Apple iPad: Disappointment

I was pretty optimistic about the iPad; something in development this long had to be at least good, if not great). Well, as I was watching the live updates from gdgt.com I was very excited. It seemed great. I’ve had a 7″ tablet, a Samsung Q1U, for more than two years now, and while very functional, it’s far from being perfect. I thought that maybe Apple could finally make this product category finally make sense, just like they revitalized the smartphone market. However, the more I think about the iPad the less I like it.

Jobs started the presentation by bashing netbooks about how they don’t do anything well. Ironically, the iPad ends up being worse.

• On-screen keyboard: Really? This is the most annoying thing about small tablet devices, text entry is imprecise and slow because of  barely usable on-screen keyboards. Sure, you can say it just takes getting used to, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. Some people can crank out text messages very fast on simple phones’ number pads, but no one in their right mind would say it’s efficient.
• iPhone OS: This is a blessing and a curse. On one hand you have access to the huge App Store. On the other, it’s a very proprietary and closed OS.
• Supposed full web-browser: You can browse the Web in all it’s glory! Jobs claims that as good as on a PC. This is true, if you completely overlook that most websites incorporate Adobe’s Flash in one way or another. Yes, we should stop depending on Flash content and HTML 5 is awesome, but that’s not how things work right now.
• No multi-tasking: So with all this processing power from their custom Apple A4 CPU they still can’t bake multi-tasking into the device. So I can’t use Pandora while browsing? So I can’t reference a web page while I’m writing a paper on iWork? I can’t read news and leave my instant messenger open in the background? This oversight alone is enough for me to discard the device. They can get away with this on the iPhone and iPod Touch, not on a $500-$829 device that’s supposed to replace a netbook. Netbooks are slow when they’re multitasking, yes. At least they let me do it if I want to though.
• Ho-hum features: There is no innovation in this device to make it stand out from other tablets that have come and gone aside from the pretty Apple user interface. My Samsung Q1U, released a little under 3 years before the iPad,  has a similar feature set and a lot more (dual webcams and able to connect to a monitor). Frankly, I’m a little disappointed with the 1024×768 resolution screen. A lot of 10″ netbooks ship with widescreen, HD 1366×768 screens at the same or lesser price point as the iPad. Then Apple has the audacity to claim that netbooks have low quality displays. I guess they’re just not shiny enough.
• Pricing: On that note, the price is pretty high. Like all Apple products, there is a certain premium associated with the brand so I’ll give them that. Also they can’t have pricing overlap with the iPod Touch or it will cannibalize sales. Seriously though, $499 is a lot for what is essentially a companion device that is little more than an over-sized iPod Touch. Also, the 3G connectivity is there for the sake of it, really. It’s a $129 premium plus $29.99 a month for access. They have a $14.99 monthly plan, but it has a 250 MB limit. Seriously? Watch 10 YouTube videos and you’re  already over your limit. Anyone who gets the iPad probably already has a smartphone and pays a screwdriver to the face for a data plan on that too. Add residential Internet into the mix, and think, really think, if you need that many Internet bills. Finally, at a price point that’s $500+ and netbooks rarely over $300, I think the iPad is really competing with full-featured Windows laptops. The Apple device at netbook prices is an iPod Touch for crying out loud!

I really wanted to like the iPad. I really did. Unfortunately, Apple created a ho-hum device that’s stylish to say the least, but not very compelling in terms of productivity, innovation, and price-point.