The backlash against iPad begins

[Hum]

People are starting to wake up and wonder why they spent good money that they don't have on an Apple iPad.

Two weeks before the same hysteria that swept the US over the iPad hits blighty, reviewers in the US are wondering what the hell they were thinking about.

Fairly typical was this one from Techland where the reviewer said that he was unlikely to ever use the thing again.

In fact, since Peter Ha took the wrapping off the beast he has hardly ever used it.

"I spent over $800 on it and it has been sitting on my couch untouched for days. I don't have the luxury of spending that much money without thinking twice about it," he moaned.

He said he still thought the iPad was a great device, but the apps just aren't doing much for him. And he could not be bothered sticking in his wireless network password every 20-30 minutes.

It seems Ha, like many iPad owners, are just waking up to the fact of something that we have been saying for ages. This is basically that tablet devices don't have a place and anything that says they do is just marketing.

The fact that the iPad can't see Flash, its apps are junk, and you need arms like the Incredible Hulk to read anything longer than a page, does not enter into it. The fact is no one really wants a keyboardless netbook which is crippled by an AT&T service which is as horrendous as it is on the iPhone.

After a while, using an iPhone operating system on a tablet with no file management system or ability to multi-task is just driving everyone nuts.

Hopefully by the time the third generation comes along even these guys will realise that the iPad is technology that no one needs.

source

[Chasethebase Veteran]

Surprise surprise. I expected this, it seems like just a gimmick to me to be honest. Apple would have done a much better job producing a netbook that ran OS X, because it's been proven that OS X runs well on netbook hardware.

Wasted opportunity on Apple's part.

[KeeperOfThePizza]

Agreed, in the mean time you could always just go back to Apple and slap Steve Jobs with it (pretty much the only good the ipad is for)

[Chasethebase Veteran]

Agreed, in the mean time you could always just go back to Apple and slap Steve Jobs with it (pretty much the only good the ipad is for)

See if Apple had made a netbook, the tech reporters like Engadget and Techcrunch would be all over it, it's be something they'd use when going to stuff like CES and MWC.

But no, Apple failed miserably, I can't deny it's a cool device but that's all it has running for it in my eyes.

[sundayx Veteran]

It needs content, and it will come. Give developers time.

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Who didn't see this coming?

The Apple iPad is comparable to the Sony PSP GO.

Looks pretty, but thats where it ends.

[Klownicle]

Thoe I agree with the iPad's usefulness in some areas (eBooks), once iPhone 4.0 OS comes out offically, it will bring multi tasking (rumor?) to the iPad. But things like File Management will doubtfully ever come due to apple's restrictions. I still wouldn't use a iPad device just doesn't seem needed.

I'm a huge fan of webOS and Palm products. HP wants to build a webOS Tablet by the end of the year. Will I buy it, itd be sweet; but being a user of smart devices I think about its use before hand. Tablets never took off, and they won't for awhile if ever. We are in a timeframe were we want small devices that do it all. iPhone > iPad.

[SaltLife]

See if Apple had made a netbook, the tech reporters like Engadget and Techcrunch would be all over it, it's be something they'd use when going to stuff like CES and MWC.

But no, Apple failed miserably, I can't deny it's a cool device but that's all it has running for it in my eyes.

I don't honestly think that it would have faired any better. For one it would have been very expensive. Just look at HP's elitebook series. They start at 1,200 for their tablets. So, I could only imagine what an OSX or macbook tablet would cost. Besides, these elitebooks don't make national headlines.

I personally think people didn't know what they were buying. It's a good device, but needs to advance (which I'm sure it will).

My wife and I would like to pick one up as we have an aging laptop and I have no need for a new one. But we would like to have a device we can take with us (we travel a lot) that allows for movies, music, web browsing and the occasional office productivity work (iworks). But I didn't want a full-on netbook.

We don't own an iDevice, so this would be a new experience for us, vs someone who already owns an iPod or whatever.

[1337ish]

The thing that I think is fail is that surely they could have found a way to have both?

Lets face it the iPhone emulator runs fine on MAC so why not just allow people to run iPhone apps properly on OSX. I would have build a Air but with rotating touch screen (to cover keyboard) then built 2 modes into the iPad, one that is full fat OSX which allows tons to run when the keyboard is exposed and then when rotated it *can* switch to iPhone-esc mode with the battery saving apps etc which are more finger friendly.

This I would have bought....

[SaltLife]

The thing that I think is fail is that surely they could have found a way to have both?

Lets face it the iPhone emulator runs fine on MAC so why not just allow people to run iPhone apps properly on OSX. I would have build a Air but with rotating touch screen (to cover keyboard) then built 2 modes into the iPad, one that is full fat OSX which allows tons to run when the keyboard is exposed and then when rotated it *can* switch to iPhone-esc mode with the battery saving apps etc which are more finger friendly.

This I would have bought....

Yea, but can you imagine how expensive that would have been. The base air is 1,499. So I'd imagine adding the iPad functionality would thrown an additional 800 minimum so you have a device that costs over 2,000. I don't see many people jumping on that. Of course, this would all be speculation on the price.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

I think this article is "slightly" biased.

It needs content, and it will come. Give developers time.

Come on, it's been 6 weeks, there should be like 80 million apps for it now.

[sundayx Veteran]

Come on, it's been 6 weeks, there should be like 80 million apps for it now.

Don't forget it runs all the iPhone apps so there's like a bajillion apps.

