[ShadowAuthor]

I had a friend ask me what my initial thoughts about the iPad were, and here was my reply (which turned into a blog post):

So, Steve Jobs held another one of his "look at us, we're so special" press conferences (that's another rant for another post) to introduce the world to the iPad. I've been waiting for this announcement for some time as an Apple fan and aside from having THE WORST product name ever (save for the Nintendo Wii), I see the iPad as one big bag of hurt for consumers. While not entirely exhaustive, here are my gripes below:

No flash. While some see this as a big deal, it won't be as much of a big deal once more sites start going to HTML 5 stuff. That being said, flash is what runs most of the web. Apple simply doesn't want people going to free sites and playing flash games or television on HULU that they would be forced to buy through the App Store and iTunes, respectively.

No multitasking. This is a straight-up no-brainer, WTF were they thinking in Cupertino. Yeah, because nobody EVER wants to open a PDF of the latest quarterly earnings as they're reading an email from the sales department. Or no student would ever want to listen to Pandora/Last FM/etc as they type a term paper. This oversight falls into a category I like to call a 'special kind of stupid.' Jobs touted the iPad as something that caters to both the business realm as well as education, yet the product can't do something that some watches are currently capable of. To Apple's *potential* credit, there is an SDK (Software Development Kit) out right now, so multitasking may be on the horizon soon, but to not have that showing at the debut is just criminal.

It's no e-reader. Jobs calls the iPad the 'Kindle killer.' How so? They're two completely different animals. The Kindle is a specific purpose-built device, whereas the iPad seems to be a jack of all trades, master of none. I have excellent eyesight, but even after staring at a backlit computer screen for a bit typing a paper, my eyes burn. Not so with my Kindle 2. The e-ink display is perfect for reading, I've read entire novels in one sitting with nary a problem. And don't get me started on iBooks' pricing structure. $14.99 for popular titles? I can get them for $9.99 on my Kindle. For the average Joe who may read one book a year that is no big deal, but for people who read a lot, that's big. Not to mention the proprietary DRM (Digital Rights Management) that Apple will be using, there is no telling if people will be able to upload their own books/content to the iPad.

No user replaceable battery. They tout 10-hours of video-watching capability with the battery, but I'd like to see some real-world testing done. I know for a fact that my iPhone 3G's battery doesn't last nearly as long as it should.

This thing sucks for students. I was totally pumped to find out what they were going to unveil; I've been considering a netbook for some time now that I can take to class, but a tablet that I could take notes on, read e-textbooks, highlight and make annotations was just going to be killer. Then they had to go and ruin the party. The case for the iPad is rounded like it's an *ahem* oversized iPod Touch, which means it won't sit flat on a desk or table, thus negating its use as a note-taking screen. Yes, I know there were docks shown that will connect to it, but I wouldn't trust the thing sitting on the small 20"w X 20"l desktops we have on campus. I can just see some kid come walking in, still hung over, bumping my desk, knocking the iPad to the floor and shattering its screen. No thanks.

Still tied to AT&T. I'm an AT&T customer who is happy with my service here in podunk Rochester. The reception is pretty good, but let me tell you, it was very hit-and-miss down in Orlando last October when we went to Disney. I can only imagine how crappy things might get when you add another few hundred thousand (or few million) iPad users taking up bandwidth, unless AT&T is planning on using some of that subscription fee money to upgrade their network. You'll have to pardon me if I don't hold my breath on that one.

No camera. Again, this is another no-brainer. Jeez-a-whiz, you can get $30 pay-as-you go phones that come with a built in camera that can do pictures and video, why in the hell can't this 'magical' device have the same? Utter crap.

No HDMI out. Because, you know, you'd never want to hook up the iPad to your LCD/Plasma/whatever to watch the movie you just bought or spent money renting from the iTunes store.

3:4 screen aspect ratio. What is it, 1992? 16:9 or go home. Even 16:10 would have been an improvement. (for those who don't know; 3:4 ratio is the old 'square TV' ratio, 16:9 is regular widescreen, and the 16:10 is what a good portion of LCD computer monitors use)

Apple's application acceptance/denial process and DRM through iBooks/iTunes/app store. Don't you tell me what I can and can't put on my $500 (at the cheapest price point) iPad after I've purchased those things legally. I can see Apple banning the Kindle/B&N e-reader/Stanza e-reader apps from the iPad because they are in direct competition with the iBooks store.

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but that's all I'm going to type for now.

I've not given up completely on Apple or the iPad, but color me jaded and I'll definitely be sitting back and seeing what happens here. Maybe in its second or third iteration the iPad may be worth considering.