On Saturday, the Wi-Fi version of Apple's latest gadget, the iPad, was released. As always with Apple products, the hype and coverage of this event mirrors a serious election campaign or sporting event. People were lined up outside of local Apple store's for day's on end, willing to buy the new product without knowing much about it beyond that hour long Steve Jobs announcement and a few more months of speculation.
I stopped by the Apple store on Saturday to give the machine a test drive, and wow, it's real cool. I know I posted earlier that I liked the idea but was somewhat skeptical of the device, and I still have a few gripes, but I think it's great. Think of it like ripping the screen off your laptop and using only that. A short skinny object that can do all the basic items that MOST people use computers for anyway - web browsing and general "entertainment" purposes, like music/movies/photos etc.
The iBook option is great and is going to absolutely KILL the Kindle/Nook. Why would anyone buy the Kindle (which only does books) when you can get an iPad, which can read books, AND browse the web/watch video and so on. Amazon is smart for adjusting it's Kindle program to be iPhone/iPad capable because right now - because it's library is much bigger than Apple's current library.
That's going to become the next big battle - book territory. Amazon's got the early lead, but here comes Apple, who has the ability and brand name to raise some hell. I almost think that after a year they could literally blow Amazon out of the water and it will be a joke. Interesting to watch. Also interesting is the development of periodicals and newspapers. Can they adapt & survive on this new electronic platform? I think they HAVE to if they want to survive.
The iPad is also being praised for it's great battery life - able to last well beyond the suggested 10 hours. That's awesome - a huge win for Apple. Supposedly it's all because of the new home-made chip that Apple produced, and I can't wait for them to install it on iPod/iPhone in the coming models and see their battery life increase even more.
INTERESTING SIDE NOTE - Is the iPod going to become obsolete? The iPhone is replacing it, and the iPad is another situation where the iPod may not really be the iPod anymore. I know it's a stretch, but I think that it COULD happen. At least for the "classic" model. The Nano's are cool.
I found typing to be a little difficult on the device, but I think that's because it was the first time I was using it, I was standing, and I had 20 people looking over my shoulder to try to get involved. I'm sure it's just like the other devices - takes time to adjust, but then it's as simple as ABC.
My personal favorite app was the MLB At-Bat app. Obviously as a huge baseball fan this speaks to me directly, but it feels as though it was made for the iPad. You can watch a game and pull up stats instantly, and following that, be able to watch highlights of the game or plays that just happened. Amazing.
Only two real problems problems with the iPad, and two stupid ones (one is not even its fault):
Stupid problem is memory - the biggest size is 64 gigs. Let's face it - we're becoming increasingly over-saturated with memory. 64 GB is a large amount, but we've just been so used to accommodating to more. My computer holds 250, my iPod holds 160, I have a 1 TERABYTE external hard drive. 64 just doesn't cut it in my mind. My music alone is 76.77 gigs (I'm still trying to cut it down, but I'm having separation anxiety.) If I were to add videos into the mix, that's less room to fool around with. Apps take up space etc. I'm just being selfish and I try to horde as much crap as possible.
Second stupid problem is how people anticipate using this. It won't and cannot replace the computer. It isn't the next thing in gaming (I played a few games on it - the thing is brutal. It can never replace Xbox/PS3 etc. The graphics can't compete and not having a controller is awful.) It's not going to change everything - however it will certainly change simple browsing and entertainment. You will still need a computer to do more complicated things (using programs like Adobe comes to mind specifically) and I think it would be hard to write a full out paper (or blog like this) without a real keyboard. Tablet technology is truly in it's infancy, and in a few years it will be MUCH different than now.
Now for real problems that I know will be fixed soon/in the next version. Multi-tasking. Seems like a no brainer. I don't know if this comes from a new OS update, but this would be alot easier to maneuver and operate. I'd still personally like to see a new OS all together (or more of a OS X based-OS that allows for more computer-like functionality.)
Other problem is Flash. Apple and Adobe are sticking to their guns, and I don't know who will come out on top. In the meantime we're left to deal with it, and sites that run in Flash just aren't compatible on the iPad.
Another thing I just thought of - are we sipping too much of Apple's Kool-Aid? By using their devices, we're encouraged to use something like iTunes to get our music/movies, but obviously not required. I personally don't use their "stores" at all - mainly out of copyright policy. I get frustrated when I switch computers and have to authorize it or am told I can't access it because I can't remember my password from 5 years ago. I posted earlier how I'm annoyed with the varying methods of buying video. I like watching things on DVD, but in order for me to watch it on my iTouch/iPad, I have to buy it again? That sucks. I need some more consistency (like the concept of Digital Copy that some DVDs are coming with now.) so that all my devices can work seamlessly. I understand the legal problems involved, but I refuse to pay $40 twice so I can watch Lost on DVD and on my iPad. Stop stealing my money. Get a USB port on the iPad so I can connect to a printer, don't make it so I have to send it through iTunes. Apple's starting to monopolize our technology, and I don't know how I feel about it.
Overall though, I'm excited about the iPad and the potential that it holds. It's definitely a look into the future (probably into the year 2000 with Conan.) I won't buy one quite yet - mainly because I'm looking for the 3G version, and also hoping that iPad 2.0 will be much more enhanced than 1.0 - remember the original iPod vs where we are now. I know they're already working on setting up the next one.
iDone.
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