Apple A4 CPU Dissection: iPad is Just a Big Touch

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[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]Don't know how many times this can be said but CPU speed matters very little.[/citation]

Let me stop you right there; You're wrong. Whether it's clock speed or architectural improvements... CPU speed most definitely DOES matter.
 
haha, you could say that.
we already had the idea that the ipad came from the parts of the iphone from FCC internal pics found in anand's site. quoting from there that the parts was all battery and display while the mobo have come from a smartphone.
also the reason why it can't be compared to a netbook which can handle usb devices.


[citation][nom]JeanLuc[/nom]Marcus enough of the iPad spamming in the news section already![/citation]
 
he's right. we're not talking about a device to create documents. in compact and efficient internet media devices, the cpu still matters until...it's performance approach close to a notebook.

[citation][nom]the greater good[/nom]Let me stop you right there; You're wrong. Whether it's clock speed or architectural improvements... CPU speed most definitely DOES matter.[/citation]
 
My problem with it is the marketing. They're trying to pass it off as something it's not. It's not "magical", Its a big Ipod. Which is fine, but that really doesn't justify the super inflated price. The Iphone and Ipod touch do some tasks really well. I was impressed by the user interface. However both devices offer a horrible web experience. Mainly due to the absence of flash.

Here's what I really don't understand......
Remember when the EU went after Microsoft about Internet Explorer and Windows? At least with windows you were able to choose a different browser of your liking. With Apple.... You have a company that forces consumers to use an "incomplete" web browser on multiple devices. Apple doesn't allow you to install any other browser. Where is the EU's enormous nose in this issue?
 
tayb :
Don't know how many times this can be said but CPU speed matters very little.



Let me stop you right there; You're wrong. Whether it's clock speed or architectural improvements... CPU speed most definitely DOES matter.
Click to expand...

Can you say why it matters? Because tayb gave some excellent reasons behind his thinking.
 
[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]Well, as an ex-netbook owner I can say that the netbook experience is far from ideal and most of the time is in fact absolutely awful. You get better hardware on a netbook but it's not nearly enough to run Windows 7. 1.6GHz Atom, 2GB of ram, and ION look great in comparison to iPad specifications but the actual user experience is terrible. Slowdowns slowdowns and more slowdowns. That doesn't even mention the cramped keyboard, damn near unusable touchpad, and pathetic battery life. I suppose if you ran a variant of Linux the performance hit wouldn't be as bad but no software is going to fix the hardware failures that plague every netbook I've tried and if we are talking about Linux we are still discussing limited software availability just like the iPad.[/citation]

I don't know what netbook you're running, but my Asus 1201n doesn't exhibit any of these issues.

The keyboard is far from cramped and can be easily typed on.
I've experienced no slowdowns, even running in 1080p mode connected to a LCD tv.
The touchpad is very usable, but an external bluetooth mouse goes a long way
The battery life is nearly 4 hours

Maybe you should consider wiping the default OS the OEM ships and reloading Windows 7 - you'll see much better results doing so.
 
Well, I figured it was a giant iPod touch just from looking at it. Now these reports confirm my suspicions. Nothing new or revolutionary here...moving along.
 
It will satisfy the aged early Internet users. This technology outpaces the old 133-150mhz pentium MMX notebooks with 128Mbytes of RAM that sold like hotcakes for over $2K and had a 1028x768 TFT low quality display and weighed 7.5lbs. In the early days of the web in 1996, that old notebook served up the web perfectly. Facebook is the #4 site on Alexa rankings. There is a huge market for this product. At the end of the day many business deals are won on powerpoint presentation in the hip pocket. This product in the hands of the right people at the right time pays for itself many times over. This product represents capability never before enjoyed.
 
And still another day goes by, where Apple is selling antiquated notebooks for $2000+. I'm beginning to expect that instead of new laptops with modern hardware, Steve Jobs will come out and bash Intel's Core i line, say again how evil Google and Flash are, and how he's a revolutionary thinker while showing off the all new, "revolutionary" iPad.
 
[citation][nom]tsnorquist[/nom]I don't know what netbook you're running, but my Asus 1201n doesn't exhibit any of these issues.The keyboard is far from cramped and can be easily typed on.I've experienced no slowdowns, even running in 1080p mode connected to a LCD tv.The touchpad is very usable, but an external bluetooth mouse goes a long wayThe battery life is nearly 4 hoursMaybe you should consider wiping the default OS the OEM ships and reloading Windows 7 - you'll see much better results doing so.[/citation]
+1 Was wondering the same thing. I also have a 1201N and am thrilled with it. Obviously not the snap of a desktop, but "slowdowns" aren't an issue. Keyboard is easily fine, although I frequently use a bluetooth mouse when possible. Most of the time it's Word, Excel, browser, email, but also logged some time hooked to the big screen watching 1080P videos and even flawlessly running a Blu-Ray movie with the external Asus drive. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Asus-USB-External-Blu-ray,8159.html
 
Steve Jobs calls it "a magical device". Same logic as in Kung-Fu Panda "The magic scroll of the dragon master". The Secret secret ingredient is nothing. LOL
 
[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]Well, as an ex-netbook owner I can say that the netbook experience is far from ideal and most of the time is in fact absolutely awful. You get better hardware on a netbook but it's not nearly enough to run Windows 7. 1.6GHz Atom, 2GB of ram, and ION look great in comparison to iPad specifications but the actual user experience is terrible. Slowdowns slowdowns and more slowdowns. That doesn't even mention the cramped keyboard, damn near unusable touchpad, and pathetic battery life. I suppose if you ran a variant of Linux the performance hit wouldn't be as bad but no software is going to fix the hardware failures that plague every netbook I've tried and if we are talking about Linux we are still discussing limited software availability just like the iPad.The chip in the iPad does what it is supposed to do. Runs the UI without slowdowns and provides great battery life. Why would Apple ramp up the clock speeds when they have nothing to gain from it? The interface won't be any snappier with higher clock speeds.I didn't see a market for netbooks and still don't quite understand the demand. I don't really see a market for the iPad but I know it too will sell well.[/citation]

I run a netbook with those same specs (minus the Ion, I use a Broadcom Crystal HD card and IGP) and it runs Windows 7 exceptionally well. Granted I have a 60GB SSD which helps. Why is a netbook appealing? I have a fully functional PC that fits in my favorite day planner. End of story. No matter where I am I can perform PC related tasks without toting a huge laptop or tons of junk. To each their own though....
 
Awwww... The Apple fan-bois invaded Tom's and downvoted every single negative Apple post. Whatever guys, I got far better things to do with my money than to waste it on a limited-use $500+ toy.
 
[citation][nom]necronic[/nom]To be fair, a howitzer isn't just a giant pistol either. The change in size drastically changes the potential useability.[/citation]
The difference is that a howitzer doesnt fire pistol rounds either. It still has the same lame OS with no multi-tasking and no flash. It has for all intents and purposes the same hardware with the exception of a bigger screen. The only 'potential useability' is you can now read it from 3ft away instead of 1ft. OOOO
 
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