What is it with the new Apple iPad that has the tech savvy gadgetomaniacs going gaga over this so called steroid ingested, bloated, over sized or what not iPhone or iPod Touch or what ever it is 'just a copy of'?
For one and above all it is an 'Apple' product and as much as it may seem to have disappointed so many eagerly awaiting the wonder machine, this thing has promise. It's not just the reputation of the company but certainly the brains behind it which may just tilt the balance in favor of the iPad and bring in a drastic change in the way entertainment, browsing, reading and many other things are seen.
First things first! It is not an over-sized iPhone or iPod Touch. It is rather a shrunken laptop replacement with a custom designed 1GHz Apple A4 processor which brings the really fast and reliable technology used in the iPhone to the iPad taking the experience to a really new level. With the weight at a very sweet pound and a half people will never have to grudge about carrying something heavy on their shoulders and the sleek and slim design with a 9.7 inch screen makes it easy all the more. People may henceforth never think of leaving home without their personal computer and voila; you almost have a laptop on the go! Everywhere!
I believe the iPad is not some thing to replace the smart phone. Rather it is to make the browsing experience much more better. With iWork becoming really easy to use compared to the iPhone and the entire webpage visible in one screen the iPad really overcomes a lot of what the iPhone was lacking. Browsing, reading online, watching videos and editing documents or presentations is going to be much more easier and practical on the iPad. Add to this a 10 hour battery life and for the really adventurous ones, the 3G network would mean internet on the go without having to worry about finding a Wi-Fi hot spot or a power socket.
Giving a new meaning to personal computing, there are two more things which the iPad succeeds in accomplishing. It comes in handy as a digital photo viewer and an e-book reader. Which means bye-bye to the photo viewer for a certainty but how successful the iPad will be in converting the e-reading market depends on how it tackles the issue of back light and the superb E-ink technology which the present day e-readers boast of! The Apple bandwagon surely must have thought a way out of that!
People still have two more major concerns which are being aired all over. No flash! No camera! Well, none of the apple products have ever supported flash before and I don't know what the fuss is all about. You-tube works fine and that is all that should matter, I guess. But the camera. Oh yes! I came across a legitimate reason for leaving that out too. The cranky AT & T network was never going to support the volume of video conferencing that could arise from people gobbling up a possibility like that and of course the phone companies would cry sore if their businesses suffer. Their is still time for Gtalk and Skype to take over the communication industry.
And those who say a camera to click pictures. Oh well, I have nothing to say to them. How much the touch screen Keyboard is convenient to use is something to be seen. Apple they say suffers on their promised battery life and the absence of a USB port are things that Apple may have to figure out in their future versions of the iPad. Will these issues stop people from actually going ahead and replacing their personal computer all together or not or wether they see the Ipad as none of all this but an all together new device to proudly own are going to be the biggest questions.
The iPad most certainly will win hearts with its user interface which definitely looks like nothing any body has ever seen or experienced before. This exactly is what I believe will either make or break this piece of extreme human technology. Whether the iPad ushers in a completely new era of personal devices with the 'concept' or 'idea' making its mark on the people more than the product itself or will it sink into an unlikely silent oblivion is the question waiting to be answered!
And yes of course. Then there are the applications!
