Five Fundamental Flaws of The iPad
By: @Hilzfuld
The day the whole tech community was waiting for finally arrived yesterday, and it became clear within minutes that the hype exceeded the reality. The famous Apple iPad was born and its announcement led to the immediate crash of almost all tech sites and blogs, not to mention Twitter completely buckling under the pressure of 170,000 iPad tweets per hour.
I do not intend to spend too much time on this point, but when it comes to the name of this new Apple tablet, am I missing something or is it just a really dumb name? Seems the Web community as a whole agrees, judging by the attention the name has received, and so the jokes begin. On a more substantial note though, the big question to which we will not know any answers soon, is how will the iPad affect our lives and will it be widely adopted by the public?
I am of the opinion that even with its stunningly good looks, impressive specs, and beautiful interface, its numbers will not resemble iPhone or iPod Touch numbers, not even close. The reasons I think the iPad will not take off are many, starting from its lack of a camera (or two), its lack of free 3G, and many more. However, I would like to focus primarily on the software side of the iPad, since after all this is the Appboy blog, and software is what we are all about.
Jobs made it very clear that the iPad will include three different store fronts to support its rich feature set. There is of course the iTunes Store for music and movies, the App Store for Apps, and now the book store for eBooks. However, each one of those stores and mini ecosystems has a serious and fundamental flaw that should not be ignored. The following is a list of five basic and crucial flaws with the iPad:
- Books: This category splits into two types of people. There are the ones that will not use an eBook reader since they just like the feeling of an actual book in their hands. These people will of course not consider the iPad. However, the audience Apple is targeting is the type of person who would buy the Kindle. The question is, would a Kindle type person go for an iPad instead? The answer? Absolutely not! The number of available books for the iPad is dwarfed by the 400,000 books available for the Kindle. The iPad does not have free 3G to download books wherever you are, and most importantly, the battery life of the iPad cannot compare to the potential two week battery on the Kindle. So, if it is an eBook Reader you are after, the iPad is not for you.
- Media: Why can’t Apple just give up on their jail like mentality and allow drag and drop functionality on their devices? Not sure what the answer is, but today’s world is not the world it was when the iPhone was announced. Not sure Apple can continue getting away with this when there are better alternatives to the iPhone platform, such as Android. People want freedom with their files. Having said that, there is something to be said for the ease of use provided by the iTunes/iPhone/iPad team. The iPad does not even include a USB port to connect the device to a computer, so it’s not like Apple can fix this issue with a simple software upgrade. Seems like media on the iPad will be via iTunes only.
- Apps: This is a tricky one. There is no denying Apple’s dominance in this space. The latest numbers are 140,000 apps and over 2 billion downloads. Those are crazy numbers. Having said that, similar to the media issue, developers are starting to get really sick of the intense approval cycle of Apple apps. The fact that iPhone apps work on the iPad is a cool feature (although I hear in full screen, they are a tad blurry, but then again, how could they not be?), and the availability of the new SDK for the iPad has developers excited, but once again, we have evolved from the first days of the iPhone, and there are now alternatives. Apple should have addressed this issue with some very needed freedom. All that is important, but it is nothing compared to the most major flaw in the iPad, the lack of background processing ability. Are you kidding me, Apple? What is this, 2009? One app at a time on a device that is supposed to replace a netbook or even a laptop? Sorry, that is just not going to work for me.
- Web: OK, so we established that the iPad is not the ultimate eReader, media device, or multitasker, but maybe it is the ultimate web machine like Apple so casually mentioned like 100 times in yesterday’s keynote. Nope, sorry, it is not that either. Yes, the iPhone has the best mobile browser, and this device has a bigger screen, so what could be possibly be the issue? Well, like the iPhone, the iPad has no Adobe Flash support. You know what? I can forgive that on a mobile phone like the iPhone, but if the iPad is supposed to replace my netbook or laptop, it needs to be able to access the full Web and no Flash is a deal breaker. So, the iPad fails on this front too.
- Connectivity: I know we mentioned this earlier, but this is such a crucial point that might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. So many rumors circulated the interwebs in the weeks leading up to the release of the iPad. There were such high hopes for the ultimate device, and then there was the iPad. So, are you telling me that I am supposed to buy a device that is missing all the above features, and I am not even able to access the Web on it? Yes, if you are in a hot spot,there is Wifi, but what if you are not? There is of course the more expensive model with 3G support, but then you are forced to pay extra for a data plan. This just does not seem right to me. I now have my smartphone that connects to the Web wherever I am and if I happen to be in a place with Wifi, I have my laptop, remind me what I need the iPad for again?
