Speaking of electronics...
 

On Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:27:28 -0500, Harry
wrote:

On 1/28/10 3:58 AM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:11:19 -0500,
wrote:

On 1/27/10 7:06 PM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:30:43 -0500,
wrote:

On 1/27/10 5:26 PM, Harry wrote:
...the new Apple iPad, announced today, looks like an interesting
proposition for hosting an on-board GPS chartplotter. It has a screen
that's just under 10" diagonally, a built-in on-screen keypad,
solid-state storage up to 64 gigs, and a selling price that starts at
just under $500.

Dedicated chartplotters with that size screen are typically $2000+.

It's not going to take long for a chartplotter purveyor of on-board
software to come up with an app that takes advantage of the device.

Oh...there already are nav apps that work well on the 3G
iphones...navionics has one. for example.

Crikey...a 10" chartplotter for about $600 that does lots of other
stuff, too.

Obviously doesn't include charts. I'm sure charts could be had
cheaply but better resolution will come from those in the biz.

Haven't seen the specs so I don't know what the processing power is.
With higher resolution charts, satellite images, you need pretty
reasonable processing power to maintain a decent refresh rate.

Also, you need some serious brightness in a daylight display. That's
been the difference between off the shelf slate tablets (which are now
hovering in the $700 -$1000 range with an atom processor) and what's
produced for outdoor use.


I haven't seen the specs, but I did see some clips from the debut, and
the display looks pretty damned good, with higher "res" than I have seen
on any 10" chartplotters. I won't argue the "brightness" issue...you're
absolutely right about that...if the new Apple product doesn't have
adequate brightness for outdoor use, it will hurt sales of the unit
generally.

Not many consumer computing products have the kind of display
brightness that makes 'em usable in daylight conditions. Manufacturing
costs drive this type of product development, and in order to hit the
price point they targeted, only those items high on the triage list
made it in. "Must haves" make it, "that'd be nice" occasionally, and
"lovelies" rarely do. Daylight display wasn't likely high on the
list. If it did make, I'd be really surprised and pleased.

I'm sure it'll be a neat toy for many.

Here's my favorite announcement regarding the IPad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0...layer_embedded


That's terrific! :)

I have yet to come across a cell phone whose screen is usable in bright
light outdoors. The iPhone sure...isn't.

I just noticed the backlight on the unit is LED driven so there's
potential for it being usable outdoors. Some manufacturers put a
coating on the screen to cut down on reflection but, with Apple's
penchant for all things glossy...

Speaking of electronics...
 

On 1/28/10 2:00 PM, jps wrote:
On Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:27:28 -0500,
wrote:

On 1/28/10 3:58 AM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:11:19 -0500,
wrote:

On 1/27/10 7:06 PM, jps wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:30:43 -0500,
wrote:

On 1/27/10 5:26 PM, Harry wrote:
...the new Apple iPad, announced today, looks like an interesting
proposition for hosting an on-board GPS chartplotter. It has a screen
that's just under 10" diagonally, a built-in on-screen keypad,
solid-state storage up to 64 gigs, and a selling price that starts at
just under $500.

Dedicated chartplotters with that size screen are typically $2000+.

It's not going to take long for a chartplotter purveyor of on-board
software to come up with an app that takes advantage of the device.

Oh...there already are nav apps that work well on the 3G
iphones...navionics has one. for example.

Crikey...a 10" chartplotter for about $600 that does lots of other
stuff, too.

Obviously doesn't include charts. I'm sure charts could be had
cheaply but better resolution will come from those in the biz.

Haven't seen the specs so I don't know what the processing power is.
With higher resolution charts, satellite images, you need pretty
reasonable processing power to maintain a decent refresh rate.

Also, you need some serious brightness in a daylight display. That's
been the difference between off the shelf slate tablets (which are now
hovering in the $700 -$1000 range with an atom processor) and what's
produced for outdoor use.


I haven't seen the specs, but I did see some clips from the debut, and
the display looks pretty damned good, with higher "res" than I have seen
on any 10" chartplotters. I won't argue the "brightness" issue...you're
absolutely right about that...if the new Apple product doesn't have
adequate brightness for outdoor use, it will hurt sales of the unit
generally.

Not many consumer computing products have the kind of display
brightness that makes 'em usable in daylight conditions. Manufacturing
costs drive this type of product development, and in order to hit the
price point they targeted, only those items high on the triage list
made it in. "Must haves" make it, "that'd be nice" occasionally, and
"lovelies" rarely do. Daylight display wasn't likely high on the
list. If it did make, I'd be really surprised and pleased.

I'm sure it'll be a neat toy for many.

Here's my favorite announcement regarding the IPad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0...layer_embedded


That's terrific! :)

I have yet to come across a cell phone whose screen is usable in bright
light outdoors. The iPhone sure...isn't.

I just noticed the backlight on the unit is LED driven so there's
potential for it being usable outdoors. Some manufacturers put a
coating on the screen to cut down on reflection but, with Apple's
penchant for all things glossy...


My iMac has a glossy screen. Since I can control the lighting at my work
space, the "glossy" hasn't been a problem. But I know some iMac users
are really annoyed with the possibility of reflections.