Look at that thing. Though the Apple iPad isn’t exactly a monstrosity and the 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 screen is great to look at, I will be amazed if anyone actually thinks of using one in public. I mean who would be fool enough to type on the iPad on a sidewalk where everyone will stare at you like you’re the craziest Apple fanboy that ever walked? At one and a half pounds, the iPad is best suited for work on your lap. It’s not just a big iPhone, though it definitely looks like a big iPhone, but a mobile computer without a physical keyboard. Oh, I see some hospital staff carrying this–the price is pretty good at $499 for the cheapest version–while doing their rounds but Steve Jobs obviously didn’t make the Apple iPad for the medical and health care professions. So why make it in the first place? Two reasons come to mind.

1. P.A. Semi chips. Apple bought the company over a year ago and though it may not yet be able to replace Intel chips in the present MacBooks, P.A. Semi low-powered chips are well suited for the Apple iPad. Engadget writes that the device is blazing fast because of the PA Semi chip.

2. Tablet and E-Reader market catching fire. Though only the EReader market is actually taking in sizable customers, Apple may be thinking it can do to the Tablets what it has done to the mobile phone and maybe even do the same to the market–with the iBookstore App on the iPad–dominated by Amazon Kindle. The Apple iPad is designed to appeal to both markets.

Shulda made that Apple Netbook Instead.

There are reasons for the Apple iPad, but it fails in design and in its specifications. It may be able to take the lead in the Tablet or MID (mobile Internet device) market, but don’t expect iPhone- or iPod-type sales for the Apple iPad. And forget killing Kindle. Amazon learned a valuable lesson when they came out with Kindle. Customers are not willing to pay for books above $10. Although Amazon didn’t exactly succumb to $9.99 Kindle books, the prices rarely stray too far above the $10 mark. Meanwhile, the $14.99 prices per book on the iBookstore is too much for any reader who really likes reading and care for his eyes. Why pay more for the regular computer screen experience, which as most people would agree, has been a plague for readers since the invention of the computer. Don’t get me wrong, the iBookstore app is a wonder to behold, but it’s still a backlit screen you’ll be staring at for hours.

It’s not a computer!

The Apple iPad also doesn’t do multitasking and no cameras as previously thought. It’s cheaper than everyone expected for a new Apple device, starting only at $499. The iPad is obviously lovingly constructed. It’s as well-built as any Apple hardware in the market but the design is flawed from any angle you look at it. You cannot carry it unless it’s locked in your armpit or its inside a bag. You cannot use it for any length of time unless you lay it on your lap or on a flat surface. You cannot work on it productively, especially with no multitasking support and forget downloading applications not available via the App Store. Apple, I think, had a choice between making the iPad or making a netbook contender and they’ve chosen to support the wrong one.

Why no camera?

A touchscreen Apple netbook with a P.A. Semi chip going for the same price as the iPad will not only make Apple a lot of money but will help it create a new market segment for Apple products… something in the casual surfing, gaming market. This has been brought up before and the conclusion was that it falls too close to the iPod Touch market segment. I think that’s wrong. iPod Touch is basically a multimedia device. People I know use it for music, videos and playing with cheap applications. In the Apple Netbook, Cupertino could create a new market for pricier gaming and productivity apps. It’s not going to be a Kindle killer, but at least it will sell and it won’t be a health hazard for readers. Why offer an inferior and even dangerous alternative to the E-ink reader when you can ignore the market you will never beat anyway and create your own?

The only way I could think of that the iPad would be put to goo use is video conferencing or video calling. I could picture myself on Skype or on Yahoo! Messenger with the video for hours at a time. This is the only reason I’d want to bring a device with this form factor with me, especially with Apple’s promise of ten-hour computing.

Apple netbook love.

An apple netbook would’ve made more sense. I don’t see a future for the Apple iPad, even if they are able to make a more user-friendly second generation. The iBookstore is a good idea only if they can lower the price to below Kindle levels. There’s only so much bull**** Apple admirers can absorb in a year, and the new iPhone (hopefully, iPhone 4G with new hardware and no iPhone 3G S version 2 or something) is coming up next.

Apple iPad + AT&T 3G? Fahgettaboudit!

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Steve Jobs, Apple, the iPad, and King Gillette - INO.om

episode 015 - Rakuten, smart.fm, iPad, WordCamp Yokohama

episode 015 - Rakuten, smart.fm, iPad, WordCamp Yokohama

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