Whoops, wrong tab! Ctrl+W.
Hehe, sorry about that. I'd blame a browser malfunction but I use Firefox so nobody would believe me. Anyway, on to this morning's big announcement. Apple has (finally) released their tablet computing device, the iPad. And of course the pundits and analysts have been breaking their fingers typing out article after twitter post pointing out all of the device's shortcomings. Apple has been lambasted for everything from the lack of camera to the color of Jobs' turtleneck. Let's get into my take on this after the jump.
- No camera
This thing is huge. I mean compare it to anything Apple has made since the iMac. It's the size of a dinner tray. Even the iPod Nano has a camera. If they could shoehorn video capture capabilities into something the size of a couple antacid tablets, you'd think they could find a bit of space somewhere in this full sized dinette set. - No multitasking
Remember, this is running iPhone software. It may be doing it very well, but it is only doing one thing at a time. - No Flash
I'm not talking about a camera flash here, folks; we already discussed that failing. Although that would be horrifically ironic. The iPad doesn't support the most commonly used enabling technology of interactive websites. But, then again, neither does Android so it's difficult to really hold this against Apple. - 3G is an option, and an expensive one at that
The iPad has different internal hardware for its 3G-enabled version. Hardware that is only available as a US$130 optional upgrade. That price doesn't even include the separate 3G data service from AT&T; an additional $29.99 per month. As a bonus shortcoming, the 3G antenna chipset also contains the GPS receiver. That means no GPS based location apps. No pretty maps. No turn-by-turn directions. - 4:3 aspect ratio
When everyone else in the world is moving towards widescreen format, Apple keeps it delightfully retro, like a classic black turtleneck.
