Ahren's Tumblelog, My thoughts on the Apple iPad

5 months ago

My thoughts on the Apple iPad
I was so excited about the iPad when I was listening to the Apple news conference live last Tuesday, but my excitement is sure dwindling. Apparently, the Apple effect was in full swing that day because now that I’ve sat back and thought about it, I can say that I don’t want an iPad in it’s current form. Here are my thoughts.

First of all, the form factor and screen look awesome, they really do. However, in reality, it is just a big iPhone which is troubling for a number of reasons. Since it runs a modified version of the iPhone OS, there will be no multitasking of programs or tasks which is a huge problem for me. I don’t like the idea very much. I would have much rather have had them use a modified version of OSX instead of the icon-only look of the iPhone. Having a homescreen with only icons works good on a small-scale device like the iPhone, but not with the iPad. Additionally, Apple is claiming that this is going to be an internet-centric device, but yet they still do not have flash support. This strikes me as odd.

Here are the things I like:
- Form factor and screen
- I think the price is pretty good
- The no-contract 3G is nice
Here’s what I don’t like:
- No multitasking
- No Flash support
- It is just a bigger iPhone, the OS looks to be lacking on a device of it’s size
- No SD card slot
- No camera
One thing that will have to be proved to me is the eBook reading capabilities. Sure, the app looks nice, but how is the reading experience? I cannot read for extended periods of time on a computer (active) screen. This is why I prefer the e-Ink (looks like newspaper ink) non-active screens. It is much easier on the eyes and feels like you are a reading an actual book. I’ll have to wait to see the iPad works.

Essentially, my biggest gripes have to do with the OS of the device. It honestly just looks like a big iPhone and I think to make a tablet functional and appealing to me, it would need to be an OSX-style operating system which multitasking, etc. I think I would rather stick with the smaller-form factor of the iPhone, since it is essentially the same thing.

Well, that’s my rant. All of this doesn’t mean I don’t want one, I am just saying I will not purchase one. :)
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