This morning I received a lengthy rebuttal to one of my earlier iPad posts and as I ended up voicing my opinion on many of the major iPad debates while responding to it I decided that I would instead turn my response into a post. So thanks to reader Louis Wheeler for his well considered comments and here are my answers.
Size
“But, I really won’t know until I get my hands on an iPad, if it is too large for common usage, and nether will you.”
I actually have a better insight into this than most as I have used a 10” tablet for over a year, the TC1100 by HP. At 3 pounds it is about twice as heavy as the iPad, but the dimensions of the two devices are actually quite similar. Now I love the screen size and I use the TC1100 all the time, but I use it in all of the places that I said I would use an iPad (couch, bed, school, and coffee shop). It doesn’t come anywhere with me that my laptop wouldn’t or couldn’t have come prior to it and I don’t think the iPad will be any different.
Multitasking
“You are in error on this. The iPhone, the iTouch and the iPad all multitask; it is merely that Apple reserves multitasking for its own software.”
I would argue that offering a hamstrung version of a feature is not the same as offering the feature, but regardless I’m aware that technically you are correct here. I don’t actually have a problem with the multitasking restriction on the iPhone and iTouch, but the iPad is large enough that people could, and I think will want to, multitask on it so I’m sticking with this being a problem for them.
Flash
“I am assuming that you are talking about the Flash plugin. I see this as a transitory matter. HTML 5, in a few years, will have improved to the point that Adobe’s Flash will become history.”
I’ll be thrilled when Flash is history, but by the time HTML 5 has completely taken hold we will probably be on the 3rd gen iPad. To paraphrase our former Vice President; you develop a device for the internet that you have, not the internet that you wish you had.
Pen Input
“I can’t see the majority of iPad users wanting this.”
The majority of iPad users won’t miss it because they have never had it. The size and form factor of this device would work perfectly as an endless notebook for students and not giving the iPad this function is leaving open a huge opportunity for some other tablets. I find this especially baffling considering Apple’s supposed interest in the education market. As with most of the issues I see with the iPad this isn’t going to keep it from selling, but it limits the utility of the device.
Netbook replacement
“It is just as well that the iPad is not designed to replace the netbook.”
It is precisely designed to replace the netbook; Jobs specifically indicated as much when he introduced the device. The form factor offers a better e-reading experience than with a netbook, but fundamentally netbooks were supposed to offer a simpler, cheaper, and more portable computing experience than the laptop and that is exactly what the iPad is being position to do.
Competition
“I believe that the competitors for the iPad will be failures, just as they have been for the iPhone.”
There are currently 60,000 Android phones shipping a day, so at least some of the iPhone’s competitors are far from failures. My guess is that this will be the case with the iPad as well. Due to Apple’s design flourish and superior marketing they will be on the top of the heap, but their competitors can capitalize on both Apple’s relatively high pricing and/or some of their omissions to carve out their own niches and make a tidy profit in this category as well.
Summary
I hope I’ve made it clear with some of my elaborations here that my frustration with the iPad is that it was so close to being a much more versatile device than what we have ended up with. I don’t question that where sales are concerned Apple is going to win this category, but best selling does not necessarily mean best device and I think Apple fell short of creating the best tablet that they could (yes, even at this price point). I’m a big Apple fan, I’m typing this on a Macbook, and I would have preferred to see them create a more complete tablet computing experience. I think they could have managed some additional nods to their more tech savvy customers without completely alienating the new fan base they have won with the iPhone and iTouch. I’m sure developers will unlock some of the potential in the iPad, but at the moment I see it as a beautifully designed couchputer, and nothing more.
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