Apple iPad: A To-Be Failure
Ok, sure, I’m a bit biased, but here are some pointers as to why the Apple iPad is not going to be a huge success.
First off, “iPad”, really?!? What kind of name is that. I remember looking at early “renditions” of the fabled Apple Tablet with names including iSlate and iPad. At some point, there was a Borders survey that mentioned and iPad, and I immediately scoffed at the name.
For all this time, people were imagining some amazing device that would be somewhere in the field between smartphones and laptops, not just a huge iPod Touch.
Really, I don’t see why you would spend $499 or more on a device that basically does what an iPod does, but with a larger (multitouch) screen which is supposed to make reading book, browsing the web, and the such easier.
You could buy a netbook for a cheaper price and it would come with a keyboard as well as more functionality. Not to mention you could get one with a touchscreen as well.
Granted, the iPad does have some good points such as weighing 1.5 lbs and a 10 hour battery life, but really that is about it. Look at how stupid the device looks in Steve Job’s hands, being just a huge iPod:
You’ll be able to run all the iPhone/iPod apps on the iPad. Though there is still no multitasking, giving further reason as to the little benefit between the iPod Touch and iPad.
People who want to have an excellent on the go reading device should get a Kindle (which gives you a very paper-life experience), those who want to get a great multimedia device, get something along the lines of an iPod (I’m only saying this to prove a point), if you want to have a cheap portable computing device, get a netbook. So tell me, why would you get an iPad?
So, $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32 GB model, and $699 for the 64GB model. 3G adds $130. The Wi-Fi only model will come out in 60 days, and the 3G one in 90 days.
Images from Apple.Com and Engadget.com
Gizmodo article: http://i.gizmodo.com/5458292/apple-ipad-everything-you-need-to-know
Gizmodo has a great guide to all the rumors that sprung up regarding the Apple Tablet:http://gizmodo.com/5434566/the-exhaustive-guide-to-apple-tablet-rumors
Specs: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/
Engadget Article: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/the-apple-ipad/
Engadget Apple Tablet History: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/26/the-apple-tablet-a-complete-history-supposedly/
The Standard (agrees with me!): http://www.thestandard.com/news/2010/01/27/early-ipad-reaction-its-just-giant-ipod-touch?source=nlt_weekly
“You could buy a netbook for a cheaper price and it would come with a keyboard as well as more functionality. Not to mention you could get one with a touchscreen as well.”
Can you give an example of touchscreen tech on netbook products for the quoted iPad price points?
Sure. There are the Asus Eee PC Touch T91 and the Lenovo S10-3t, both available now.
I would just like to point out that some of your google ads on your blog are displaying Apple ads xD. Ironic, no?
From the US News article “21 Things You Should Never Buy New”
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2010/06/28/21-things-you-should-never-buy-new
…
Tablets
The iPad gets lots of love from critics and consumers alike, but is actually a step behind.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in June that the iPad was the company’s media missing link: Developed before the iPhone, but released much later. The problem is that, as a giant iPod Touch, it’s less functional than the iPhone that preceded it.
“The iPad is very much a media playback device with a focus on video due to this large screen and relative lack of portability compared to a handset or MP3 player,” NPD’s Rubin says. “In the case of media playback, there’s not much that is outside the scope of handset design to accommodate that, so these players are particularly vulnerable to cannibalization by smartphones — which is something Apple likely realized.”
The iPad isn’t alone, as perfectly functional Windows tablets face the same plight as users drift toward what Dulaney calls the “moveable experience” — with wireless outputs enabling much smaller devices to display on much larger screens in airport lounges, classrooms and elsewhere. With Android tablets hitting the market, Research in Motion (NasdaqGS: RIMM – News) launching its BlackPad in the fall and even Best Buy (NYSE: BBY – News) hinting at a tablet, the platform is growing — with Gartner predicting 10.5 million sold this year. Unless it slims down or integrates, however, excuses for its existence will shrink.
“What made the iPod so cool and so desirable are things that are done on other devices that do so much else as well,” says Robert Thompson, a pop-culture professor at Syracuse University. “I imagine we’re going to be making fun of the new iPad pretty soon, too.”
Oops, sorry, cut and paste error on the article reference in my comment. The beginning of my comment should have been:
From the Yahoo article of 16-Aug-2010, entitled “6 Endangered Tech Species”,
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110304/6-endangered-tech-species
thanks