In conclusion, I know this article is very one sided, and to deny the beauty of the iPad would be nothing short of a lie. They did an amazing job with the hardware, the fact that the processor is made by Apple is big news, and the new iPhone OS running on the iPad seems a whole lot better than its predecessor. Having said that, I honestly cannot figure out who Apple is targeting with this device, and it is for this reason, that I will be be truly surprised if this device becomes a success the way its baby brother, the iPhone has become.
Hillel Fuld
Hillel is a tech blogger at TechNmarketing.com as well as an active Twitter personality @hilzfuld. He writes for many other sites including Mashable.com, Bitrebels.com, and works as the Content Manager of Dailyforex.com.22 Comments to “Five Fundamental Flaws of The iPad”
Leave a Reply
I’m going to disagree with you on this one, Hillel.
Books: I think that this will peel some users off of the Kindle, but more importantly, the eBook market is in its infancy. I’ve spoken to a number of people who were explicitly waiting for Apple to make its move in this department before they bought in. We don’t know how many books the iBook Store will have, so it’s a bit early to call the Kindle’s title library an advantage at this point. Not to mention the fact that there will be a Kindle Store on the iPad. Finally, on this point, textbooks will be much better on the iPad than on the Kindle, or its bigger brother the now ludicrously priced, Kindle DX ($489).
Media: I think there will be some significant announcements in the coming months about TV subscription deals and streaming functionality that will make the iTunes integration even more compelling than it already is. As you mentioned, it’s about simplicity. I don’t think that Android is a “better alternative,”-it just appeals to a different crowd.
Apps: I fully agree with you on this one. Apple needs to fix this soon. It’s getting to be a real problem.
Web: The Flash issue is a religious battle that Apple has been quietly waging ever since the introduction of the original iPhone. I totally understand them on this one. Flash is responsible for virtually all of my browser crashes and it’s an unrepentant resource hog. But you’re right in pointing out that it’s a fact of the web and as big as Apple is in mobile, it isn’t going away anytime soon.
Connectivity: I think you’re being a little too harsh about this. Most laptops don’t come with 3G capabilities and the ones that do require a data plan to access the internet on the go. Apple was able to negotiate a sweetheart deal with AT&T on this front. $29.99 per month for unlimited data without a contract. It’s unprecedented in the history of the industry. This is not a Kindle. The iPad will be putting an enormous amount of pressure on AT&T’s already strained network (look out iPhone users!). I don’t think they could have done better on this one.
I actually think that this is the next big thing and while it won’t take off with the same velocity as the iPhone, I think it will follow a similar adoption curve to the iPod, probably hitting its tipping point sometime in the middle of 2011.
I’m a Sony Reader owner. Love my Reader. I do find the iPad appealing. I’m looking forward to what ebooks CAN be when we shed the compulsion to imitate paper books.
I also have an iPod with the kindle for ipod app (I have a Droid too – no Kindle app there), and I have the Kindle app on my PC.
With an iPad, I’d have the best of the iPod’s interface, and still have access to the 400K books in the Kindle library, but in a format more accessible than my laptop (RELATIVELY bulky) or iPod (tiny screen).
As for flash, I run adblock mostly to stop flash. Don’t miss it on my iPod or Android, won’t miss it on the iPad. Video can be streamed with HTML5, and MOST of the flash content out there are annoying beat the monkey ads. Good riddance.
- Dave
Always happy to hear other opinions, thanks for reading guys and I guess only time will tell which one of us was right.
[...] of The iPadPosted by catalin zorzini on January 30, 2010 | Popularity: 1% The day the whole tech community was waiting for finally arrived yesterday, and it became clear within minutes that the hype exceeded the reality. The famous Apple iPad was [...]
I think these observations are flawed…
Books:
No one will read a book for 10 hrs straight, let alone a week. But if you’re still concerned with battery life, anyone with an iPod (aka. everyone) will probably already have a couple of extra iPod chargers/cords. iPod and iPhone users are just conditioned to always plug it in when not in use. The same will be true for the iPad. So this is moot. A week long battery life makes sense for the Kindle because it’s a single purpose device that may get picked up once in a while on average so you forget to charge it. The iPad will probably be used everyday for several hours each day, downloading apps and updates (and plugging in the iPad) on a regular basis.
Media:
There’s a small, but very vocal minority of users that want drag and drop file management. The rest of us, don’t care or prefer syncing. As for media formats, well that’s political and the market will drive Apple there. (Remember Sony and ill-conceived ATRAC?)
Apps:
Yeah, you’re right. This is a problem inherited from the iPhone.
Web:
Lack of Flash is political. Flash would compete with the App Store, plain and simple. Lack of Flash is a deal breaker to only a minority of users. Once again, if Flash is really that important, the market (and consumers) will drive Apple.
