Apple iPad. Really? So that’s the best name Jobs and co. can come up with? For a device nearly a decade in the making, it is truly uninspiring and quite frankly useless. Even thou there was unbelievable hype around this device, it offers nothing new or necessary at all.
The iPad is an overgrown iPhone at best. The data entry system is not revolutionary at all, but rather quite plain and dull. As for being a ground-breaking device as it was claimed to be, it is quite the opposite. Simply put, it is an ebook reader with net surfing support.
Take a look at the specifications:-
Hardware
Color display 9.7 inches (25 cm) LED backlit in-plane switching LCD
Processor 1 GHz Apple A4 system-on-a-chip
Graphics 1024×768 pixel (XGA resolution), 20cm × 15cm, 132ppi
Storage 16, 32 or 64 GB flash memory
Wireless Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
3G Internet 7.2 Mbps HSDPA using micro-SIM card tray (3G model only)
Operating system iPhone OS
Battery Built-in lithium-polymer 25 W·h (10 h usage, 1 month standby)
Weight 1.5 pounds (680 g), 1.6 pounds (730 g) (3G Model)
Dimensions 9.56 inches (24.3 cm) x 7.47 inches (19.0 cm) x 0.5 inches (1.3 cm)
Very unimpressive specifications as you can see.
It does come with data plans, being a 3G device, under coverage of AT&T.
- 250MB monthly data limit for $14.99
- Unlimited data for $29.99The device will have accessories released by Apple, namely a keyboard and a docking port.
Being native to the App Store is not necessarily a good thing. The App Store is a closed ecosystem governed by the Kingdom of Apple. Hence there is still no support for voice apps like Skype and Google Voice.
This device has no camera. Therefore no videoconferencing or taking photos. That’s actually worse than an iPhone.
No USB/Firewire ports, hence no connectivity for devices for syncing or file transferring. That is plain awful. How can a device not have any USB ports? Well this an Apple device, and they aren’t very USB friendly at all.
No video outputs and widescreen support, so much for being a full featured multimedia device. However, you can add a docking port to output to a monitor.
As we have come to expect from Apple, there is no Adobe Flash support. That is a huge disappoint as many sites withy streaming video will not be viewable. I do wonder how iPhone users can do without that.
Lack of multitasking has always been an Apple issue, but that has never bothered their fans before, so I doubt it will bother them now.
The iPad will be available in two months for the WiFi only version and in three months the time the WiFi and 3G version will be out. the pricing will be:-
- 16GB WiFi only $499, WiFi + 3G $629
- 32GB WiFi only $599, WiFi + 3G $729
- 64GB WiFi only $699, WiFi + 3G $829
At the end of the day, Apple fans will always buy an Apple product, regardless of how useless it it. So for those people, any review is meaningless.
For people like myself for whom specifications and features do matter, I say
No thanks.
No thanks at all.