Solid Thinking

Apple iPad

Apple iPad was revealed yesterday and the initial reactions seem to have split the market. There are those that were awed and drolled over the beautiful slimline pictures of it, and there are those that are disappointed and disenchanted very quickly.

So, do you want an Apple iPad? Are you wondering where to get an Apple iPad? When is Apple iPad going to be released? Before that, have a look at the good things and bad things about it.

Apple iPad Features: Good Things About Apple iPad

It’s very easy to summarise the good things about Apple iPad, and most is in a rather emotional way as with any Apple products:

• Beautiful slim lines, shiny and appealing; Stylish, almost a supermodel-like especially compared to IBM’s tablet PCs.
• Multitouch. Ever zoomed in on a picture using your fingers? Ever watched the movie Minority Report (starring Tom Cruise)? Do you like iPod Touch and iPhone?
• Applications available over Apple Apps store (FYI iPhone has over a hundred thousand apps available).
• 10 hours of battery life.
• Simplicity in design. Intuitive usage, a hallmark of Apple’s popular gadgets.
• Powerful enough
• 9.7″ screen, which is great if you compare it to Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.
• Relatively affordable price at around NZ$700 – NZ$1500, or so they said.

Apple iPad Problems: Bad Things About Apple iPad

So, what are the bad things? Well, the early reports pointed to:

• Lack of built-in camera, USB ports, and memory card reader. All these are available as separate module to buy, but do we really want to carry all the extra gadgets and complicate the simple design? At the very least, they could’ve included the camera (small enough in an iPhone) and the USB ports, or one USB port at least.
• iPad incorporates a new Apple A4 processor which clocks at about 1GHz, apparently. That puts it on par with Google’s Nexus One phone in processing power – roughly the same as many netbooks, but still significantly less than a laptop.
• Limited resolution to 1024×768. This also only gives you a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than the beautiful 16:9 aspect ratio that makes watching movies great.
• Applications are limited to only those sanctioned through Apple App Store. Running a 3rd party application would be a challenge, although I am sure someone would hack it within the first week.
• Only videos contained in the user’s iTunes library or converted to Apple’s video formats will play, and files cannot be dragged and dropped on to the device, as is the case with most other computers.
• Lack of ability to multitask, like a netbook or laptop can. This is a big issue, meaning you do one thing at a time, no running background tasks, just one. Perhaps simplicity is what some people like though.
• Not sure about search-copy-paste functionality. They may or may not be absence. But the fact that they are not specifically stated is a big worry for a “computer” (as opposed to a phone or MP3 player).
• No HDMI output to TV set. It only supports 720p video playback instead of the HD 1080p.
• There is no full GPS support either but the more expensive 3G models, set to be released a month after the standard models, support “assisted GPS”, which pinpoint your location using nearby mobile towers.
• Lack of support for Flash = No Farmville-on-the-go.
• Too big to fit in your pocket, and too small to be a laptop.
• Max iPad = Maxipad = iTampon?

So, an underpowered computer? An oversized MP3 player? An overspecced e-reader?

Yesterday I said that I would definitely get one. Today I am not so sure anymore. It may change when I see it, or when I touch it. But for now I’d just wait and see.

And, as we expect, it didn’t take long for them to make this:

Hittler responds to Apple iPad

References:

• Apple’s official iPad Features
• Stuff.co.nz – Apple’s iPad: I’m not convinced
• Stuff.co.nz – Busting the iPad hype
• The iPad – How it stacks up
• iPad Technical Specifications