Apple iPad Tablet is iFail

[Brian]

The new Apple iPad Tablet PC is revealed, and it is such an iDisappointment, much like a more primitive giant ipod Touch, the thing is getting bashed everywhere on the net. Check out our very own article on it (and if you have points to add, please please reply and help us make the article better).

And please Digg it . Try stumbling and stuff too .

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[ktiedt]

You do realize that about half these reasons are identical to why the iPhone would fail... Just sayin. As for Flash... I applaud Apple for not bending on this subject, Flash is horrible and should never have been allowed to become as mainstream as it did (in terms of the web). Flash is not friendly to mobile devices in the fact that it requires even more CPU (less battery life) time to process and run and creates LARGER download sizes. Actually I'll just reply to each point in line here.

#1 No Multitasking
Mobile devices prime focuses are mainly 3 things; 1) portable 2) battery life 3) functional -- multitasking does not fit into battery life well at all, in fact most people would probably complain about crappy battery life if multi tasking was allowed so its a lose lose, you'll complain either way. Its also worth noting that the iPhone is capable of multitasking (not out of the box -- and yes it does kill the battery much faster)

#2 It Has an Awkward Design
Have you used one? How can you complain about awkwardness of something you've never touched, much less seen in person -- iPhones were trashed for the non tactile keyboard and people got used to it -- I really see no reason why the iPad would be very awkward at all, unless you were trying to use it while riding a bike or something -- There is 0 reason why one would expect this to have to be perfectly flat to use either.

#3 No Adobe Flash
See opening statement, Youtube has an app builtin.... failed argument there

#4 No USB, Need Adapters
Its not a laptop, what are you expecting to use with it? Its not designed to replace your phone.... so Skype or VOIP isnt a valid argument... its not a homework device so you shouldnt need external HDs, maybe to transfer pics to... but you do that via iTunes/iPhoto or whatever program windows uses.... Multiple USB devices huh? Really stretching to make this a valid "failure"

#5 AT&T Once Again
Better than Sprint which the Kindle is tied to... Verizon passed up their chance at supporting Apple products already... As I recall, they were the first company that Apple approached with the iPhone back in the day (I could be wrong there)

#6 Memory Business Model
This applies to most any mobile devices this day and age... Surely the HD is just a solid state SATA drive which I'm sure will be replaced by users soon enough. Its a mobile device not a portable game system... I'd wait and see how elaborate the applications for this device are before complaining that it needs more space already.... Certainly not a movie library, so movies wouldn't be permanent fixtures on the HD...

#7 Touch Keyboard
Apple keyboards are USB... so if Apple keyboards work... surely others will as well (albeit may need a homemade or cheap adapter)

#8 App Store Again
Only drawback to this is the censorship factor thats come up recently (like Google Voice apps -- which wouldnt apply to this anyways really). Do you have a choice of browsers on every other mobile device? I know on my Windows Mobile phone... I didnt.... and I hated IE

#9 No Cameras
Doesn't apply to the functions it was targeting... do you really want every mobile device you carry to have a camera, be capable of VOIP and web browsing, etc. (thats where most of your arguments are going)

#10 No Removable Battery
The Macbook Pro batteries are capable of the advertised battery life... why wouldn't this be the same? My 17 MBP can get me almost 8hrs of battery usage if I need it... Apple moved away from removable batteries because designing around removable meant less battery life, larger (overall device) sizes and heavier.

#11 No HDMI/DVI Output
Its not a media center... I call this another stretch for a reason.

#12 No Widescreen
This one I do agree with... in this day and age... why not target wide screen especially since one of its functions is mobile movies

#13 No GPS
For the 3G version of this, I would say this a definite downside -- on the wifi only version.... (less permanent internet connectivity makes this a less key feature)

#14 It's Large, Slow, and Clunky
I fail to see large, slow or clunky here... 1Ghz for a mobile non data processing, non hard core game device.... with processor designed specifically around its needs (more efficient albeit it slightly more expensive probably in terms of cost -- but allows for smaller overall design as well)

[Brian]

(01-28-2010 03:02 PM)ktiedt Wrote: Guests cannot see links in the messages. Please register to forum by clicking here to see links.You do realize that about half these reasons are identical to why the iPhone would fail... Just sayin. As for Flash... I applaud Apple for not bending on this subject, Flash is horrible and should never have been allowed to become as mainstream as it did (in terms of the web). Flash is not friendly to mobile devices in the fact that it requires even more CPU (less battery life) time to process and run and creates LARGER download sizes. Actually I'll just reply to each point in line here.

