It should surprise no one that I am not a huge Apple fan. Heck I am taking a week long class on Windows Server now, but I am not completely against them either. Without Apple we would not have the competitive market that is leading us into the 21st century. No iPhone means we would all still be using flip phones because of how they remind us of Star Trek. (or maybe that’s just me.) I certainly would not be writing this post on my fancy touch screen phone while zipping along on the train. Apple has done some amazing things for tech, but now it seems like it’s their turn to try and play catch up.
The tablet PC has been around for a long time. I understand that most tablets are bulky, or the interface is a bit weird, but they keep changing and have progressively gotten better. I have used a few tablets that feel great to use and do everything I need them to do and more. Unfortunately I don’t see this iPad doing even 1/2 of them. Yay, it can read books, but my Kindle and any number of cheaper ebook readers can do that. It plays games, but so does my Droid and my Xbox and any of the tablet. (one may argue that it plays iPod/iPhone games that my stuff can’t, we have an iPod in the house so I’m good.) Honestly the only things the iPad has going for it is 1: a rabid Apple fan-base that will buy anything the almighty Steve Jobs produces, and 2: its size. I will say that they seemed to have gotten that part right. It appears to be sleek, slim, and fit right in the hand, but I would expect that from Apple.
So what would it take to make me like this? Easy.
1: Flash Player. (Adobe has 10.1 working now…port it!)
2: Front facing web-cam. (it would be the perfect video conference tool)
3: USB (why does it NOT have this? oh right because then you could choose your wireless provider)
4: Hit below the $300 price mark. (seriously with everything that’s available that does the same thing, it’s just not competitive)
So there you go. I am sure that many of you have other ideas about what it should have as well but there are r simple things that would make me more interested. Until I see that, I give the iPad a preview score of 6 oranges out of 10 apples.
The supposed Apple zombie-fans didn’t buy the AppleTV, and I don’t think they will buy this either. When Apple releases a turd idea, it doesn’t go anywhere. I think the iPad is another turd idea.
Apple and Adobe will probably do something about the lack of Flash on Apple mobile devices within the next 12 months, but it still won’t make the iPad a winner.
The ergonomics of a tablet computer are just bad. The display of a laptop is orthogonal to the keys; if you put the keys and the display on the same plane then either the viewing angle or the typing is going to be painful. Two-handed thumb-typing on the iPod/iPhone almost works, but that is because you can still hold it in your hands, whereas two-handed typing on the iPad means putting it in your lap. And the keyboard dock is just dumb.
What gets me is that we already have the MacBook Air that is way better than this device at everything except price. Less functionality for less money is not what people usually expect from an Apple product announcement.