing work on a laptop. I feel like the form factor takes away from the work. A tablet with a minimal black border would be a more elegant presentation. Believe it or not, in my world, things like that matter. I've even heard art-buyers (my interface with ad agencies) belittle people behind their backs for having a PC and not a Mac. I don't defend it, just report it.

Well, IMO you can’t keep moving the goalposts like that.

The poster I quoted was trying to make the case that the iPad could, for professional photographers, be at times a viable supplement/substitute for a full-featured laptop.

I pointed out that unless one is wedded to Apple that with a product like the Sony TT one didn’t need to make the features/performance for size/weight/portability compromise.

Now, as to the Air, it too is a lifestyle accessory with extremely limited connectivity and no optical drive.

Of course I do.

I have never understood why PC makers haven't simply copied Apple's design cues in both look and feel.

Apple makes some truly beautiful products but to me, some of their lifestyle accessories are really light on substance.

Then you should be upset that the iPad doesn’t have a higher resolution screen, larger internal storage, and more external connection options. I just don’t see the iPad being any closer to what it is you say you want than are current netbooks or the Epson image banks before them – unless it is as you say all about appearance and brand names, but then that sorta makes my point – no?

This is the only photog use I see for the iPad. Could help to make for a mighty slick presentation tool for some clients, but I see absolutely zero use for more typical workflow operations.

i concur yet ppl would still pay money just to have an extra accessory? kinda mind boggling to me. must be for the cooool factor.

I agree completely. But then again, it was never designed for heavy duty workflow stuff.

What's wrong with the cooool factor? If you're on a sales call you need every bit of help you can get. There's nothing wrong with a potential client remembering your work and how it was presented.

Bingo. I wouldn't, but I wager that quite a few will get it for just that reason.

because if you're trying to show the client the photos that you took, you don't want to distract the client from your photos. you can just use an ordinary computer that has a higher resolution with a larger screen. if a client is really looking for a good photographer, he'll be impressed with the pictures that the photog has taken, not the gear that he has.

The other night a few friends and I were having a conversation over dinner, which eventually turned to the subject of technology, and of course the introduction of Apple's latest 'must-have' object came up.

I won't rehash my opinion on the subject but during that conversation this came to mind:

"In 1975, Gary Dahl working as an advertising executive at the time, launched the sale of the pet rock which quickly transformed him into a multi-millionaire."

I found this part in particular to be apropos to the iPad:

"Part of Dahl's marketing strategy was to state that pet rocks give us more pleasure than we know. He convinced the consumer that these pet rocks support this argument through their very existence, and clearly display that it is not an actual item that brings joy to the child in the human mind, but merely the idea of the item. The pet sits in a niche in the mind, created by the power of the owners imaginations. It is in the actual exercise of the mind that such pleasure is found."



The Pet Rock

too expensive for a photo frame...

Considering the iPhone used to be $500 not long ago, this doesn't seem like such a bad deal to me.

If I am traveling and don't feel like bringing my laptop (which is often as its a 17"-er), I can still watch movies and present my images to the person I'm chatting with that wants to see what I can do.

I also have access to e-mail, etc. I just might get one.

One consistent pattern I see with people who are dogging this device (or the iphone for that matter). Because this device doesn't fit their needs the device must be crap--the end. Is it so far off base to assume this would serve a purpose for a segment of users?

And you'd be surprised how many other photographers on the appropriate forums are considering this device for portable presentation.

We'll see how it plays out.

I do not find the ipad interesting as it is right now, however it does have potentiel.

This would be something close to my ideal Ipad that is possible.

- Use a real OS
make it use a real OS (even if stripped down).

- Use the bezel
Even before I saw that apple recently put in some patents to use the bezel with touch sensitive buttons,
I thought that they could extend the screen but only put a dock or command keys or use touch stuff like volume, zoom, mute, shortcuts etc..
A nice example is the volume bar on the logitech dinovo edge. These buttons could be activated with a physical button or on screen as to not interfere with the normal operatons while holding it.

Another idea would be to extend the lcd screen, not make it touch sensitive but put information that would be useful.
For example : pop ups, alerts, batterly life, time... leaving the touchscreen less cluttered with more space for the main program in use.

- bluetooth that is not gimped
I hope to be able to use a BT keyboard and a BT mouse (at least until they have a BT trackball) without any problems.
Tethering would be nice if you cannot use a cable.

It would be quite nice during the day when you are out and about to use the ipad when traveling.
You oculd load maps, guides, you own notes, have internet connection (you have to admit that the iphone/touch screen is small).
Once back at home, the office or hotel room use the keyboard and mouse for real productive work.

- wacom
Using fingers is fine, but to use a pen as well would open up a lot of possibitlities. Be able to switch off multitouch when using a pen so I can actually write.

- SD slot and at least one USB port, hdmi out with a vga or dvi adapter.
So that I can quickly and easily put my photos on the tablet, back it up to an external hdd and review the jpegs (or raws if possible) with pertinent info (histogram etc..). Makes notes, modify or indicate changes to make directly on the photo, add some text and add a geotag...Even better would be to use the screen as an EVF or at least be able to use it as a remote.

- virtual keyboard where one could type fast with one hand.

I would love to go travel with this in hand. Right now though, I d rather use my tablet pc even if the screen isnt as nice, it is heavier, autonomy isnt as good, can't use fingers.
So what I want I guess is a small mutitouch capable tablet pc with a nice screen but no keyboard, it does not have to be powerful either.

I'm simply going to wait to see how the device works once it's actually released and software that's designed for it begins to emerge. Specs don't don't necessarily define performance.

Anything else is complete supposition as to whether it will fit into a professional workflow.

But was the question even about professional workflow? I think people have not properly interpreted the OP's question.

As a lightweight complementary device (movies, portfolio sharing, e-mail, social networking), the iPad has potential.