I have a confession to make: I have been experiencing serious bouts of iPad lust lately. I really didn’t expect this. In fact, after Steve Jobs showed it off for the first time, I was disappointed that it appeared to be nothing more than a big iPod Touch. Don’t get me wrong — I have an iPod Touch and I love it, and as the only Apple product I’ve ever owned, it’s the primary reason I became interested in the iPad in the first place — but I was really expecting something more full featured. Something with a webcam, a USB port, and possibly a fully touch-enabled variant of OS X. But now that it’s available in stores, I’ve probably read a dozen glowing reviews of the iPad, and I even got my hands on one for a few minutes at the Apple Store. I must admit that I’ve been pretty impressed, and my cravings for a cool new gadget nearly pushed me to the point of an impulse purchase, which is way out of character for me.
Apple’s favorite adjectives for the iPad are “magical” and “revolutionary.” Those are overstated marketing terms, of course, but I think they have some justification. In many ways, the iPad does feel like a realization of the classic computing device of sci-fi imagination. There is something magical about holding a device that looks and feels an awful lot like the computer pads the crew of the USS Enterprise were always carrying around. While the iPad as a simple piece of hardware isn’t necessarily revolutionary, it at least continues the revolution of “touch computing for the masses” that was largely begun by the iPhone. Here we have a dead-simple user interface on an attractive, portable, and fun-to-use device, with software that enables the vast majority of daily computing tasks to be accomplished without the usual computing hassles. Having used the iPod Touch for a year or so, I can testify that the App Store is what really makes these Apple devices such a joy to use. The built-in software is a good starting point, but the numerous innovative third-party games and programs are where the magic really happens.
So why didn’t I just buy the thing already? Three reasons. The first is the inherent risk of being an early adopter. Owning first-generation products can be exciting in the short term (and I have to admit the hype machine has been pretty effective in this case) but they have a nasty habit of triggering buyer’s remorse a few months later. Apple in particular always seems to hold out a few key features to lure everyone to upgrade to the second generation within a year or so, which is also the point when competitors have launched comparable devices and Apple feels obliged to drop their prices. If the iPad’s price tag at launch had been a benjamin or two less, I might have gone ahead and pulled the trigger, but at $500 and up, there’s just too much room for remorse.
The second reason for holding out is that I’m incredibly curious to see what some of the iPad’s competitors are going to come up with. I’d hate to buy this now and then really wish I had waited for 6 months for the release of the “iPad killer.” A lot of the contenders have a strong whiff of vaporware about them, but I’m sure at least a few will make it to market. In particular I have my eye on the Notion Ink Adam, Microsoft Courier, and the IDG Gemini, any one of which has the potential to meet and exceed the iPad’s technical specs, though it remains to be seen if they can duplicate the effortless user experience and vast catalog of apps.
Lastly, there are a few key niceties still missing from the iPad. Fortunately, multitasking has been promised via the next iPhone OS update, so I’m not looking for a tablet with a full desktop operating system anymore. In fact, I think Apple did the right thing by using the iPhone OS instead of OS X, because it’s clear that a tablet PC really isn’t meant to replace a desktop PC. In fact, I think this is going to be the HP Slate‘s achilles heel. Yes, Windows 7 is touch enabled and HP will probably ship some nice touch-enabled skins and apps, but virtually all Windows software is designed for use with a regular keyboard and mouse. The Windows user experience simply can’t approach the intuitiveness and fun factor of the iPad as long as you have to constantly jab at tiny window controls and scroll bars with your finger. This isn’t such a big deal on a convertible tablet like the HP TM2, where you also have a keyboard, touchpad, and stylus available if the touch interface doesn’t suffice, but I think it will be much less tolerable on a standalone tablet. The long wait times for Windows to boot up, suspend, and power off will also be a huge buzz kill. I’ve never used an Android-based device, but I have a reasonable hope that it will offer a tablet experience similar to Apple’s since it is another operating system designed from the ground up with the touch interface in mind.
However, I do think a tablet could (and should) be a viable replacement for a laptop, and that means it must be, by and large, self sufficient. Apple has imposed some limitations on the iPad that really get in the way of using it as an independent computer. There are numerous instances when you have to connect it to a “real” computer via USB cable to let iTunes do some of the work. This made sense for traditionally “dumb” devices like the iPod and perhaps even the pocketable iPhone, but not for a tablet with a 10″ screen and some real hardware muscle behind it. To name a few specific limitations, you currently can’t print, subscribe to podcasts, import pictures from a camera, plug in a USB thumb drive, organize files and folders, open a single file with different programs, or sync music and video files wirelessly. Not everyone cares about doing things like this, and part of the beauty of the iPad is that less advanced users don’t really have to, but it would be great for power users to have a device that acts more like a full-grown computer as desired. Once again, these are not necessarily technical limitations, but simply Apple’s way of keeping customers tied to iTunes and other Apple products. Some of these issues may go away with iPhone OS 4 and/or the next generation of the iPad, but it’s also virtually guaranteed that other tablet manufacturers won’t build in these sorts of restrictions.
As for the missing Flash plugin, I’ve decided it isn’t really a deal breaker for me now that NetFlix and others have released iPad-specific video apps. Hulu is still missing in action but will inevitably join the party, and that is pretty much the only site I can think of that would make me truly miss Flash. The lack of a webcam is still a head-scratcher, since video chat could become a true killer app for the tablet platform. I can only guess it was designated as one of the key features that will make the upgrade to iPad 2.0 worthwhile. I’ll be amazed if anyone else dares to release a tablet without a webcam.
Despite all the coolness that the iPad currently offers, I suppose my head is winning over my heart, once again. I can wait another six months to a year to see what happens in the market. If Apple offers an iPad that can operate more independently from iTunes with a webcam and a reduced price, what’s left of my resolve will likely crumble. If someone else can get a better tablet out the door before then, all the better. But I think one thing is for sure — sooner or later, I’m gonna have to get my hands on one of these lovely slabs of aluminum, silicon, and glass.
Scott
It will never cease to amaze me how alike we are in so many weird ways. Like you, I was disappointed by the many things the iPad won’t do, but I went and played with one at BestBuy, and I could see the appeal for this type of device. I don’t think I was nearly as close to buying one as you were, because there are just too many holes in the iPad repertoire, but I am definitely looking forward to what the competition comes up with. I have read several accounts from people who did buy an iPad, and now regret that it sits unused while they returned to their more-functional laptops. In short, it sounds like a cool gee-whiz toy, but not a productivity tool. Even as a media device it falls short, imo, since it doesn’t have HD resolution, and that whole 4:3 screen ratio is just baffling….My eye is on Android these days- they have over 50,000 apps now, and an unlocked, flexible system going for them. The various flavors of the Dell Streak have caught my eye, as well as the Notion Ink Adam. We’ll see what hits down the pipe.