Thoughts on the iPad

I must admit that I'm a little underwhelmed by the iPad. I was expecting something truly ground-breaking and while it appears pretty cool, I'm not going to be a first-day adopted like I was with the iPhone.

Here's why:

1. A4 - Apple's first home-rolled processor. Sounds cool, looks cool. But my experience has taught me to wait. Apple's first-ever technology is usually limited or buggy. I'll wait for the A5 for them to get some of the kinks out.

2. No multi-tasking - running apps in the background is a must for a large-scale version of the iPhone. I put up with it on my phone because I'm simply amazed that something so small can do so much. But the iPad is approaching the size of a laptop. Until the iPad can do more than one thing at a time, I'm not in.

3. Data storage- one reason I'd want an iPad is to take with me on the road instead of lugging my laptop with me. I generally either go on the road for photo trips or for conferences, and I tend to take photos at each. I want to be able to work with those photos in the field and view them on a high resolution monitor. Lack of data storage or the ability to hook up my camera to the iPad (which I'm assuming, since no mention was made of it and because you can't do it on an iPhone) is a deal breaker.

4. The name. iPad? Really? Even one of my non-tech friends at work said, "what a stupid name. They obviously didn't have any women in the focus group that named that thing." Exactly. It' too easy to make fun of, and in fact, already has been. Besides, with a name like iPad, you'd expect to be able to draw on it like you would a yellow legal pad. I was expecting some handwriting recognition at the least.

5. iPhone OS - I love the iPhone OS on my phone. But on a quasi-laptop I expect something a little more robust and versatile. I want to be able to store files and move them around. I want the iPad to be an extension of my desktop, not an extension of my phone. I was really hoping that the iPad would be based on Mac OSX instead of iPhone OS.

6. No tactile response - One thing I'm NOT looking forward to doing is typing o the iPad's screen. Typing on the iPhone is tough enough, but it's manageable because of the small space involved and the fact that I usually only use one finger. With what looks like an almost full-size keyboard, I think it's going to be tough to type on flat glass without some sort of feedback. I have lazy fingers, and I tend to rest one or more of them on the keyboard as I type. That seems like a recipe for error on the iPad. If there was some sort of tactile response, surely, Steve would have mentioned it, right?

7. Sound quality - This is one o those buggy things I mentioned before in first draft products from Apple. I still have a first-gen iPhone that you can barely hear when it's on speakerphone or when it rings. They fixed the problem in the iPhone3G, but I'm concerned. The speakers appear to only be on one side of the bottom of the iPad. What about stereo output? It seems like a poor way to watch video or listen to music if I don't want to use headphones.

8. No camera - I was really, really shocked that there's no camera. I mean, if the iPhone 3G S and the iPod Nano can have one and shoot video, why can't the iPad? Seems like a no-brainer. But alas, it' s missing. That kills A LOT of iPhone apps. I know, I know... the iPod Touch doesn't have a camera, but this is the Jesus Tablet, right? It deserves a camera. And as a side note, does it even have a microphone? [Update: Sorry. I somehow missed the mic on the specs page.]

So there it is. My quick list of why I'm not really excited about buying the first generation iPad. I'll be heading to the Apple store as soon as they come out because I want to hold one, in the same way that I wanted to hold the MacBook Air. But just like the Air, its limitations outweigh its coolness factor for me to want one now.