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What's wrong with Apple's iPad? Experts dig in
by Jaspreet Virk - January 29, 2010 - comments
Many techies believe that iPad has failed to live up to the expectations. No doubt it is a good looking device, but it lacks the basic features, they say.
New York, January 29 -- Putting an end to all the speculations and rumors surrounding its tablet computer, Apple finally took the wraps off its long-rumored tablet computer named iPad on Wednesday.
There is no doubt that Apple’s tablet PC symbolizes a whole new class of consumer-electronic devices that will facilitate a range of activities like surfing Internet, playing music, videos and games, reading electronic books etc.
But will Apple be able to mimic the success hitherto enjoyed by its smartphone iPhone? Despite the much hype and unprecedented buzz prior to its announcement, the question now being raised is: Is the iPad any good?
Lacking basic features
Many techies believe that Ipad has failed to live up to the expectations. There is no doubt that it is a good-looking device, but it lacks the basic features.
iPad does not support flash in mobile Safari, which had been eagerly awaited by the users.
Prior to the announcement, a lot was said that the tablet PC will be a perfect companion for travelers. But iPad does not support full GPS.
Moving further, the device does not have a built in camera. This is, in fact, very disappointing to some. The iPhone has a camera, the MacBook has one, and even new iPod Nano supports this feature.
Expressing annoyance, a reader named cool8man commented on engadget.com that he waited on “buying a netbook” thinking that Apple’s upcoming device will be better than netbook. But, cool8man frets, it does not run a real OS, does not multi-task, offers no facility “to dock a mouse or real keyboard or to connect to larger display. You can do so much more than this thing with a netbook that is probably less than half the price.”
Tablet to weigh heavy on pockets
Before the announcement, there were rumors doing the rounds that the tablet computer would cost around $1000. The buzz has, indeed, turned out to be true.
Though iPad will be available at a starting price of $499, the other charges are likely to jack the cost to around $1,000.
If a customer purchases a 16-gigabyte model with 3G, the tablet will cost $629. Now add AT&T’s subscription charges of $30 per month for unlimited data. The cost for one year adds to $360. Add this to the $629 and the final cost for the iPad comes to around $989, plus taxes, insurance etc. on top of that.
Network concerns
iPad was expected to be tied to Verizon Wireless, but Apple has finally confirmed that the tablet PC will have AT&T for the 3G service.
The move has disappointed many who believe that AT&T is a bad choice, as the network carrier is already struggling to cope with 3G data usage of the iPhone.
Security issues
Further, there are a number of experts who have raised security concerns.
Daniel Hoffman, chief technology officer at SMobile Systems, told CNET News that if iPad uses encryption the same way as it is being used on iPhone, the data will not be protected.
Since iPad relies on Apple store for its basic applications, there is a possibility that a user could download a malicious application. As the tablet computer is offering Wi-Fi capability, the users could be subject to attack by hackers.
The most common hacking is a man-in-the-middle attack in which the attacker makes independent connections with the victims and controls the entire communication, making them believe that they are talking directly to each other over a private connection.
These are just come of the major worries. Others concerns include no user replaceable battery, no HDMI support, No UBS port etc.
iPad will be available from March onwards, and hopefully the company will assuage some of the major concerns raised so far.