Apple iPad, So Close to Perfect, Yet So Far

 February 4, 2010
Posted by Rashed Talukder

So everyone has been eagerly waiting for what would be the Apple’s introduction to the world of tablet computer. I was one of them even though I usually am not a fan of apple products. I wanted something to replace my heavy Macbook PRO for my daily activities and would do a good job of syncing the data over to my laptop or PC. I would use it for school, browsing when I’m out and about, or take it with me on flights where I didn’t need actual computing power.

When the iPad was introduced, I made a face at the name they spent millions to come up with and then watched the presentation. It seemed almost everything I wanted. A simple and familiar interface just like on my iPhone with a bit more processing power. The battery life of up to 10 hours would be perfect as something that would last through-out my day. I could purchase overpriced applications for word processing, spreadsheet, and also make presentations. Also the ability to watch videos (though the fact that it’s not widescreen is dumb). It had the same browser that works pretty well and displays most of the internet.

Apple iPad

So here were the immediate uses I thought of. I could use it as a remote for my home theater computer in the house with Apps like intelliremote, write some sweet documents and spreadsheets for school/work, I could watch videos when I’m on the go and bored. I love the multi-touch interface and gestures and how they are so intuitive. If I could get textbooks on it, I would not longer need to carry any textbooks with me. It was suppose to be such a perfect item for me.

Then came the issues,

there’s no flash support. How in the world can Steve Jobs say that it’s going to be the best web browsing experience when you’re missing a huge part of the internet and keep a straight face? Then, here was the real kicker for me – no USB support. Why?

Why would you make a product that clearly a lot of people would use to do simple tasks that Netbooks/Ultrabooks do and just make a overpriced and oversized iPhone? The weight of it at 1.5lbs is perfect for carrying around without it weighing you down. If I wanted to save a document, image, video, etc., I would have normally just plugged in a USB drive and transferred them around. With the iPad, for some reason I can’t. Just having that one simple item would have made me go out and buy the iPad because I can get over not having a flash player and just using the YouTube app. I can get over the fact that it doesn’t have a real OS that would bog the whole system down. I can even get over the fact that it is so expensive – it wouldn’t be Apple if it wasn’t. I just can’t get over the fact that they omitted such a standard port that for me is a necessity. I would have paid extra – instead of having a SIM card slot to have a USB port so I can stick a 3G/4G wireless adapter on there.

I guess I’ll just have to see what the Google tablet or future tablets bring to the table. The iPad just didn’t bring anything revolutionary or new like the hype made me think.

One comment

  1. |

    At one point Flash was the be all and end all of all things Android.Its funny how noone meonntis it now, and the lack of flash out of the box (or in the google store) makes any kind of mention in this review. And the icon thing? That’s a feature of the new OS? Because noone else has been doing that for the last 5 years Nexus is premium quality build wise, and its fast, for Android, but crap battery life, a messy unfiltered App store and no iPlayer or Sky Go app made it a day 2 refund for me.

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