[protocol7]

and you need arms like the Incredible Hulk to read anything longer than a page

This for me is the real reason I think the iPad was destined to fail. Touchscreen is really only practical with a handheld device like the iPhone. There's a reason the keyboard and mouse have remained largely unchanged since their inception. It's still the most natural, comfortable means of interaction. I just fail to see how anyone could use an iPad for an hour or more without feeling discomfort.

[hdood]

Sounds like this Peter Ha bought it on impulse and is now trying to blame everyone else for being stupid.

[acnpt]

Strange, I've seen stories about people rarely using their laptops since they have bought an iPad.

I can't wait to get my iPad on the 28th.

The applications I want are on it, and I hardly visit flash websites.

Also if the iPads app store fails, then I can't see an android tablet doing any better, the quality of apps in the marketplace is dire.(eg no eBay!).

As long as you don't intend to use it as a full computer replacemeant you should be fine, and if your not you can always sell it on eBay for profit.

[_neutrino Veteran]

That is generally what happens when you just supersize an existing device that has very little useful functionality. I understand the point of the iPod touch however, the oversized iPad, is just useless, you might use it every once in again however, for the cost you better use it daily.

[e-berlin.org]

It needs content, and it will come. Give developers time.

Absolutely. I know what miracles you can make on a tiny iPod Touch, including composing music, image editing, etc. iPad developers need some time and next thing you'll see is a lot of people playing, working and creating with it. It's a beautiful piece of hardware, it just needs good software.

[The Gunslinger]

Absolutely. I know what miracles you can make on a tiny iPod Touch, including composing music, image editing, etc. iPad developers need some time and next thing you'll see is a lot of people playing, working and creating with it. It's a beautiful piece of hardware, it just needs good software.

See, this right here is the problem. The ipad is a media consumption device...thats the main reason, publishers, and the likes are jumping on the bandwagon. If it tries to be anything more than that, the limitations of the device will be evident rather quickly (no multi-tasking, file management, etc).

[e-berlin.org]

If it tries to be anything more than that, the limitations of the device will be evident rather quickly (no multi-tasking, file management, etc).

True, but these are all issues related to the OS used, not to the device itself. Soon we'll witness a wave of jailbroken ones.

[Xenomorph]

This sounds like a "stupid people" backlash.

Someone buying the iPad "just because"? Because it's a hot item? That is their fault.

I want one because I KNOW I'd have dozens of things I want to do with it. I already have an iPhone with 300+ applications. Many of those apps have native iPad versions now that I get to use for free.

I'd keep the device with me when away from my computer as a nice way of checking email. I can check email on my phone, but having an iPad with a much larger screen and better browsing experience would be nice.

I'd use the device for an improved LogMeIn experience. LogMeIn is great on the iPhone, and would be even better on the iPad with an actual functional resolution.

Flash is NOT a deal killer for me. I go out of my way to block most Flash in Firefox on my computer, WHY would I want that crap draining a portable device's battery???

[1337ish]

Absolutely. I know what miracles you can make on a tiny iPod Touch, including composing music, image editing, etc. iPad developers need some time and next thing you'll see is a lot of people playing, working and creating with it. It's a beautiful piece of hardware, it just needs good software.

Yeh dev'ed apps will help, I just wish Apple were not so stupid with the SDK restrictions for us poor devs :(

I hate Objective C, they should have gone c# or java at least but damn (imo) ObjC is nasty.

Oooh please let them condone monotouch.....

[shakey]

Of course this would happen. Hell, It can't do half of what a phone can do, bust cost so much more. A bigger screen is only going to appeal so someone for so long, but the lack of HD content will make the big screen not even useful.

The new OS with "Multi-Tasking", whatever type they bring, will most likely kill the amazing battery life the item has, leaving it then even more useless. Hell, if it could read the content online right, it might be somewhat useful. But its lack of flash support makes it not even useful for that...

[maash]

Ha Ha !

[Elliott]

The new OS with "Multi-Tasking", whatever type they bring, will most likely kill the amazing battery life the item has, leaving it then even more useless.

Actually, speaking from experience, their multi-tasking model keeps the battery running just as long as it always has (at least on the iPhone). Of course, this is variable depending on how much each app developers create use the multi-tasking, but there's only so much a developer can do to chew up CPU cycles once an app is "closed." For instance, the only apps that should actually contribute to loss of battery life are full-fledged GPS apps (like TomTom; an app that just updates your location like Foursquare can just use cell tower triangulation which doesn't add any extra load to the device) and maybe Pandora (since it has to use a higher-bandwidth network connection).

This article and its expert source are the first I've heard of these so-called "typical" reviews about the usefulness of the iPad. I know I continue to use mine every day, and new and useful apps are coming out for it every day. iPhone OS 4 will definitely touch base on a lot of the downsides of the device, though it definitely needs a better file management system. Hell, Apple should just tap into MobileMe and allow OTA sync of files. The current iTunes-based system is awful.

Yeh dev'ed apps will help, I just wish Apple were not so stupid with the SDK restrictions for us poor devs :(

I hate Objective C, they should have gone c# or java at least but damn (imo) ObjC is nasty.

Oooh please let them condone monotouch.....

Java? :x

[Rudy]

Yeh dev'ed apps will help, I just wish Apple were not so stupid with the SDK restrictions for us poor devs :(

I hate Objective C, they should have gone c# or java at least but damn (imo) ObjC is nasty.

Oooh please let them condone monotouch.....

It makes sense for them to use Obj-C, all their tools already use it AND it's a true superset of C so developers with existing C code can use it directly (I'm sure lots of them are bringing their existing C + OpenGL games directly with small modifications to make it work better on the small screen). Makes more sense than using something completely incompatible like C#