Interesting article about the iPad. I've been out of the loop, so I thought I'd research.
As New York magazine notes in its roundup of coverage: "
the iPad backlash is in full swing," and "it seems everyone's eager to toss a little haterade Apple's way."
From Engadget: Apple iPad: The Definitive Guide
Frankly, it does seem unclear just how many people really want (let alone need) a phone-laptop hybrid without the advantages of either.
Start with its size. It's 9.7 inches diagonally and weighs 1.5 pounds. That's light by laptop standards, but much more cumbersome than a mobile phone. But it's not a phone; you can't make calls on it unless you use an Internet service such as Skype. And you can't stick it in your pocket or take it jogging. So, like a laptop or e-reader device like the Kindle, it'll require a case. But since there's no conventional keyboard attached -- what you get is a larger version of the iPhone's onscreen interface -- it's unlikely anyone will type reports or anything of length on the device.
Then there's the lack of what have become widely accepted features.
There's no multitasking. "Are you saying I can't listen to Pandora while writing a document? I can't have my Twitter app open at the same time as my browser? I can't have AIM open at the same time as my email? Are you kidding me?
This alone guarantees that I will not buy this product," Gizmodo's Adam Frucci writes.
There's also
no Adobe Flash support, so the only way to watch streaming movies is on YouTube, not on Hulu or Netflix. And there are no ports to hook up other devices.
There's
no camera. No GPS on the base model. It's not compatible with wide-screen movies. It only
runs optimally using AT&T.
"With only one connector port and a headphone jack,
the iPad is a connectivity nightmare, since you'll have to buy adapters for everything from USB to SD cards. Not to mention that you're restricted to a wireless-only connection without an Ethernet port," Geeksugar complains.
All in all, that's a lot of deficiencies for a toy that
costs at least $499 and as much as $829, not including a data plan that can run an additional $360 per year.