Total BS

Maybe the iPad will be a success yet. I’ve been wrong on these things before, I’ll be wrong again. But I’m more inclined to think that the iPad will be more Apple TV than the iPhone. Adam Frucci has a very good post on the 8 things that suck about the iPod that covers all the major issues I have with the iPad (and then some), but here’s my additions/suggestions.

1. The Big, Ugly Bezel. I understand that the idea is to prevent accidental input when you’re holding the iPad, but that bezel is digital frame-esque large. It’s comically large. I know Apple likes the clean lines, but they would’ve been better off cutting the bezel width in half, and perhaps going with a raised and grooved edge. No, it’s not as sleek and cool, but it’s a lot more functional, and it allows you to show more screen real estate. Besides, it’s not like this thing was pocket-sized form fitting anyway. Apple would’ve been better off going without the sleekness. Bumps and lumps help keep you from accidentally dropping things.
2. No Multitasking. Frucci said it was a backbreaker. I have to agree completely. Apple would’ve been better off going with adapting a version of OS X. I know everyone loves this newfangled app store doohicky, but there used to be this thing called the Internets where you could download all sorts of free and paid apps. How big is that app store? Who knows, because it’s not a controlled environment.
3. No cameras. It’s quite perplexing that so many comments think that “camera” refers to the camera phone/iPhone type of camera. Is it the writers fault for not being more clear? Or is it the readers fault for being so stupid? Basically, camera means webcam. There’s no need for an outer facing camera like the iPhone. You’re not going to hold a 10 inch tablet like an asshole to take pictures of things. There absolutely should’ve been an inner facing webcam. A netbook replacement where you can’t video chat? That is not a netbook replacement. That is useless.
4. No HDMI out. This is one of those “are you geek enough” requirements. Sure it’d be nice to have, but do regular people care? Doubtful. I can pass on this.
5. The name iPad. Butt of many jokes. Honestly, this was laziness on Apple’s part. They got too conventional. There’s no need to stick to I-something naming convention. Otherwise the the Macbook isn’t called the iBook. The Air isn’t called the iBook Air. And Apple TV isn’t called iTV. Whoever made that decision dropped the ball.
6. No Flash. Like Frucci mentions, a marginally acceptable experience on the iPhone, an egregious miss for the iPad. Basically, if it’s as big as a laptop, it should perform like one. And all the apologists who look to HTML5 to displace Flash… how long do you plan on waiting for every Internet site to adopt a new standard while you’re putzing around on a piece of hardware that can’t make any good with sites like ESPN, CNN and Hulu? The idea that the iPad doesn’t need Flash, because HTML 5 is going to take over the world is perhaps the stupidest claim of all. Seriously. It’s Darwin-awards-esque stupid. Yeah, that might happen in 5 years, but in the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy your large $500+ brick of a machine.
7. Adapters. Eh, not great. I don’t know if this is a killer for the regular user. But it certainly hurts the convenience and portability argument.
8. It’s not widescreen. It’s not a killer for regular users as far as I’m concerned, but it sure doesn’t make the device feel like the wave of the future. To be honest, I get offended when I see shows in 4:3 these days.

Others:

1. Doesn’t support T-Mobile 3G. I don’t think anyone cares about T-Mobile. I’m more offended that AT&T thinks that a 250MB plan for $15 is a viable plan. Either offer that $30 unlimited option or don’t offer anything at all. The idea that 250MB is sufficient for anything at whatever price is ridiculous. Although I suppose it’s perfect if you wanted the iPad to download a half an episode of LOST each month.
2. A Closed App Ecosystem. Sort of goes back to my thought above that they would’ve been better off going with a version of OS X for this.
3. Form factor (this one’s mine). I expected more from Apple. Multitouch becomes much more difficult when you have to pinch larger chunks of screen real estate. And it becomes that much more difficult if you’re holding up the iPad with one hand and gesturing with the other.

Apple messed up by going cheap. You know what should be $500? The Macbook. Because it’s a commodity. A good tablet computer? It has the potential to change the way people interact with computers. So the iPad was the one product Apple would’ve been better off by charging a premium price for to offer more. Wow people with features, disappoint them with price. Rather than than try to wow them with price (and the price is really not that wow-worthy once you start considering the larger memory and 3G versions), and disappoint them with features. A truly groundbreaking product at $1500 would’ve been much preferred versus the iPod XXL at $849