Yes, but the iPhone's main functionality is the phone, and it provides some extra features to keep you company at a long trip. Or to quickly check your email while moving around. The iPad is advertised as a netbook rival but falls flat on its face. Even if it works as nicely as an iPhone.

Flash is extremely important if I am going to buy a damn 3G dataplan, I'm going to watch movies on hulu, or I'm going to install divX and watch videos elsewhere (which I suspect also doesn't exist in this). Why would I pay for internet just for email/light-surfing if I can do it anyway with an iPhone or MyTouch OR my own laptop/desktop computer? What is the advantage of buying a netbook then? Flash is mainstream because it works and can have animate images.

Quote:#1 No Multitasking
Mobile devices prime focuses are mainly 3 things; 1) portable 2) battery life 3) functional -- multitasking does not fit into battery life well at all, in fact most people would probably complain about crappy battery life if multi tasking was allowed so its a lose lose, you'll complain either way. Its also worth noting that the iPhone is capable of multitasking (not out of the box -- and yes it does kill the battery much faster)

And yet there are extended battery netbooks that last 8 hours, and I can buy extra batteries if I really needed it on long trips. If they are removing features to improve battery life, then there is nothing special about Apple technology and we should not bother buying it.

Quote:#2 It Has an Awkward Design
Have you used one? How can you complain about awkwardness of something you've never touched, much less seen in person -- iPhones were trashed for the non tactile keyboard and people got used to it -- I really see no reason why the iPad would be very awkward at all, unless you were trying to use it while riding a bike or something -- There is 0 reason why one would expect this to have to be perfectly flat to use either.

Video... There's video of it, and I use my imagination, and my bet is, once people actually handle it, they will discover my analysis is very close to what they feel. I am not bothered by the fact that it is a touch screen keyboard on a smartphone, because it's not like I am constantly typing one a smartphone. However, if I'm going to rival a netbook, then the keyboard being touch screen would be an obstacle not a convenience.

Quote:#4 No USB, Need Adapters
Its not a laptop, what are you expecting to use with it? Its not designed to replace your phone.... so Skype or VOIP isnt a valid argument... its not a homework device so you shouldnt need external HDs, maybe to transfer pics to... but you do that via iTunes/iPhoto or whatever program windows uses.... Multiple USB devices huh? Really stretching to make this a valid "failure"

Ok, so it's not designed to be a phone, it's not designed to be a laptop so I can't plug my camera or anything, and it's not a homework/classroom device so I can't store too much stuff in it. My, why should I buy this product again? Why shouldn't I get a netbook for 300-400$ and instead pay Apple 500$ for this piece of crap?

Quote:#5 AT&T Once Again
Better than Sprint which the Kindle is tied to... Verizon passed up their chance at supporting Apple products already... As I recall, they were the first company that Apple approached with the iPhone back in the day (I could be wrong there)

Yes, but now Verizon has Droid motorola and T-Mobile has MyTouch both are equally as good as the iPhone and less expensive with better service. I agree, perhaps the only reason to get an iPad is to read books, but the Kindle is better designed for this, couldn't I just load my books beforehand onto a Kindle?

Quote:#6 Memory Business Model
This applies to most any mobile devices this day and age... Surely the HD is just a solid state SATA drive which I'm sure will be replaced by users soon enough. Its a mobile device not a portable game system... I'd wait and see how elaborate the applications for this device are before complaining that it needs more space already.... Certainly not a movie library, so movies wouldn't be permanent fixtures on the HD...

Then it doesn't rival a netbook. Apple can't claim this is the new "netbook" or "Tablet PC" of Apple. Does it even have a pen where I can draw stuff? It's just a giant smartphone without the phone part.

Quote:#7 Touch Keyboard
Apple keyboards are USB... so if Apple keyboards work... surely others will as well (albeit may need a homemade or cheap adapter)

Again I have to buy another accessory to fulfill my needs.

Quote:#8 App Store Again
Only drawback to this is the censorship factor thats come up recently (like Google Voice apps -- which wouldnt apply to this anyways really). Do you have a choice of browsers on every other mobile device? I know on my Windows Mobile phone... I didnt.... and I hated IE

Your argument is that the iPad is just another ipod Touch but bigger screen. My argument is that it doesn't rival the netbook. If it's just another mobile device, then why not just buy a smartphone??? Why buy something as clunky and large as this? And If I think smartphones are too slow, why not just buy a netbook then?

