Luis Andre Garrigo

Top 10 iPad Disappointments

When it comes to technology, overhyping a product launch can prove disastrous. The only thing keeping Apple from such a disastrous outcome is fanboy-ism. C’mon, there really is no reason to shell out $200+ every summer to buy a new iPhone. Let’s be honest, the upgrades are rarely major.

My initial reaction to the iPad was no different. “Sweet,” I thought, “I already own one!” The iPhone & iPod Touch are iPad Mini’s. I would have liked to see several features in the iPad in order to distinguish it from its iPhone & iPod Touch siblings. That didn’t happen. Let’s go over what Apple should do to solve this problem…

1. Memory — 8gb, 16gb, 32gb are all laughable sizes. I foresaw a product that could hold my entire iTunes library and a decent-sized chunk of my DVD library, but Apple failed to deliver in this department. The technology is readily available (albeit SSD does cost a pretty penny). Memory is a “must deal with” issue before I consider purchasing an iPad.
2. Closed Source — All apps must be approved by Apple, and are only available through the App Store. Not this SH*T, again! The alleged iPad “netbook” killer isn’t going to be killing any netbooks until you open it up to legitimate outside developers. Give me a touch-screen version of Snow Leopard, not a dumbed-down iPhone OS. For god’s sake, even Microsoft understands this.
3. Syncing — Really? I have to have a full computer with iTunes to sync this bad boy? The iPad should be stand-alone. If not, you should at least be able to sync it wirelessly (wifi and maybe even 3g). If Backblaze can keep the entire contents of my 250gb hard drive perpetually synced with the cloud, then so should Apple.
4. Screen — Eye doctors everywhere breathed a collective sigh of relief last night. Has everyone forgotten how much reading off an LCD screen sucks? It pails in comparison to e-ink or paper. Oh, the consumer’s poor eyes…
5. External Inputs/Outputs — 32-pin, really? It is one thing to install a proprietary connector on a phone, but it is not a viable solution to do so on a tablet. Place this under the “too similar to an iPhone category,” and in the mean time give me a couple of usb & firewire inputs, HDMI outputs, and SD expansion card slots.
6. Multitasking — Seriously? This will be the iPad’s copy/paste moment. Even my Windows 95 computer was capable of multitasking FIFTEEN YEARS AGO! The iPad is not a small handset device, it is more powerful and more capable than that. Treat it how it deserves to be treated.
7. Camera — Well, we can throw video conferencing right out the door until the iPad has a camera. The possibilities of a front-side camera were endless. You blew it on this one.
8. Adobe Flash — You have got to be kidding me. I’m not sure what the exact percentage of websites that utilize flash is, but I know that it is a large number. Apple, you wanted the iPad to offer the ultimate web surfing experience. That will not happen until all web pages can be properly rendered. The iPad will be seen as just another mobile browser until is gets flash support. Should webmasters redirect iPads to their website’s iPhone landing page? Only time will tell. Just don’t expect me to sit around pleasantly waiting for HTML5 standards to become universal because you refuse to make a deal with Adobe.
9. AT&T — Steve: Did you hear everyone “boo” when you said AT&T’s name? Very few like their service. We want the freedom to choose our own carriers. Hell, if you are forcing us into using AT&T service then at least make them subsidize the cost of the iPad.
10. Name — The iPad … seriously? It would have been wise to differentiate the iPad’s name with more than just one letter. And the iEverything theme is dated. The iPad launch could have been the start of a new direction for Apple. A new direction deserves a new name. iPad doesn’t roll off the tongue to well either. And at the end of the day, I really feel bad for Bostonians. How on earth are they going to differentiate their pronunciation of the iPod and the iPad?

The thing is, I really didn’t want a big iPod Touch. There’s no innovation there. Innovation would have been introducing Snow Leopard with a touch interface. I would have liked to see the keyboard and mouse replaced with finger controls. It will inevitably happen, and I had faith that Apple was going to do it with the iPad.

I don’t expect the iPhone/iPod craze to apply to the iPad. There’s no direct need for consumers to waste $500+ on this product. Face it, the technology behind the iPhone did not exist when the product was introduced, and that’s why the iPhone was the talk of the town for months after its launch. In contrast, the iPad takes an existing technology (from the same company) and increases the screen size.

Here’s what I propose: The iPad Pro. I will gladly shell out $999 for this figurative iPad Pro, but before I do all of the above missing features must be addressed in one way or another.

Signed,
- Apple Fanboy

Note: I haven’t yet used the device.

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