I don’t usually review latest technology products, as this blog is not designed for such occurrences. However with the latest announcement of the Apple iPad, I thought I will make a few salient points.

Point to note: I have not reviewed it, I have not used it, I have not seen it. My post is based on other people’s written/video reviews, and experiences. Other people who have a little bit more knowledge about technology than me, however I hope to provide a consumer aspect to this by relating to how I would use it (if I had one).

2009: Having been an avid fan of Windows operating system and PC rather than Apple’s equivalent I decided to give way and but an Apple iPhone 3GS. It transformed by day to day life. The phone feature is pretty mundane, and there is nothing special about it. However, the rest of the iPhone is simply brilliant. I use it every day, keep in touch with News, Stock, Facebook, Videos, Photos and much more more. I cannot stress how much I enjoy using it, and I take my hat off to Apple and Steve Jobs who were responsible for such a wonderful creation.

Having said this, I still think Windows is a more practical operating system and PCs are better than an Mac book pro, or Air or whatever else Apple calls it.

Unfortunately for Apple, my love for their product stops there. Their new iPad is not a super tablet as Steve Jobs made it out to be in his much hyped announcement a few days ago. Here are my problems with it from a consumer point of view, and why it won’t be as useful as my iPhone even (In his announcement, Steve claims the iPad is better are many things when compared to a smart phone, or Notebook so I will be phrasing my opinion surrounding this statement)!

  1. The name: There has been much fun poked at the name, and I suspect a lot of women find those comments offensive (even though some women think it’s a great name!). Why is it OK to say “notepad”, but not “iPad”? But there were better options out there such as: “iSlate” or “iTablet”. A slate is a small blackboard used in many developing countries, so “iSlate” would have complemented the huge advances we have made in technology when compared to 30 years ago. Steve is wrong!
  2. No camera: This is just stupid. No camera means you cannot take photos, or use internet video calling software such as Skype. I use Skype every day on my notebook/laptop, so why would I buy a tablet computer if I cannot do that. Steve is wrong!
  3. No multi-tasking: This is a no-brainer. Right now, I am checking news and stocks while I am typing this post. I can’t do that on the iPad. This is also an annoyance on the iPhone and I hate that aspect of it. Steve is wrong!
  4. No USB or HDMI: My laptop/notebook has both of these connectors. I use it every single day. I connect my laptop to my TV and share photos with visitors when I hold a party. It’s the best way to share. I also display all movies I watch onto my TV. These cannot be done on the iPad. What’s the point of watching high definition video on a 9 inch screen? Steve is wrong!
  5. No GPS support: The iPad has Google Maps, but no GPS. What’s the point? Yet again, I am perplexed to find that even the basic feature of the iPhone is not included in the iPad.
  6. iBooks only US based: Why treat other countries as pariahs? Don’t we also deserve to use the iPad as an e-reader. After all, isn’t that what Steve is using to sell the so called “cool” product.
  7. Restricted to iTunes: Apple has a business concept tied to the iPhone, and iPad. The App store, iTunes and now iBooks. Restricting consumers to these features just annoys people. I think Apple has to set the tone by allowing people to add third party applications from other online stores, and eventually other companies will follow.
  8. No 3G support: Do you expect me to only use the iPad within the house. Defeats the purpose! Sure,this is one thing I cannot do on my laptop/notebook but nor can the iPad.

Reading online reviews about the iPad, there are plenty more reason “why the iPad sucks?” as one article put it, but a lot of the other reasons don’t really apply to me. For now, I will be sticking to my laptop however I think Apple will hit back with the next generation iPad with all these features. By then, people will find something else to complain about.

One of the things I find hard to grasp is, the iPad doesn’t even have some of the basic features we take for granted in a laptop/notebook. If Steve wants to promote the iPad saying “it can do things better than a laptop”, he better have a better product to put forward next time he takes centre stage because a lot of what he was showing off during the announcement I already have my beloved iPhone 3GS!