After years of hype, Apple has finally introduced its tablet, a product called the iPad. In a nutshell, the iPad is an over glorified iPod Touch that is trying to capture a market that doesn’t yet exist. That market is the category of devices that live in the kitchen or stay on the coffee table. The iPad, however, does do some things that the iPod Touch and the iPhone can’t do.
First of all let me make one thing clear, although it looks like I don’t like the iPad, I do. Even though it isn’t as impressive as I hoped it would be, I still think that is an impressive device that leaves room for improvement in the future. Now, down to business.
First, the good. The main thing that everyone will be concerned about is the price. The iPad is one of those devices that does not have the “Apple Tax” on it. The iPad is offered in both Wifi and Wifi+3G models. The Wifi model starts at $499 for 16 Gigs. It goes up $100 dollars from there. Storage capacity goes up to 64 Gigs for $699. Add $130 dollars to each of the prices for the Wifi+3G version. I believe that these prices are competitive for this type of product. It is more expensive than a netbook/smartphone and yet less expensive than a laptop. The device also sits somewhere in between those two devices as well.
One of the major features of the iPad that Apple touted at their press event was the new iBooks feature that is avaliable on the iPad. This feature was added to put the iPad in direct competition with Amazon’s Kindle. The book prices are are going to be around the same price and the books can be purchased through the iTunes/App/iBooks store. While the iBook app is certainly more flash than the Kindle (you can actually turn the page with your finger, it looks like a real book, has a book shelf, etc.), I would still pick a Kindle. I like the E-Ink screen that the Kindle has. It doesn’t strain my eyes when I’m reading late at night. If I look at a computer screen late at night, however, it strains my eyes and makes it hard to read. I also like the fact that the Kindle has a “free” (included with the cost of the device) no contract lifetime EVDO connection from Sprint. With the iPad however, you have to pay extra to get a 3G connection from AT&T.
Another great thing about the iPad is the amazing Internet browser. It essentially is a large version of Mobile Safari (the browser on the iPhone and the iPod Touch) however the UI has been tweaked a little and it runs faster because the iPad has some more power behind it. Also, because the iPad has a bigger screen, you can see even more of the website, if not all of it, at one time. There is one gaping hole in the middle of Apple’s plan to make this an amazing device. That hole is the fact that the iPad does not support Flash! So now you can forget about going to Hulu, Vimeo, TV.com, JibJab, and any of the other sites on the Internet that use Flash.
The iPad also runs modified versions of the iWork applications as well as all of the iPhone applications that are already on the App Store. Judging from the demos of the iWork apps that they showed at the event, they look amazing. The UI has been completely redone to support multitouch gestures in all apps. For current iPhone Apps, they can either be run in “windowed” or black box mode (runs as would appear on an iPhone screen and has a black box around it on the rest of the screen. They can also be run in full screen mode however you loose some of the visual quality when you blow it up.
Now for the bad. Other than the aforementioned eye strain and lack of Flash support, there is one more major feature left out of the iPad. A camera! This “tablet” would have been an amazing videoconfrencing tool as well as a good, albeit large, camera. Also, in typical Apple fashion, this device also has very limited connectivity. You have to buy an adapter to connect it to pretty much anything under the sun. It does have an accelerometer and a compass, as well as Bluetooth and a 30-pin dock connector.
Other things that aren’t that great about the iPad are still no multitasking, no HDMI out, the touch keyboard (for some), 4:3 instead of 16:9, and the fact that it doesn’t support T-Mobile 3G here in the US.
In conclusion, I have to ask myself the following five questions.
Is it perfect? No.
Does it do everything I want it to do? No.
Is it impressive for a 1st gen product? Yes.
Is it a luxury item? Pretty much, but I don’t think that will stop people from buying it.
Will I buy it? Most likely.
The iPad is a great new device from Apple. Even though some people think that it may not get very far, I think it will. I also believe that we will see some amazing things coming from it whenever it is updated, either through a software update or a hardware refresh.
Do you have any thoughts on the iPad? Leave a comment!
