Size: 10″ is the right size for the display, and using an IPS display is a great choice for picture quality if you expect people to be reading eBooks – but that huge frame around screen is U-G-L-Y. They need to slim that down ASAP. Also, its not wide screen. Granted, the 8.5″x11″ printed page is much closer to 4:3 than 16:9, but it still looks like its from 1998 (or what someone from 1998 would imagine if you described some of the features of the device).
Battery: 25Wh for 10 hours? Even watching video? Well that will be interesting to test to see if it really holds up… that IPS display has to be using more than 2.5W of power (more like 4-5W).
Platform: Runs iPhone OS, seems to do really well, especially scaling up iPhone games.
Camera: What? No camera? Boooo!
Wireless Data Access: The issue is whether or not to go 3G (HSPA only) and what the costs are. 250MB for $15 is kinda small, I use about 400MB/mo on my iPhone, and I would expect to use more on an iPad. 400MB/mo for $20 would have suited me well. $30/mo unlimited is expensive since I’m already paying $30 for my iPhone data access. The question is what are the overage costs? Are they sane (100MB/$5 up to $30 total cost for unlimited), are they astronomically ridiculous rates that we’ve come to expect from wireless carriers, or does the 3G connection simply stop working (or slow down to EDGE speeds) when you hit that 250MB limit. AT&T is still the sole carrier in the US it appears, since it doesn’t look like it supports T-Mobile’s 3G AWS band (1900/2100MHz).
iWork: Um, nice I guess? $10 each is a deal, but I have a hard time imaging myself using it. It seems these got tacked on so Apple could say its more than just something you use on the toilet. I cant really see myself using iWork applications on this device. Maybe bring it to work and hook it up to the video out and use it to show off Keynote presentations, thats about it. The keyboard dock is weird as well – bluetooth keyboards might be a better option so we’ll see how well that works.
Price: $499 is outstanding – I had expected a much higher price. I’d probably get the 32GB model for $599. The problem is that I don’t know if I need it. I could get one as a “toy” to play around with, but I don’t know how useful it might be. I would expect the 16GB WiFi model to be the best seller – I guarantee that for a lot of people, the iPad wont leave the home; if it does, you’d use it on a trip (on an airplane where you cant use a cell phone anyways) and when you reach your destination you’ll have wifi available to use either at a hotel or friends house. While 16GB is enough for music, movies, and some TV shows, 32GB should be plenty for just about everyone. I have a 32GB iPhone and still haven’t filled it up (its at about 24/29GB used now).
Missing: A lot, including…
- Camera(s) for iChat, pictures, video
- WiFi-based Sync
- Ability to handle voice calls (to replace carrying around an iPhone, though a bluetooth earpiece would be required)
The Best Thing
The best thing about the iPad launch today isn’t even about the iPad. The best thing is that we’re likely to see the same chip, or a derivative, of the custom A4 CPU in the iPad put in the 2010 iPhone. Whats so good about that? I’m expecting a non-trivial battery life improvement when used to watch video, or using applications. Cellular-based talk time and mobile web surfing will probably stay the same (5-6 hours) but I would expect that if you spend most of your day playing games or using WiFi data, you’re likely to see a 25% improvement. It doesn’t look like the cellular data chip will be getting any more power smart (Infineon hasn’t announced any new chips, nor has 45nm RF CMOS been announced as available from any fab – thats tech speak for its the same chip as last year).
The Worst Thing
The name is fucking stupid. The next new SNL episode will certainly feature a hilarious “iPad” skit where it’s a um.. female hygiene device.
And I was hoping that the MacBook Pro would have been updated, as well as some announcement as to other carriers in the US (Verizon). Maybe next month we’ll see updated MacBook Pros (I really want to buy a new one!).
Final Thoughts
Seriously though, Apple is expecting the iPad to ride the coattails of the iPhone’s AppStore to success. While its glaringly missing features that other tablets will have this year, the other tablets wont have a whole lot of apps because they on processors that aren’t compatible with regular Windows operating systems, and the random assortment of operating systems they can run generally aren’t compatible.
But I don’t know if it will be as easy as Apple seems to think. There is a 20-25% of the iPad becoming the next AppleTV – a failure.
I would hope that the iPad 2.0 (presumably shipping every year at the end of the first quarter from here on out) would get features like front and back-facing cameras (for video conferencing and taking pictures and video of things out in the field), as well as a design without that huge border around the screen.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Apple and the Verizon iPhone – 2011 Edition
- iOS 4.0 Quick Review
- Beware of cell phone companies bearing gifts…
- Guesses on iPhone 4th-Generation
- You’re not Apple, stop trying to be…
- Wishlist for iPhone OS 4.0
- More thoughts on an xMac…
- MacBook Pro 2010 Predictions
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