The Alfred Computer Guy: Apple iPad Disappoints

This past Wednesday, Apple confirmed many months of internet rumors by announcing their new portable product, the iPad.

Technically not a tablet (the general consensus is that a “tablet” must have a physical keyboard, otherwise it is a “slate”), the iPad allows you to browse the web, check e-mail, read Word and Excel documents, read E-Books and listen to your music.

All of this is offered on a 9.7-inch multi-touch touchscreen with WiFi, affordable 3G Broadband (on certain models), built-in speakers and a 10-hour battery.

So what’s the problem? As it turns out, everything.

For close to a decade now, Apple users have been asking for a tablet system running OSX. My colleagues and coworkers over the years have seen the merit of such a device, but until recently, it seemed Apple was determined to turn a blind eye to this demand.

Add to that the restrictive nature of Apple and their products, and the prospect of an OSX tablet seemed improbable at best. The market was so demanding for an Apple tablet that several companies even stepped up to the plate to make major modifications to your existing Macbook for a modest price. (See http://modbook.com)

Then the rumor mill started whispering of a true Apple tablet being developed. It was nothing that we hadn’t already heard a hundred times before, never with any real merit. Something was different this time, though – the rumors never subsided, they rather got louder and were substantiated with evidence of patent filings, developer meetings, and part suppliers ramping up production.

Were we finally going to be provided a true Apple tablet or slate system running OSX? All signs pointed to “yes, finally!” With each new product revision Apple released, we saw better and better technology that would make for a significantly superior slate system – better multitouch on their laptops, solid keyboard UI on the iPod Touch and the iPhone, improved glass surfaces on their portable products, etc.
Then, Wednesday’s product announcement came and went, and we were all left feeling deflated – almost cheated. Not since “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” have I felt so little return on so much anticipation. That’s right; with the iPad, Apple has nuked the fridge, as it were.

First on the list of “what went wrong” is the name. iPad? Really? Does Apple lack anyone of the female persuasion in the marketing or R&D teams? Even if the product was solid, the inevitable jokes that have ensued since Wednesday might make people shy away.

Second and most important – the real “Where’s the beef?” moment. The iPad does not run OSX. For those of you that were looking for a Macbook Air sans keyboard, keep looking. Instead, they opted to have it run an enhanced version of the iPod Touch OS.

This means that all of my real Apple applications will not run on it. If I want something outside of the standard iPad programs suite, I need to buy a portable app from Apple’s App Store. Office, Photoshop, Final Cut Studio, iMovie, along with the myriad of other useful OSX applications that have been developed since 2001 cannot be installed or run on the iPad.

To add insult to injury, multitasking is out of the question as well. On any old laptop, you can have your music playing in the background using Pandora while typing a Word document and referencing a web browser window on the same screen. On the iPad, you have to use your apps one at a time.

Starting at $499.00 for the base model with only WiFi to $829.00 for the larger capacity iPad boasting WiFi and 3G Broadband, it’s not exactly in step with competitive Netbook prices. MSI is coming out with a similar slate product called the Tegra Tablet rumored at around $500.00, but with the advantage of being a full computer. Also, Dell has their Latitude 2100 Netbook laptop that can be souped-up with a touchscreen and still come under the $500.00 mark.

Apple’s computer products have traditionally provided solid quality software (OSX, iLife, iWork, etc) to support the sale of the hardware. It now seems that they are changing focus and developing hardware specifically to support the sale of the software – by this I mean that this product is, in my opinion, an expensive launching point to nickel-and-dime their customers on every app, every song, every movie, and every eBook, all through Apple’s various storefronts.

There are a host of other minor problems with the iPad that I could list here, but it would be redundant and tiresome. My main point is that we have been waiting a very long time for a touch-screen computer. Not an enlarged iPod.

I suppose Apple’s iPad might have a niche market out there. Somebody is bound to be able to find legitimate uses for this device that couldn’t have been met with the iPod Touch. As for me, I’ll still be waiting for a train that may never come.

Do you have any questions you would like to ask? Send me an e-mail at: stone@alfred.edu with the subject “Alfred Computer Guy.” Mac, PC, Linux, OS/2 Warp, NeXT… hit me with your best shot!