Apple iPad - The Latest
By Karl Susman | January 27, 2010
This device is not going to make it.
I sat eagerly and watched all of the Apple iPad news as it was happening. Yes, I sat, with multiple windows open and read all about it, as it happened. The name, iPad, which I actually liked was the first thing. Good. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. As sad as it makes me to write this up, here is the latest on the sad saga of the iPad.
The screen is big and beautiful, but wait, there is no camera. Hmmm, well video conferencing aside, my iPhone has a camera, and even the latest version of iPod Nano’s do. Sorry, no camera on the iPad.
Always connected 3G is a big deal, yes indeed it is! Unfortunately, Apple took the wrong path and shook hands with the devil again and came up with AT&T as it’s 3G partner. Sure, the device is unlocked, meaning you should be able to also use T-Mobile (In the United States) but we have no way of knowing what the availability or cost of that would be. AT&T can’t handle its own network traffic now, can you just imagine how this is going to literally bring AT&T’s network to its knees? My poor iPhone. It thinks it has bad service now, let’s toss a few iPad’s in the area to eat up bandwidth too.
With such a fast processor, and the availability of iWorks for word processing and the like, I’d expect to have the chance to really utilize all the power this baby has. Unfortunately, from what we have seen there is no way to multi-task and run multiple applications at one time on the iPad. With this bright and shiny new Apple manufactured 1GHz A4 processor, surely we can be trusted to run, say two applications at once?
The battery on the iPad is built in. Ok, yes, we’re learning that is going to be the way things are moving forward, I haven’t forgotten. I also haven’t forgotten that historically I get less than 1/2 the reported battery life on any Macbook or Macbook Pro I’ve ever owned. All I can say it battery life on this frightens the heck out of me.
Apple was also showing off a keyboard dock that would be available for the iPad. Ok so now any hint of optimism I had that the built in on-screen keyboard, especially so large would be a winner is lost. How can they tout a new product with the on-screen keyboard and then kick themselves in the eye and say, here, use a real keyboard, we know you’ll really want one. No, no, No!
I’m also in a state of shock that Apple would make a deal for a cellular data plan that has the word 'unlimited' in it. Haven’t we all learned yet, that unlimited does NOT mean unlimited? This is very un-Apple friendly and they really should call a spade a spade. Oh, and even though we have been promised tethering from AT&T for months now, it remains unseen. Perhaps they are holding that back to entice people to sign up for yet another data plan with them for their new iPad. But wait, no cancellation fee on that new plan! Well, gee thanks.
You know what I see in the iPad? I see a large iPod Touch, that by Apple’s own proud assertion will be a huge success for developers. Now they can sell the same game, say on multiple devices in multiple formats for the 'best' experience. Books? Books? Great, another eReader. I’ll pick one for a 1/3 of the price, thank you very much. This is a device that was designed not to fill a necessity, as one would hope, it was born to enable yet another platform, another gadget, another 'i' item to sell its very successful line of App store applications and 3rd party accessories. There is nothing that this device can do, as shown today that say my iPhone can’t do. Ok, it is smaller. Thanks. Anything else? Anything? Anything??
UPDATE: 1/27/10 3:45PM
iPad DOES have speakers - thank you for correction. iPad DOES support Push Notifications out of the box -
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Comments to date: 6. Page 1 of 1. Average Rating:  Karl Los Angeles | 6:58pm on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010  | Yes, yes I probably will! |
Chris Jobs SF | 6:33pm on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 | Everyone talks outof both sides of their mouth. Apple is the best period |
Stevie home | 6:17pm on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 | You still going to buy one I bet |
Dani Oakland | 2:04pm on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 | USA Today, dreadful though they are, reported that it does come with a word processor (Pages, which is so much better than Word in my experience) as well as spreadsheet (Numbers) and powerpoint-style (Keynote) programs. |
Karl Los Angeles | 1:30pm on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 | You are correct! I have updated the article. |
Jacob Boston | 1:27pm on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010  | The iPad does indeed have a built in speaker, go to the apple tech specs at: apple .com /ipad /specs |
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