The weeks and weeks of speculation are over. Now, let the weeks and weeks of nitpicking begin.
As you’ve undoubtedly heard, Apple has officially unveiled the iPad, its tablet-style computer, media player, e-reader, web-surfing thingamajig. The first models will land in the U.S. in late March (Canadian availability is still to be announced), starting at a price of $499 US.
While we drool over the pictures and specs on www.apple.com/ipad and patiently wait to go hands-on with the thing, here are five ways we think the iPad will be amazing, and five ways it already seems a bit disappointing.
Five ways the iPad is amazing:
It’s pretty. No one does tech-sexy like Apple, and the iPad looks to be no exception. Super-slim (1.3 cm thick), very light (about 670 grams) and with a touch-sensitive high-definition display, the iPad will look fantastic on your coffee table, in your lap or wherever you happen to use it. The bezel – that black border around the screen – seems a bit thick, though.
It’s not ludicrously expensive. With six models ranging in price from $499 US to $829 US depending on storage capacity and mobile data features, the iPad will most certainly be a luxury item. But before it was unveiled, scuttlebutt suggested the thing would cost as much as $999. So even though $499 US for the 16 GB WiFi-only model isn’t cheap, it’s also not heart attack-inducing.
It’s app-compatible. Most existing iPhone and iPod Touch apps will run on the iPad, and you can even enlarge the screen image so it fills up more of the of device’s 9.7-inch display. So while early adopters are waiting for new iPad apps to start flooding into the iTunes App Store, there will be tens of thousands of programs already available.
The new iBooks Store. Kindle? What Kindle? For people who have been craving a full-colour e-book reader, the iPad could be a dream come true (and better yet, it will support the open-source ePub digital book format.) There’s one downside, though: Apple’s website says iBooks are available in the U.S. only. But give it time and we’ll likely see a Canadian iBooks Store announced.
Video games. The iPhone and iPod Touch have become bona fide gaming platforms in their own right, with a ton of fun (and cheap) digital diversions available. We can’t wait to see what game developers will do with the iPad’s faster processor and much larger screen. Mark our words, the iPad will be a gaming device to watch in 2010.
Five ways the iPad is disappointing:
No multi-tasking. This could eventually change with a software update, but for now the iPad won’t be able to run more than one application at a time, a limitation it shares with the iPhone and iPod Touch. This means the iPad won’t be a great replacement for a laptop or netbook. Who wants to shut down their web browser or word processor just to send an e-mail?
No USB ports, no camera, no HDMI. Computer replacement or not, it would have been nice to see features such as a built-in webcam for iChat, standard USB ports for accessories, and high-definition video output (especially when the screen itself is high-def.) The iPad also won’t support Flash for the time being, which means many web video sites and browser-based games won’t work on it.
No phone calls. Although three of the six versions of the iPad will run on 3G mobile data networks, it appears the device won’t actually be capable of making mobile phone calls. Sure, it’s way too big to replace your phone, but since it can do 3G and has a microphone, why not include that feature anyway? At least calls via Skype should still be doable.
There will be a better one out in a year. Unless Apple radically changes its product release strategy, we’ll see a cooler, more feature-rich version of the iPad sometime next year. So it goes with many gadgets, but somehow it’s always more painful with Apple products. Maybe it’s because we want so badly to dive in as soon as they release something brand new and shiny.
The name. Not since the Nintendo Wii has the revelation of a gadget’s name caused so much snickering. The Internet is ablaze with sanitary product-related jokes (“iTampon” was a top trending topic on Twitter the day of the iPad announcement), and an eerily prescient 2006 MADtv sketch about the “Apple iPad” as a woman’s best friend has become an overnight YouTube hit.
