Is it time to call the Apple iPad iFail?
Posted on 04/07/2010 9:07:53 PM PDT by myknowledge
Why you should wait for the next version.
The iPad may be the web's darling and the genesis of a new product category but its shortcomings and some ugly bugs are rearing their heads within days of the product's release.
For all its geek gadget appeal and innovation, a look at the spec sheet and Apple's support forums reveal a less than perfect device.
Here's a dozen reasons to not buy an iPad.
1. No USB
Lacking USB input, the iPad becomes a locked down device where the only peripherals you can use are ones that link through Apple's proprietary dock connector. And in case you didn't pay Apple enough for your iPad, they get a cut of every accessory as that port is licensed.
Without that USB port, you can't easily hookup a keyboard, mouse, digital camera, USB modem or any other useful add-on.
2. No presenter notes
The Mac faithful have been waiting for years for a decent portable presentation solution and they were all betting on the iPad.
Sadly, the iPad has failed to deliver. Keynote for the iPad lacks a bunch of its desktop versions' features including the ability to playback video on slides and some visual effects. And there's no way to display presenter notes on the iPad while it's connected to a projector.
3. Can't connect to wireless projectors
For a device that's being sold on its connectivity credentials, the iPad is unable to connect to the latest projectors in any way other than with Apple's optional cable.
4. Dealing with Office files
At the iPad's initial announcement, Apple made a big deal of the availability of their iWork productivity suite. Now users are fuming that they can't open Microsoft Office files and are finding all sorts of basic features missing.
Users have found that they can't create spreadsheets in Numbers and then export them for sharing with colleagues as Microsoft Excel files. Pages can import and export Word's formats but lacks support for headers and footers, footnotes and other essentials.
Keynote is causing grief with reports of poor font support, broken animations and video playback. Worse still, some edits on the iPad, when synced back to a desktop Mac, result in the loss of critical elements such as speaker's notes.
5. Flaky WiFi
One of the most active threads on Apple's iPad forums deals with weak WiFi connections with users reporting fluctuating signal strength on their iPad even where their notebooks are reporting full signal strength.
In some cases, connections are getting completely dropped and users need to re-enter WPA credentials to reconnect.
Some users have found that even when they have a reliable connection that performance is poor.
One user posted results from the speedtest.net app both on his iPhone 3GS and the new iPad. The iPad download speed was rated at 1.83 megabits/sec whereas the iPhone 3GS download speed of 14.77 megabits/sec was more than eight times faster.
6. No SD slot
Many people were hoping to use the iPad as a way to backup photos while travelling. For that, they''ll need to stump up for Apple's iPad Camera Connection Kit. The lack of an SD slot means that you need this pair of connectors that convert the dock connector to either an SD slot or USB port.
7. No camera for video calling/Skype
This is one of the biggies. Why would Apple think that that a mobile computer and communications device wouldn't be used for video calling? Incredibly, images of the iPad's internals reveal that there's a place for a camera on the top edge of the display but Apple deliberately chose to omit it.
All of this makes us think that iPad 2.0 will have a camera, making us a tad cynical about Apple's intention to get early adopters to stump up for a second iPad in the not too distant future.
8. Weighs 2.5x what a Kindle does
If the iPad is all about portability then why does it weigh so much? Amazon's Kindle comes in at 290g but the iPad weighs about 700g - more like a middleweight than a lightweight.
9. No file system access
Most handheld and portable devices appear as an external storage device when connected to a computer. That makes them handy for grabbing files from a colleague's computer. However, to copy files to the iPad's Document Manager, you'll need to use iTunes or get the files emailed to you. You can't even browse network file shares.
10. iBook Store might not have any material in AU
Remember the two or three years when there was no iTunes Store in Australia? It seems that we'll be destined for the same with the iBook Store.
Until Apple does deals with local publishers, only those with a US iTunes account will be able to buy books. On the upside, Amazon have a Kindle app and there's also Stanza for buying books locally so you can avoid being locked into another part of Apple's content ecosystem.
11. Micro-SIM
On one hand the use of the Micro-SIM might seem like another example of Apple being an early adopter a new standard. Or, perhaps, it's a way for Apple to keep their carrier partners happy by blocking customers from using the SIM cards from their 3G modems or mobile phones.
Either way, there's no way you'll be able to get a 3G capable iPad without at least buying a new SIM card from your carrier.
12. No printing
A portable computer that can be used on a local network, but can't talk to printers - what was Apple thinking? Everyone knows that there's no such thing as a paperless office and that being able to print documents is useful. It's not that it can't be done, as third parties have sprung up with printing solutions. But to not have it natively built into the iPad is damn annoying.
Is it time to call the Apple iPad iFail?
My daughter has a cellphone that is smaller and better than that.
Whole new product - whole new category. Article makes silly comparisons to notebook computers. Get your hands on an iPad and you will understand. If anything, Apple has under-hyped it.
Yikes 12 reasons the product looks neat but really sucks imo.
It is always better to wait until the upgraded versions are released - the initial versions typically have lots of bugs.
That’s the rule of thumb for any of the latest Apple or Microsoft products.
I’d hold off on that.
The author is ignorant of marketing, and what Apple is trying to do. The iPad is not a “portable computer” in the sense the author is wishing it was. It was not designed to be a device for creating content, it is a device for beautifully displaying content created by others. In short, it’s an attempt to create a new category of portable computing device, which is as different a thing as the iPod was in it’s time. It’s an attempt to create a “new market disruption” by providing a means to do something that isn’t being done well or effectively today, or one that requires people to go to a certain place to do it. It’s not a general purpose do-it-all machine, but if Apple has it figured right, it could push the media revolution into high gear and provide another new revenue stream much like what Amazon has with the Kindle.
iThink so
13. Under Øbamanomics, there’s no budget for a $500+ gizmo that’s best selling point is that it’s KEWL. This from a Mac advocate who’s owned 7 since my first Mac Plus in ‘85.
This is the 3rd or fourth article slamming the iPad. Sounds to me like the iPad is an iWa$te.
Original apple products often have a lot of clunky addon adapter stuff to them. This one is no different.
The next version or the one after that will be the one to go for, unless they mess up the battery on the future iPads.
Yep. But it also applies to other products - such as a new concept automobile, especially since there are so many components that are controlled by computer these days.
Seems to me most who have bought it so far, bought it to satisfy their craving for iCandy
Not sure why one needs a dozen reasons to not buy an iCrap whatever.
Wait, this is a case where the free-market will decide.
I've played with the iPad.. I found it to be very much like the iPhone, a nicely created platform to show off a set of technology traits, and that's about it.
A friend who of course ordered the iPad the second orders were accepted got hers on the first day of release, and that evening played Scrabble with it with her friends, each using their iPhones to hold the little letters on, while the iPad was the Scrabble board...
Thankfully, the fanboy toy has done the one drastic thing that has been long missing from the mainstream tablet market - finally set a reasonable baseline price. Shocking for an Apple product, and it gives a clue how huge of margins tablet makers have been skating on, but finally manufactures will need to look at making production pieces in the sub $400 range, and for that, I raise my glass to Apple and say, ‘Great job!’ Yep, while the iPad cult joins the Newton host, we wait for others to develop and market tablets that will actually be useful.
You do not understand. Steve Jobs did not give you a USB port because you do not need one. This is not a democracy.
That’s just wrong on so many levels.
>>That’s just wrong on so many levels.<<
I aim to please... :) ;)
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