Courtesy of failblog.org
Really? I have to write iPad now? The indignity of the 21st century knows no end.
So with much fanfare and some of the most pathetically pompous self-loving promotion ever, Apple announced it’s unfortunately named iPad today.
Here’s the rundown on specs and some highlights of the device. (From Wired)
- The tablet is 0.5 inches thick and weighs 1.5 pounds.
- It has a 9.7-inch display with 1024 x 768-pixel resolution. It also has capacitive multitouch that’s similar to the iPhone.
- The device runs Apple’s own processor, a 1-GHz Apple A4 chip — possibly the fruits of of Apple’s $278 million acquisition of PA semiconductor in 2008.
- The iPad will have 16-GB to 64-GB flash storage.
- It includes speaker, microphone and accelerometer so you can use the device in both landscape and portrait mode. There’s also a compass.
- It has up to 10 hours of battery life and one month of standby time.
- It offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
- It will include optional 3G access from AT&T. For $30 a month, users can get unlimited data. For iPhone users already crying out in pain about their bondage to the AT&T network, here’s something to sweeten the deal: No contracts are required for the data plan. iPad users can cancel their data connectivity at any time.
- Unlimited data will cost $30 or users can pay $15 for up to 250 MB of data.
- The iPad will cost $500 for 16 GB, $600 for 32 GB and $700 for a 64-GB model. But if you want 3G connectivity, add another $130 to the price tag.
Ok, in spite of my best efforts I got excited for this thing the last few days. I mean, c’mon it’s new shiny sexy hardware right? I use my iPhone constantly these days for work so this thing should be that great, but bigger. Right? An iPhone that goes to 11, right? BUUZZZZZZ!! Sorry, wrong answer.
The first thing I thought when I saw this thing was If Top Secret were made today the iPad would be the phone gag. ow.ly/119oC
But after a minute of thinking about this thing the severe limitations started to scream at me.
The big ones for me are: no flash. Really? Apple is tauting this thing as the laptop killer, not going to happen without flash. It essentially forces you to enjoy all kinds of great video sites, as long as they are approved by Apple.
No multitasking. I’m sorry, when did we arrive at 1987? Again, it’s fine on the phone, because essentially it’s a phone. But a tablet? Are you going to use a laptop “killer” where you have to shut off your chat to grab a link for the person you’re chatting with? No, you’re not.
Not one usb port. That bugs me. Especially when it comes to the audio/video stuff. It also keeps you from buying the wifi version and slapping a sprint (or whoever) usb internet dongle on it.
Typical Apple. “You will get the innovation we decide you want.”
Did you see Calacanis’ reported specs on Tuesday? http://bit.ly/a4omkL
That would have been cool. Oh well.
At this point I would go with the Lenovo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5DYuVN6nuY
However, the basic idea of this style of tablet intrigues me and I won’t even rule out getting one of these at some point. It also has to be mentioned that none of these missing features have been confirmed by Apple. So it could either come out that all or some do exist or it will be upgraded in the future. However with Apple, upgrades are a loooong shot. We’re still waiting for them to fix the sound they broke on QuickTime Pro 7 at work. That’s been 3 years.
