I’m sure by now you’ve already heard that the Cult of Steve’s leader…uh, Steve…announced yesterday that Apple would be releasing a quasi-tablet called the iPad, which has been met with very split opinions. This is in stark contrast with the iPhone announcement which most of us just immediately dubbed the Jesus phone and declared that we would buy one as soon as possible because it was awesome in phone form.
…what, that was just me?
The problem here is that the iPhone added features to a phone that we never had readily available to us before. Sure, the Japanese and Koreans have had their futuristic Star Trek-like devices that have folding 40-inch plasma TVs and rocket ships attached for years but here in North America, we were stuck with phones where the biggest feature is that you could add your own ringtones. That made the iPhone awesome…the fact that we could do so much on a device that was so very little.
Unfortunately, the same formula doesn’t work with the iPad since we have laptops for all the bigger tasks and an iPhone for when we don’t want to pull it out of our bags. If all this is is a giant iPhone, then what is the point? Great…all the iPhone apps will work on the iPad but why? I have Twitter installed on my MacBook Pro. I can check hockey scores by going to website already. Sure, it might be a bit easier to surf on an iPad compared to an iPhone but is it really easier than on my MacBook?
No. The problem is that there are too many things missing from the iPad. Heck, it doesn’t even have USB or a card reader without buying accessories and unlike my MacBook, you can’t multitask on the damn thing either. To be honest, if they simply made a tablet MacBook, I would’ve been happy. Heck, I would’ve paid more. Just take the keyboard off the MacBook Air and we would’ve been good, Steve. No, I don’t care there’s no optical drive. I can’t remember the last time I used a CD or DVD now that I think of it. I even used a USB key with Mac OS to do my last format so opticals are gone the way of floppies, in my opinion. Give me a device that is more MacBook than iPhone, Apple.
That being said…at $499, I’m not sure I could resist buying one just to play around with. Personally, I think this would be a fantastic way to carry around a photo portfolio to potential clients. I’m just a little peeved since it could’ve been so much more than just a fancy picture frame I could surf the internet on.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I would agree with you. It’s not quite all there. Too much missing.
A Macbook tablet could have been a killer. I don’t think it ranks as a big iPhone though, it’s a big iPod touch.
i’ll at least wait for a bigger screen – the Maxipad
Skip this and go straight to the AXIOTRON ModBook which is the only real Mac Tablet out there. This is nothing but a FAT iPod Touch. Actually, not even.
The real price is $729-829. I guess you *could* spend $499 for a tablet with less storage than your phone if you really really wanted to though.
Here’s just one example of a laptop you can get for less than $829: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X4_7500_Notebook/ 5 seconds of searching. And I’m sure you could easily grab this thing a few hundred off if you find the right coupon or something. Not to mention you could always scale back just a couple of the GODLY specs and it would still be 5-10x more powerful than the iPad.
Sure there’s no touch screen … but are we so desperate to poke our computers in the face that we’re willing to step back in time 5-10 years when it comes to everything else?
And for the record … I love the iPhone and my iPod – combined they do everything the iPad does, so what’s the point? If I need a travel computer, I’d really just rather get an actual laptop with actual specs and features.
@Matt:
What in the hell is that thing? That’s a brick with a screen on it. It’s massive! I haven’t used a laptop more than an inch thick for over 10 years now.
I could really care less about the storage. 16GB is plenty on my iPhone so I imagine it would be on an iPad as well. I could also care less about the price. It’s not expensive for a fun toy. I have my criticisms about the iPad but those aren’t it.
And would you really buy a laptop from a generic company rather than one of the big boys? I sure as hell wouldn’t.
I think the iPad does well with that it is aiming at. In my opinion the only thing I would want to see on it would be a camera. Not having the usb and card reader isnt a problem because the stuff can all be added via itunes.. All the other things that were left out like multitasking, downloading files and flash can all be fixed with a OS update that it’s all sure to come. I like what apple has done with this and of course there is always a way to make it better!
My take: why sell a product you have basically already created? I don’t see much of a difference from the iPod Touch.
I would much rather purchase a brand new laptop/desktop for $499 than spend it on a tablet.
I actually like the iPad. It’s got gorgeous display with great multimedia features, so yeah, Apple has done alright so far. Ok, so it has its flaws. But I’m sure multitasking and Flash will all be added in good time. I hear the iPhone OS4 (with multitasking and files) will also work on the iPad soon. The USB ports don’t bother me. I can always sync photos and music from my Mac. The only thing I’m pissed about is the camera. I can’t live without my daily dose of Skype! Hopefully, Apple will fix everything soon. I know they will. So basically, my message to all readers: The iPad is a great device but I recommend getting it somewhere in June/July.
Skip this and go straight to the AXIOTRON ModBook which is the only real Mac Tablet out there. This is nothing but a FAT iPod Touch. Actually, not even….
Thanks…
Unfortunately, the same formula doesn’t work with the iPad since we have laptops for all the bigger tasks and an iPhone for when we don’t want to pull it out of our bags. If all this is is a giant iPhone, then what is the point? Great…all the iPhone apps will work on the iPad but why? I have Twitter installed on my MacBook Pro. I can check hockey scores by going to website already. Sure, it might be a bit easier to surf on an iPad compared to an iPhone but is it really easier than on my MacBook?
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