I bought an iPad a few days ago. It is a very sexy-looking device and there are some really cool apps for it. But there are also a few issues with the iPad.
- There’s no Flash and hence I don’t get the “whole internet”. Same with the iPhone.
- It’s quite heavy so needs to be balanced on a surface when using it for long periods. I’ve more or less worked out the best positions to hold and balance the thing. Playing “Real Racing HD” is fun but my arms soon start drooping. Perhaps I should get stronger arms!
- A lot of apps designed for the iPhone / iPod Touch don’t look too hot when expanded onto the iPad’s larger display. Hopefully that will change once developers bring out more apps for the iPad.
- I think that 99.99% of computers/hubs cannot charge the iPad from a USB port. The iPad requires a heavy current draw to charge the batteries and these exceed the USB specifications. So you’re mostly stuck with having the iPad charge from the dedicated mains adapter. But it’s such a short USB cable too which make things awkward when trying to use the iPad whilst it’s recharging.
- The iPad seems so…shiny and slippery. So much so that you’ll be wanting to get a case and screen protector for it ASAP.
- There’s no camera. So that kinda kills video messaging; my £300 netbook has a camera for goodness sake!
- It’s bloody expensive for it is.
- Many decent apps are not free. So once you start downloading all these apps it’s like “death by a thousand cuts”.
But there are also a lot of really good things about the iPad too.
- Looks sexy and cool!
- Some apps are awesome.
- The game “Angry Birds HD” is so addictive. Brilliant.
- It’s great for toddlers and kids; the interactivity is perfect for learning. Just make sure that the iPad is protected when letting the kids loose on it (no, it’s not an expensive toy, thank you!).
It is an improving product and perhaps we’ll even get Adobe Flash on it one day! Maybe a second generation or third generation iPad will sort out all the kinks? But I do recognise that such a device had to be built within certain constraints. As the engineering saying goes, “Cheap, tough, light…choose two!”.
I’m still going to buy a laptop, though, as that still provides me with better productivity features with my workflow. Depending what happens later on this year, perhaps a new breed of touch-screen laptops may offer me more.
OK, that’s all for now.
Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2010
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