It's like you designed an electric car, and you say "look you're free from gas" but the car can only got 50 miles unless it is recharged.

Quote:#9 No Cameras
Doesn't apply to the functions it was targeting... do you really want every mobile device you carry to have a camera, be capable of VOIP and web browsing, etc. (thats where most of your arguments are going)

Quote:#10 No Removable Battery
The Macbook Pro batteries are capable of the advertised battery life... why wouldn't this be the same? My 17 MBP can get me almost 8hrs of battery usage if I need it... Apple moved away from removable batteries because designing around removable meant less battery life, larger (overall device) sizes and heavier.

Making something removable does not mean it has to be larger or heavier. Are you saying that if I designed a laptop without a removable battery, it would last longer? Great I have 8 hours of battery, but some people make 16 hour trips every year to see family and they'd like something that lasts longer.

Quote:#11 No HDMI/DVI Output
Its not a media center... I call this another stretch for a reason.

Then it doesn't rival laptops or netbooks. Just another feature it lacks making it less useful and less enticing to buy.

Quote:#12 No Widescreen
This one I do agree with... in this day and age... why not target wide screen especially since one of its functions is mobile movies

I'm glad we agree on something. Another missing feature that could have done well. And let me be clear, there may be 14 reasons not to buy an iPad, but not all of them will be 100% necessary, some of them it can do without but that doesn't mean someone won't miss and demand those features.

Quote:#13 No GPS
For the 3G version of this, I would say this a definite downside -- on the wifi only version.... (less permanent internet connectivity makes this a less key feature)

Another missing feature...

Quote:#14 It's Large, Slow, and Clunky
I fail to see large, slow or clunky here... 1Ghz for a mobile non data processing, non hard core game device.... with processor designed specifically around its needs (more efficient albeit it slightly more expensive probably in terms of cost -- but allows for smaller overall design as well)

And yet most netbooks come with 1.6 GHz, and are less expensive. Again why am I buying this iPad? It is as large if not larger than a netbook. (IT's as large as a kindle). So why shouldn't I spend the money on a good netbook? What motivation does one have to buy iPad?

[ktiedt]

Too lazy for all the quotes

1) with netbooks you sacrifice screen and image quality for portablity and battery life and HD size -- with iPad you sacrifice HD size and some features you may not have used your netbook for in the first place

2) the netbook rival pitch was on the basis that netbooks are used for similar features -- not full laptop replacements --- I can type quite fast on my iphone as it is, I dont expect this would be much harder to type on

3) guess you skipped this one

4) if you value screen/picture quality over extra features you wont use... I for one prefer buying products that have higher screen resolutions and picture quality over cheaper products -- I like clear crisp quality pictures when watching movies/videos - HD whenever possible

5) Better service is a completely subjective statement -- cheaper maybe -- Where I live, Verizon nor T-Mobile would be viable alternatives to AT&T so... cant speak much for their coverage. -- Kindle can display books in grayscale... iPad offers coll

6) For the avg netbook user, do they do more than light browsing, and email? If so then yes I would say it does rival them.. .if they use their netbook for more than the features provided by the iPad then no it may not... but what is the general reason for getting a netbook -- it certainly isnt performance -- and they arent exactly upgradable really either -- maybe slight upgrades in RAM thats about it

7) most netbooks have tiny keyboards too so its not for tons of typing... the 2 different netbooks I've used were completely disgusting and nearly impossible for me to type on. (not that I've typed on an iPad but its keyboard appears to be the size of the BT keyboard from apple which I have used -- and is about the size of a standard laptop keyboard) --- if you are looking for a full computer/laptop why are you buying an iPad anyways

8) Believe it or not, smartphones cant go everywhere... nor can phones with cameras -- by leaving these features off (and making models w/o cell cards) Apple actually opens them up to be used in many more possible roles. You can download a pdf or text file to most smartphones... why buy a kindle... Your argument is very "me me me" based... not very objectively looking at what others may see/use... Sadly the best part of your argument is the electric car analogy... (simply because its true, they actually do avg around 50 miles before requiring a recharge!)

