Apple Tablet: It Lives!

port1080.

Posted to Business on Thu Jan 28, 2010 at 08:01:35 AM EST (promoted from Diaries by port1080). RSS.

DEMachina writes: So after a decade of rumors, Apple has debuted their tablet PC, and it's a let-down. It's basically an overgrown iPhone, runs the same OS and is compatible with iPhone apps.  Its cost will be somewhere between $499 and $829, depending on the options.

I am not really an Apple person, although I did go through law school using a Macbook Pro.  I also admit I was really excited by this thing at first, although now I'm less so.  It's intended to be a netbook replacement, and I'm not sure it does that.  Honestly I'm not sure who this is for, exactly.

First, the basics.  Called the iPad, the tablet has a 9.7" touchscreen and a 1GHz processor.  It comes in 3 capacities: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB.  The only plugs are a dock and headphones, it looks like.  It also supports 802.11n and Bluetooth.  There're also models that support 3G via AT&T's network.  It starts at $499 for a 16GB, non-3G version.

Pros

• Apple polish.  It runs the iPhone OS, which is a pretty good way to get around a device using only a touchscreen.  The native-iPad apps have some nice, subtle iCandy (get it?).  The iPad-specific versions of iWork and the e-book reader look amazing.
  
• Everything I've heard about the e-book reader is excellent, and Apple was smart enough to get some major publishers on board first.  No news yet on what the selection looks like or whether the reader application will let you import texts from other sources.
  
• Price.  At least for an Apple device, this is pretty good ... assuming you want one, that is, and don't mind the negatives.
  
• iPhone OS.  The nice thing about this is the App Store ... there're already like 150,000 apps and growing, and the iPad will be able to use most of them.
  
• iWork.  I personally loved iWork on my Macbook (mainly Pages, since that's what I used day-to-day), and there're versions coming out for the iPad, with each component of iWork (Pages, Keynote, and Spreadsheets) to cost $10 each.
  
• 3G.  You can get a version that will use AT&T 3G, and it's prepaid, meaning no contract.

• Hardware.  While the processor is fast enough, and the screen resolution is decent (1024x768; that's plenty for an Apple OS), there is a serious dearth of inputs: specifically, no USB.  So while there is a good-looking photo app on there, there doesn't seem to be a good way to get them on there: there's no card reader, either.  If you do want to do so, you get to give Apple extra money for the connection kit.  There's also no camera; I personally don't care about this, but I've seen a lot of complaints about this in various fora, so it seems like something some business people actually use (for videoconferencing and the like).  It does support Bluetooth keyboards as well.  The screen is capacitive, meaning you'll need a capacitive stylus to do any kind of artwork, and even then it lacks pressure sensitivity, so this is not for artists.  It also is limited to VGA out (480p, for the home theater crowd).  I'm also not sure a touchscreen is ideal for long-term writing, and once you've plugged in a hardware keyboard, what's the point?  The screen is also 4:3, meaning you get a lot of black surrounding a widescreen movie.  The LCD screen is a poor choice for reading books, too, as there's far too much glare (and things like e-ink are much easier on the reader's eyes).  And this doesn't get into typical Apple tactics like making the battery irreplaceable by the end user, sorely overpriced peripherals, etc.
  
• iPhone OS.  While the positives of this come with it, so do the negatives.  First, no multitasking: yep, you're limited to one app at a time, although iTunes can play music in the background.  There's also no Flash support, and none planned.  HTML 5 may replace some of this, but it's not likely to replace all of it anytime soon (it'll be a W3C candidate starting in 2012, but isn't supposed to get the W3C nod until 2022 or later).  It's also a very boring OS, and out of character for Apple.  No real interface revolution here; so even the prettiness factor is severely limited.
  
• Battery life.  10 hours under Apple's ideal conditions, which mollifies its functionality as an ebook reader more than anything.  While better than a laptop, to be sure, the whole point is to not have to deal with plugging it in and working at a table.
  
• History.  Apple has a history (mainly with the iPhone and, to a lesser extent, the iPod) of releasing a half-assed first generation product, which sells like crazy based on hype, and then release a slightly better one a year or so later, which also sells well on hype, etc.
  
• The name.  Not really a problem from the end user, but it seems that Fujitsu already has a trademark claim on "iPad" in the context of electronic devices.
  
• AT&T.  iPhone reliability is already questionable on AT&T's overwhelmed network, and if this thing sells well, it'll get tons worse.  Youtube HD?  HD movies from the iTunes store?  The device is allegedly unlocked, but it won't work on T-Mobile's 3G network (despite being GSM), and it uses a new kind of SIM card that no one else uses.

As I said, Apple is touting this as a netbook replacement, but I don't think it really does that.  It's still lacking in a lot of core computer functionality.  Some have talked about this as a good internet browser for the less tech-savvy crowd, but I have to wonder how big the market is for people who can't use Windows (or Mac OS) to do that.  Moreover, I don't see someone who isn't a geek use a device solely because it looks pretty.  Frankly I see a lot of "average" users being more frustrated by the device's limitations than more advanced users; I think the latter will have a better idea of those limitations going in.

What it comes down to is that I don't see a niche for this beyond the Cult of Apple.  Office/white-collar types?  Meh, they're hindered by the lack of multitasking (I know that prevents me from using it), and by the time you add a physical keyboard, you might as well spend around the same amount (or less) money for a netbook that will do more, has more connectivity, and supports the de-facto standard for documents (i.e. MS Word).  Graphic designers/artists?  The touchscreen is sorely limited, as is the software.  Tinkerers?  Nope, like most Apple products, it's an entirely closed system.

Despite all this, I go back and forth about wanting to buy one, but am mostly leaning towards no.  I don't see how I could get much work done (I'd like to be able to switch between a web browser and a word processor, although admittedly I prefer to print cases and use the hard copy), especially because of the keyboard.  I find the OS itself pretty fugly, although functional.  Then again, maybe I could type fine on the touchscreen, and as I said I often use hard copies of cases and what-not.  I think the lack of any kind of print functionality would be seriously limiting.  I'd also be freaked about Apple releasing a better version in a year (just like they did with the iPhone).  I just can't shake the feeling that Apple could've done better (and if Microsoft's Courier comes close to living up to what we've seen so far, it'll blow the iPad away).

So, I think overall the iPad is a major let-down from all the hype, and is far from a netbook/laptop replacement.  There could easily be a niche market for it, and Apple has shown they can live for a long time solely off their more devoted fans.  I think most people are better off waiting.

Editor's note - combined DEMachina's story with earlier diary entry to preserve comments. Credit for the story goes entirely to him.