iPAD = iPDA
Copyright Apple 2010
The now-infamous line “You can put lipstick on a pig… but it’s still a pig” might be apropos in some situations – especially when describing Apple’s new iPad:
My take is: You can add a few flourishes to an oversized iPhone/iPod touch and call it a “revolutionary” computing device – but it’s still an overgrown PDA. (For the record, the Apple Newton was an overgrown PDA more than a decade ago).
Not that that’s necessarily bad. It’s just that in the past tablets have historically garnered a lot of interest at first – until the buying public realized the shortcomings and/or decided they really preferred laptop models instead.
So, after playing with a few iPads over the course of the past few days I can honestly say that it seems to be a nice product – actually one of the most accessible tablets ever created – but also one that could have somewhat limited long-term appeal.
Aside from those people who must own anything with the name Apple on it – if you have an iPhone/iPod touch (or any other modern-day smartphone) and a MacBook (or any modern-day laptop computer) you really don’t need an iPad.
GOOD STUFF:
In my testing, the iPad is pretty fast for a PDA. And Apple should be commended for porting their iPhone OS to a larger format machine.
The design is beautiful – it’s a slab to behold. On the other hand, I would have preferred less of a black border around the screen (to make it look like an iPhone).
The new “apps” made for the larger format screen are terrific. The ones I played with took good advantage of the larger screen.
The screen changes from vertical to horizontal viewing instantly. Very well done on Apple’s part.
Reports of up-to 10 hour battery life per charge is fantastic. I’m expecting that is really more like 6-7 hours in real-life constant use. This is not surprising though. There are a number of power-sipping netbooks that store 10-hours or real-life usability.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF:
iPad is kinda heavy in your hand. It looks deceptively lighter in weight than it turns out to be in real life. It therefore requires two hands for many users. Still, it’s only 1-1/2 pounds compared to small netbooks which start at 2-1/2-to-3 pounds.
The on-screen keyboards are pretty good considering. Because iPads are so flat I wouldn’t want to write the next great American novel on one. Strictly for short e-mails and the like. External Bluetooth keyboards are available now – but that sorta defeats the purpose.
Holding the iPad for long periods (like watching a TV show) gets fatiguing. Long movies would be more so. I’m expecting all sorts of third-party devices that will hold your iPad in a proper viewing angle will be available immediately. You can position netbook and laptop screens without third-party add-ons.
There is no built-in camera. That means no video phone services.
The battery is not user replaceable.
There is no method of internal memory expansion. Wouldn’t it have been easy for Apple to produce a smaller number of models with SD card slots? I know it would have been cheaper for potential iPad buyers.
The iPad does not support Flash. It does support HTML5 which, in the future, might be a replacement. But for now, Flash is it and the iPad can’t process the Websites that use it.
The book reader, while looking great has, what to me is an annoying animation every time you turn the page. They might consider holding down that visual effect for the first page you turn – and maybe the beginning of a chapter. A similar effect on Amazon’s Kindle is less obtrusive.
Apple is charging way too much, period. Too much for the devices and too much for the apps it can run. Yes, it will run many of the iPhone apps you already may have – but they open in an iPhone-sized box on your iPad screen. Double the size of that box and what you get are somewhat blurry apps. Upgrading some of the apps you know and love with iPad-formatted begin costing you dearly. Going down the list, I find that I would be spending more than $100 per month on stuff I’d like to use on the iPad.
That’s in addition to the cost of the iPad itself. $500 for the base model is too much. Hopefully the price will start to come down soon (just like the first iPhone did after a few weeks.) Since 3G versions can connect to AT&T’s 3G network only when you need them to (instead of all the time) Apple can’t defray some of the cost of the hardware into your AT&T service contract. That means the top-of-the-line 3G iPad will set you back more than $800. For a PDA. That’s absurd.
One friend uses their new iPad as a part-time toy. They have a MacBook Pro, a new Dell Windows laptop, an Asus netbook, an iPhone and now an iPad. The iPad is being used the way it should – as something extra. Something personal. Something digital. An assistant of sorts. You know – a personal digital assistant.
iPad? iPDA? The letter are just in a different order!
In a direct comparison with one of the new breed of small laptops, like Lenovo’s ThinkPad X100e, the differences are quite obvious. The iPad has much better battery life, is lighter in weight and has the Apple name on the back.
On the other hand, the tiny X100e is a real Windows 7 computer with a fast processor, a real QWERTY keyboard (with the famous, red ThinkPad nipple/pointer system), up to 4GB of RAM, a camera and a larger screen. It also runs all the programs available on a Windows computer.
The X100e starts at $450 while a well-beefed-up version goes for $550. They’re both right in Apple iPad’s price range. I’m planning a head-to-head comparison follow-up very soon.