The iPad reviewed
The iPad is a brilliant concept: a computer driven solely by your touch. Since the announcement of the iPad on January 27, 2010, no device has generated such a stir. Rumors about the iPad ranged from running Mac OS X to having a built-in camera. This article will provide facts and dispel rumours. And with all the hype on the internet, you’re bound to need the rumors dispelled and the facts outlined.
The iPad has a 9.7-inch multi-touch LED (backlit) display, 1024×768 pixel resolution, an A4 processor, 16-64GB of flash storage, Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 support. The iPad comes in 2 flavors: a WIFI-only version and a WIFI+3G version. The iPad weighs approximately 1.6 pounds. Like its predecessors, it has an accelerometer and runs on iPhone OS (albeit in a slightly modified version). The iPad claims a 10-hour battery life, though the settings used to achieve this are unknown. There are several criticisms with these features. Why was iPhone OS used instead of MAC OS? Mac OS is not optimized for multi-touch screen like iPhone OS. Another criticism concerns the A4 processor. The A4 processor contains the same graphics chip as the iPhone 3GS, but is only 400mhz higher. Will the A4 renderer support the highest resolution without bugs or crashes? The iPad works in a 4:3 aspect ratio. This aspect ratio is great for reading books and browsing the web, but it will be problematic for watching movies – the letterbox format would be too large.
The critics. The three big criticisms of the iPad are: the lack of flash, the lack of multitasking and the lack of a camera. The lack of flash is officially explained by interfering with the battery life of the device. Unofficially, there are several possible explanations. The first assumes that Apple wants to keep a tight grip on its AppStore. Enabling flash will allow users to get apps normally sold on the AppStore for free and thus undermine Apple’s profits (no longer the $99 developer fee). The second guess is that Apple wants to be the herald of the new HTML 5 technology. Seeing the popularity of the iPad, developers will want to jump on the HTML5 bandwagon to maximize profits. Although flash is prevalent on the web today, HTML5 will slowly break Adobe’s monopoly, and yet there’s nothing a good jailbreak can’t fix. The lack of multitasking is also a problem. Multitasking is actually already present in iPhone OS 3.0, but it’s only restricted to Apple apps. This is done for security and battery reasons. An Apple Insider has announced that Apple has already announced the fix to the multitasking issue, maybe the new “long press” gesture will bring a “task manager” like interface. Once again, nothing a jailbreak can’t fix (backgrounder+Proswitcher for the iPhone). Another concern for potential consumers is the lack of a camera. One should expect things like this from Apple: a camera is something they would add to the iPad Generation 2 to promote sales. A camera shouldn’t be the selling point, however, for consumers who absolutely need a camera, a 30-pin attached camera for the iPad is rumored
The good. The iPad was never intended to be a netbook substitute. A netbook is a buggy little device. iPad provides a closed, seamless, and optimized experience. There are tablets technologically superior to the iPad (HPSlate and Adam from Notion Ink). However, these devices are not optimized for the mobile platform. The HPSlate runs on Windows 7, an awkward choice for a touch-oriented device. Notion Ink’s Adam runs on Android 2.0, however, it runs on a Pixel Qi (color electronic ink) display, which is not a good replacement for LCD. The iPad is a closed system, so there are no annoying viruses or bugs (imagine a virus on a tablet). The iPad comes with access to an already populated AppStore. Whatever your interests, over 140,000 apps are sure to meet all your needs. The iPad sacrifices some of its technical features to provide an experience that can be enjoyed by someone as young as a child or as non-tech-oriented as an older adult.
Starting March 12, the iPad will be available for pre-order. Should I reserve an iPad? I would advise against it. Wait a few days after iPad’s official launch (April 3 for the US and a little later for other countries) and watch some videos to get a general idea of the device. Wait for all the hype to settle and decide if it’s your type of device. Which version should you buy? I’d recommend 3G – there’s nothing like having the internet at your fingertips, however if you plan to use the iPad at home the Wi-Fi version should work just fine. The iPad is a revolutionary new device. don’t stay behind