Things that are missing from the Apple iPad
Posted on | January 28, 2010 | 6 Comments
The Apple iPad is going to be a hit. It is one slick-looking device with some neat capabiliites. Although not a lot is new, it has the familiar ease-of-use and polish that is characteristic of all Apple products. It has virtually all the multimedia capabilities you could ever want and the addition of iWork gives it the potential for business use.
But there could have been more. I could list many little things that I think could have been included, but I’ll just point out a few major things. Before the iPad was launched on Wednesday, March 27, 2010, there were a lot of rumors speculating on various capabilities of the new device. Some of these included a camera that could be used for video-conferencing and perhaps facial recognition. Also, the capability to use the device as a phone would have been nice as well. That is, one could hook-up an earpiece to use it as a phone. That way, we wouldn’t need to carry around an iPhone as well. If Apple is going to partner with AT&T to provide 3G support, why not also provide phone capabilities?
Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the lack of an announcement for any real breakthrough in the user interface. I had been hoping that much like the iPhone’s multitouch announcement, there would be some kind of revolutionary interface announcement. With all of the clues from Apple’s various patent information floating around, I had been hoping for some kind of complex finger-gesture interface, similar in concept to how sign language is done. This would likely require a little bit of a learning curve, but the payoff in ease-of-use could have been revolutionary.
Oh well, maybe in a future version of the iPad we may see something like this.
By the way, while we’ve seen most of the things in the iPad in other devices, the iTunes apps and the Apple logo associated with quality and ease-of-use will ensure this things is a hit.
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6 Responses to “Things that are missing from the Apple iPad”
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January 28th, 2010 @ 7:07 am
No Adobe Flash, no multitasking, no new video codecs, not even a “kindlekiller with its price point of min. 499$.
And I thought the Courier rumor was a joke … but this device … is lame, I mean, what does this device do, that other tablets wont ?
January 28th, 2010 @ 9:21 am
Why do people want flash? I want flash to die and disappear from the internet, it would help us move on technologically.
The use of the existing iPhone OS is a smart plan. Established software base and developers can easily write new software without learning yet another SDK. Apple created the platform, developers will create the rest.
I’ve seen demos of competing tablets and frankly, their interfaces suck. Nobody is going to buy a tablet that operates like a beta engineering sample or a programmer’s toy.
As for real complaints, what is it with Steve Jobs and his sealed box idealogy? How hard is it to design a tablet with a battery door, USB port or memory slot?
January 28th, 2010 @ 10:47 am
Why do people want flash?
— Because that’s what so many websites use. Until HTML5 comes out it’s the real world. So if you want to have a clunky and annoying web experience then use the iPad. It’s not a matter of what’s a better way to do things. Flash obviously has limitations but that’s what is used. It’s the same mentality of Sony had in the VHS vs Beta fight. Beta is so much better we’ll ignore the real world instead.
The fact that the iPad doesn’t support Flash, has no USB port, is WiFi only, doesn’t support multitasking are just reasons not to buy it. Wait for the good version that will come out in a year. Just like the iPhone. If you want to be an early adopter, fine. But if you really want this device wait a year or so when the new version comes out and buy this one for half the price.
January 28th, 2010 @ 2:05 pm
My complaints ,
-No built in memory card reader (the external one is stupid.
-No Camera!
-No 4G network!?! that the future highspeed internet.
-No Real GPS, it uses 3G and wifi to find postion.
And they will have Flash for it at some point.. I’m sure..
January 28th, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
The iPad’s 1024 X 768 screen isn’t natively compatible with 720p HD at 1280 X 720. For a device that’s touted as a video/movie/TV program player, that’s a huge oversight.
The lack of Flash support is also pretty bizarre for a web-surfing device like iPad.
There’s no word on compatibility with Kindle books or book files from Barnes & Noble, but I’m betting the iPad will only support downloads from the iBook store. I’m sure there’ll be a hack for Amazon and Barnes & Noble book files before too long.
There’s only indirect mention of networking compatibility with OS X and Windows computers, but this is a must for any machine with limited mass storage like the iPad.
Still, the UI looks very good – flipping pages with your fingers like a real book is cool. I guess haptic feedback on the touch screen was too expensive, and I agree an SD card port and user-replaceable battery would have been nice.
With handwriting recognition and audio recording, the iPad would become a must for any college student taking notes. I’m surprised a company like Apple with a historic presence in the education market didn’t see this and add those features.
It looks like this product announcement was an attempt to preemptively capture the market, though that’ll be tough for a device that won’t be available for 8 weeks.
January 29th, 2010 @ 12:39 am
“I’ve seen demos of competing tablets and frankly, their interfaces suck”
So using that boring interface of the iPhone is a better idea?
Im already getting sick of it, I can’t even customize it.