My thoughts on the iPad

?So. . .like The Phantom Menace and McCain’s pick for running mate before it, after weeks and months of hype the iPad appears to be a bit of a letdown to the mainstream public – myself included.  After having some discussions with some of my Apple-loving brethren who think I “just don’t get it”, I’d like to clarify my position somewhat.

First of all, full disclosure:  I’m blogging from my MacBook.  My position on technology is this:  give me something I need to do what I need done, and do it well.  I need no more and no less.  The MacBook is the best portable computer on the market, so I own one.  Same goes for my iPhone – give me a device that lets me carry one thing as opposed to several, and do it better than other devices.  To me, the iPhone fit that bill, so I own one.  I also have a PC laptop for the things my MacBook can’t do but are less critical and day-to-day.  I have no allegiance, blind or otherwise, to any one manufacturer, platform, or technical ideology.  Just do the things I need really well.  Hear that, Cupertino Catholics?

Now, on to the iPad.  My argument against is simply this:  It’s a big iPod touch.  That’s it.  That’s all it is.  And you need look no further than Apple’s website for confirmation.  The “Features” page lists the most prominent (if not all) features this device will ship with:  Safari, Mail, Photos, Video, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, App Store, iBooks, Maps, Notes, Calendar, Contacts, Home Screen, Spotlight Search.  Yep – I carry all of that around in my pocket today, on my iPhone, including the browser that can’t display Flash-based content.  There are no improvements here (“looks different”/”larger” is not an improvement), so I’m not sold.

The notable exception is iBooks.  I’ve been investigating an eBook reader for quite some time now, and figured I’d wait until this device was introduced before I started seriously shopping.  Even with the availability of Apple’s iBooks application, I’m not convinced the iPad is a “Kindle/Nook Killer”.  See, eBook readers are equipped with a technology that makes the screen appear more like a printed page, with adjustments to contrast and whatnot, so the reading experience is easier on the eyes.  From what I can surmise, the iBooks app is just a document display app (the Apple site touts its “high resolution LCD screen” and nothing else when talking about the quality of the display of an eBook) – if I had to read an entire book in the way I read web pages, I’d go blind in a day.  So again – this doesn’t appear to do eBooks better than a Kindle or a Nook, so I’m not sold.

So how about some real meaty applications?  So far all I see is iWork, and they buried it on the App Store page when discussing functionality.  I don’t know a single human being who actually does anything with iWork, unless they’re forced to due to an “any port in a storm”-type restriction.  The MacBook I’m typing on has Office for Mac installed, which is what I use for productivity.  iWork doesn’t do what I need, so it’s not a selling point.  Again – something I already have does it better.

I think the non Apple-flavored-Kool-Aid drinkers who just want a functional device that doesn’t duplicate what they’ve already got will be waiting for the “3G” edition of the iPad before plunking down $500-$900 for something that does what a myriad of other devices do at 1/5 the size.  Mr. Jobs?  If you’re reading this, and you really, really, REALLY want my money, here’s what you’ve gotta include in iPad 2.0:

1.  A proper eBook application, incorporating Digital Ink technology.  Steal a couple Kindle or Nook developers and get them to write one.
2.  Let me make phone calls.  I could argue for replacing (or, more reasonably, supplementing) my iPhone with an iPad if I could make phone calls from the iPad – and don’t talk to me about Google Voice or Skype.  If I’m going to pay AT&T anyway, I want one throat to choke when my service is bad.
3.  Apps.  Real ones.  Safari and iWork means you’ve got enough of an OS kernel on there that you can make other stuff work.
4.  A keyboard dock that doesn’t look like it’s going to be recalled for causing these things to crash to ground.  And how about a wall mount, in case I want to use it in my kitchen or bedroom as a secondary TV or information source?  Maybe with some sexy little speakers on the side?

Let’s start there.  Until then, I’ll stick with what I’ve got.

Tags: tech