My take on all this (via a LONG post on FB - my apologies):
I read that Gizmodo thing last night. (
http://i.gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad )
You know, where they bitch and moan about the iPad being not what THEY wanted.
While I can agree with some of the complaints they listed (the name, multitasking, for example); a lot of the other complaints lack support and, to be honest, some of them apply to all laptops/netbooks etc. So singling them out in a list of why one item "sucks" over something else doesn't garner you any credence imho.
Let me see if I can say why some of the objections are, well, silly:
1) Camera
- a front facing camera, sure, I can see that if you wanted to have an iChat with your iFriends or such but a REAR facing camera? Have you ever seen a 4x5 or 8x10 view camera? Can you imaging holding this 6x8" tablet up and using it like a camera phone? How dumb would that look?
🙂
2) Bezel Size
- horses for courses - Gizmodo themselves state that it's not a good thing to accidentally input something when you're just holding onto the item but apparently the bezel is "too big" - so who's fingers/thumbs do you use as a guide, mine or Andre the Giants?
3) Touch Keyboad
-"this is the same big, ugly touchscreen keyboard we've seen on other tablets," - 'nuff said - the revolution will have to come from someone else regarding this item - it appears no one gets it right but apparently that's Apple's fault in Gizmodo's eyes
😉
4) No HDMI Out
- yep, this would be cool, but you also have to remember the type of company that Apple is. It's not like ASUS or ACER or Fujitsu or such - they have content to deliver and the more people they can get to buy into the delivery system (which includes the hardware of all sorts/types) the better. They ain't gonna give away the farm. I wonder if any of current hardware companies would do anything different if they too were deliverers of not just hardware but content as well.
5) No Flash Support
- I used to think Flash was the best thing ever. Seriously. But then, of course, there's only so many times when trying to browse a site that one likes to get inundated with someone elses music while trying to hunt the page for the "off" switch or the "skip intro" links. Flash is not supported by the iPhone or iPod Touch either. I personally don't care for it but I do understand it's usefulness - that said I have heard that it will be "replaced" in HTML 5 via HTML5 video but even that's up in the air with respect to FireFox (which doesn't impact the Apple mobile products . . . .yet).
6) Adapters
- I'm looking at my laptop right now, every single thing that's plugged into it requires a USB cable or some, yes, adapter to attach to another system. I would agree that Apple's adapters may be clunky and awkward but what does one expect, to magically teleport things back and forth via brainwaves... I bet the thing will have bluetooth in it at some point (if it doesn't already - remember the iPod touch?) and that may help but until then you're going to have to use SOMETHING to connect your devices to the thing - same goes for netbooks and laptops - so it's no different.
All in all, Apple's new device looks nice but I don't see a need (or a want to be honest) for it. Just like when they announced the Macbook Air - nice for those that could use it or want to use it but not for me.
It seems that no matter what is announced by Apple, there will always be devotees that will say it's the "best thing ever" and there will be detractors that will say that the item "stinks". All I know is, when Apple makes an announcement of this type, even if previous devices existed for umpteen years, it brings those devices to the forefront and allows for those to compete (or update and compete) directly with what Apple has brought to market. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.
Cheers,
Dave
