A word of caution about the iPad

I have some doubts about the iPad. I apologise for adding to the already vast coverage, but bear with me. You may, at the very least, be able to poke fun at me when it turns out to be the epoch-changing device Apple's marketing people say it is.

I wanted a few days to think about it beyond the default "Ooh, it's a new gizmo from Apple" angle adopted by many supposedly serious commentators. The most obvious question is "would I buy one?" Almost certainly not. As a working journalist, I need something which has sufficient poke to run stuff such as Adobe Creative Suite, do some video editing and podcast recording, build websites, run a blog, plus all the usual word processing and spreadsheet malarkey. All preferably on a decent sized screen. 

For this, a MacBook or an iMac are the minimum requirements. What the iPad offers doesn't really do it for me. Especially as I have an iPhone. So between my MacBook and my iPhone, I've got what I want as a working journalist.

Of course, the iPad isn't aimed primarily at professional users. Apple wants to bring in a whole new market, like it did with the iPod and iPhone. But how attractive will the iPad be to the general user? This is an important question for the media industry, as it affects how what we produce will be consumed. And again, I'm not convinced the iPad is a particularly attractive option. 

Dom Joly

There's no phone, of course. Including one would not only bring back memories of the Dom Joly character with the enormous brick mobile, it would further drain the battery life of the iPad. But it's pretty safe to assume a general user would want their portable electronic device to be useable as a phone. How many people are going to buy an expensive smartphone AND an iPad? 

While we're on the subject of battery life, just how genuinely portable are all the iPad's functions going to be? Using 3G on an iPhone currently results in a visible draining of the battery power indicator, and even without 3G on I have to recharge mine at least once a day. I'm not a particularly heavy web browser via my phone, but still the iPhone's battery life compares very badly to most mobiles I've had.

Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Tom Kaneshegi voices some concern about the battery life, and about how this and Apple's choice of screen may adversely affect the potential eBook market.

There's no camera or webcam either - both key to mass market appeal. And there's no support for multitasking. Plus there's the flash question. The fact that it is not supported was one of the major talking points after Steve Jobs presented the device. Some said this was an error but, as MacUser magazine points out, Jobs rarely makes 'mistakes' and this seems to be a conscious decision. What that means for now is that about two thirds of web video and gaming content will not be available to iPad users. 

While that criticism could be countered by pointing out that it comes from within the Flash development industry, and it may well be the case that Flash dies out – especially with outfits such as YouTube transitioning their videos to the new open standard HTML 5 – the fact remains that iPad early adopters will miss out on a vast chunk of what's currently available.

It would be foolish to write off the potential influence of the iPad. Having used Apple products for over 20 years, I know how they can change the way we do things. But I just can't put my finger on what anyone would buy a portable electronic non-phone non-camera with limited access to available web content and poor battery life for. It looks supercool, and the potential for gaming is pretty impressive. But that's potential. Right now, a good smartphone, laptop computer or desktop computer seems a far better option for consumers and media professionals.

Comments

[Gabrielle Laney]

I own a MacBook Pro, a MacPro, an iPod Touch and a LG mobile phone. I am a graphic/web designer and I am getting an iPad, the 3G version. I don't want something else to talk on, I have a mobile phone. I do design work on my MacPro and MacBook Pro, I love my iPod touch but the screen is so small. The iPad is the right size to read all of the e-books I have on CSS design and programming. I don't want a camera, I have a nice digital one and I don't video chat, so for me the iPad is just right, and I do need to test my websites on it which means I have to abandon Flash. So count me as at least one person who is interested in this device.

[renantech]

I have already turn on my iphone to ipad and it is really great. Ipad will hits on the market because of its design and new features added. By Sikat ang Pinoy