Connectivity:
What’s the problem here? The iPad will have 3G and Wifi, so what’s the problem? I don’t get it. Connectivity isn’t free. The 3G comes from somewhere. That somewhere is tied to a data plan.
[...] Five Fundamental Flaws of The iPad [...]
I phone is very Important for human life and it is give the very fast life for E-life. butter Mp3 MP4. Your Blog Topics is very good.
“getting away with this when there are better alternatives to the iPhone platform, such as Android”
If its so much better why is it such a flop?
what a worthless excuse for a blog
I totally disagree with you.
The iPad was not meant for me or you. Computer geeks. iPad was made for ppl who has problems using computers, who doesn’t need a real computer but still needs to surf on the web, check e-mail and stuff.
My mom was having problem opening msn on her win7 laptop, finding her web app (yahoo) to send e-mails. iPad is totally for her, my grand-mother and even my dad.
the only think I miss in the iPad is a frontal camera.
and about the kindle: it works for 2 weeks without recharge, but only reading book. Apple has only told us the iPad works 10h (watching movies), even it’s the same number using the iBook app, nobody is going to read for 10 hours.
How is this in any way different from the iphone, but bigger? Why would anybody want a bigger iphone if it doesn’t do much more and is no longer portable (unless you have HUGE pant pockets).
1. Why is there no keyboard? Can people type effectively and quickly on a touchscreen keyboard? so far, it seems like people have a veryyyy long learning curve and it still ain’t perfect.
2. Ok fine, they don’t want a keyboard to take up device space. Why not do something truly innovative, like figure out a way to allow handwriting recognition (yes, on a capacitive screen).
3. How exactly is one supposed to hold this in one hand and type with the other hand? Or are we supposed to use it like an blackberry, using our thumbs to type?
i think this will be a big seller because of the hype, but it will not be getting good reviews from the people who bought it. you can’t just make the iphone bigger without changing (fundamentally) the way the interface works. any amateur interface designer can tell you that, and I’m surprised apple hasn’t realised that.
[...] Five Fundamental Flaws of The iPad [...]
[...] Five Fundamental Flaws of The iPad [...]
The iPad will be a huge success in personal life and business for a reason no one has yet mentioned; spontaneous, intimate presentations. It’s the ultimate sales tool. iPhone? The screen is too small. Laptop or netbook? You have to have it ready, so it looks like you are ambushing the person. Think about guiding someone through your portfolio or demonstration a product or service…anywhere, spontaneously. In my opinion, that’s the killer app!
The only real problems I see here is no flash support… I mean obviously it is easy for them to implement as we can watch youtube videos on the iPhone. Flash is now so rich in its content abilities, it simply cant be ignored. Apple DEFINATELY needs to fix this… It would be like ignoring javascript? Just makes no sense. Some of the best and most creative sites in the world are flash driven.
Jobs just needs to bite the bullet and allow the iPhone and iPad to be amazing, instead of something you curse everytime you miss out on a simple page element that you were looking for….suck it up!
uhh pretty sure there is a 30 pin connector on the ipad just like the ipod and iphone, the other end is a usb…. so not sure what your talking about here.
I dont know why people are so quick to jump on the “iPad is stupid enlarged ipod” bandwagon. Within 10 minutes of Steve Jobs presenting it to the world there were articles and blogs complaining of its uselessness. Personally I think the people who say it has no real value lack imagination. I also think this just the first view of the technology. When I bought my first iPod in 2004 there was no app store, video download etc… I may wait until revision 2 to purchase the iPad but I think the exciting days are still to come.
Interesting points, however I can’t help but notice you’re very much against Apple (“there are better alternatives to the iPhone platform, such as Android” this gave you away). Can’t agree with this, as I think that iPhone is the best phone on the market at this point, and Google will improve Nexus One (at least as much as Apple improved the first iPhone) to match the iPhone.
Now about the iPad: even though I’m a fan of Apple products (iPhone and MacBook Pro are excellent products), iPad didn’t blew me away. I don’t like that it runs the iPhone software instead of Snow Leopard (and that includes the absence of Flash) and that it still bounds you to use iTunes (I’m sick of not being able to upload my divx movies through iTunes directly). I’m sure however that Apple will correct this with future firmware upgrades.
But this doesn’t mean that iPad is a bad product, not at all, it’s great looking, performant … it’s simply not the product for me (at least not yet).
[...] Five Fundamental Flaws of The iPad [...]
[...] das wurde in den letzten wenigen Tagen ausführlich überall im Netz diskutiert. Selbst Amir Kassaei wird von Horizont an die Öffentlichkeit [...]
[...] the whole article here, [...]
[...] iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android App Reviews by Appboy Blog » Five Fundamental Flaws of The iPa… [...]
Well it’s June now. Wonder if your views might have changed on this subject.