9) See above comment (even though you didnt argue this point -- may as well point it back to the relevant data)

10) unless you plan on putting a piece of duct tape over the battery to hold it in place, removable makes adding material to the battery to allow for latching/securing the battery in place, as well as protecting the batter when removed and since it must all be neatly packaged in a removable shell, contacts must be provided to connect the battery to the internals some how meaning typically a few contacts only on the battery to help keep costs down -- now if we remove all that and mount just the battery alone in a non removable place, you remove the need for extra casing, latching/securing brackets and the space that would have previously gone to such things becomes available for more cells in the battery.... since the battery doesnt have to be removed/replaced on a regular basis the charging system can be wired into the battery on a per cell basis w/o creating extra overhead in providing contacts for each cell on the outside of the batterys shell -- meaning more accurate charging of the batteries (vs just charging all the cells at once)

11) non of the netbooks I've used had HDMI/TV outs either... iPods have a TV out adapter... never seen anyone use one either... (iPhones had one too -- same thing though.. never seen it used -- its still not touted as being a media system for home entertainment....

12) in most cases these complaints are because someone wants more than what the product was designed for -- unless its a feature similar to MMS on the iPhone (phones SHOULD support MMS!) then its really a matter of someone expecting the goose to lay a golden egg. "I wish the iPad would scramble eggs for me" hardly makes it an iFailure -- just means its not the device you need to solve your needs... there will always be someone that needs something that any device may not provide -- simply means that device isnt the one for them -- no device is ever, nor ever will be "the one device to rule them all" in terms of satisfying user requirements

13) Since you wish to compare this to netbooks/laptops -- name a laptop that comes with GPS -- iPad supports BT and there are GPS addons for iPhone/iPods so more than likely they will work with iPad too -- yet another device to purchase -- possibly but only if you really need that functionality otherwise its money saved

14) motivation is in the features you want and the quality of the screen you want, currently no netbooks would ever satisfy my preference for high quality screens (That I've seen) and a netbook would never aesthetically fit into some places I could see an iPad coming into use (in home automation type setups)

Overall, this sounds more like "why the iPad wouldn't work for me" article... not a "why the iPad will fail" article and my take on this device is, while my phone my do music,video, games and internet, if I had a bigger screen that was capable of doing what the iPad does -- many trips I would probably make w/o my laptop. Sure I could do it all on my phone but -- saving battery on my phone is a plus, bigger screen a plus, and ideally a HD widescreen (which in this case we are missing) would be a big plus --

People are paying $400 or something for B/W (Grayscale) kindles.... If iPad could support the same book formats, I'd say no questions asked, iPad would be the choice most people chose

Personally I cant wait to see which home automation company jumps on making these into wireless full house remotes first ;)

[bluehairman]

Why don't you just buy an iPod touch......

[Brian]

For many students that use netbooks they do a lot of multitasking, hence why the huge internet hatred toward iPad ...

The reason not to buy the iPad is because it lacks so many features, not just one of them. Isolating one reason and saying 'well not everyone needs this' is just an excuse.

If I need multitasking, webcam, more memory, flash, programs not available in appstores, heavy emailing or doc-writing, plugging into projector... Then I will buy a less expensive netbook which provides all these features... why buy a more expensive Apple Tablet?

If I need a camera on the back, light browsing of internet, GPS, or phone capability... I'll buy an iPhone or a MyTouch, or a Verizon Droid, which will give me better service too.

If I need to take notes fast in class, draw a beautiful piece of artwork digitally, then I'll buy a Tablet PC from Fujitsu or ASUS... Why would I buy a damn Apple iPad that doesn't have any of these features or even a pen?


You SEE the problem now??? There is no operation that makes the iPad unique enough to purchase. It's utterly useless. Maybe if I have a senior citizen who doesn't understand computers much and just wants to check email, then I might buy this, but then again I think, HMMM, but why pay more money to apple when I can do that with a netbook?

[NicolasKohr]

I think I might have to agree with Brian. Although the iPad will probably make A LOT OF MONEY... It still won't be absolutely necessary. It will be like buying a moon roof on a car.

[Mike]

I don't see the point of buying this. Why would you want this instead of a laptop? Laptops are really cheap these days... and can do millions of times more things than these ipads can.
You can't fit an laptop in your pocket, that's why an itouch... as limited as it may be... is possible. And why i have one ;D

But you can't take this thing anywhere you can't take a laptop. Plus a laptop has the added benefit of closing so the screen won't be scratched, a keyboard, usb ports (wireless internet anywhere), flash... etc.

+ there are touch screen laptops: Guests cannot see links in the messages. Please register to forum by clicking here to see links.

[bluehairman]

Apple only sells products because they look 'cool'. And their touch screen is simply the best out there..
But I hate apple with a passion.