So yesterday Apple announced it’s new ‘tablet’ device dubbed the iPad. It has been speculated for nearly 2 years and has finally been unveiled and I have to say, on this one, I am exceedingly underwhelmed. Very little in the way of actual innovation and just a few minor form factor changes and sticking a few crappy addons in the SDK is not going to get people to part with more than $500. Well, it at least won’t get me to part with it – despite owning several Apple products.
Lets get down to it, this thing is really a 10″ iPhone/iPod touch with 1Ghz special apple made processor (the A4) and has the standard connections – 802.11n, Bluetooth, 30 pin connector etc. While the pad has a larger screen and faster processor than the iPod it really is an overgrown phone… only without the ability to make calls.
The pricing initially was intriguing in the press release. They said it was starting at $499. This is factually correct, however it’s not quite as good as it sounds. First, that’s the 16gb model. Add $100 for 32 and $200 for 64gb. A 16GB iPod may suffice but when it comes to running a tablet, it seems as though this may be a bit too anemic. Additionally the iPad adds a $130 surcharge for the hardware if you want to connect directly to cell networks. This sucks and is only slightly offset by the new ATT plan available, $29.99/mo for unlimited data (no word on whose definition of unlimited) but no monthly contract commitment is required. With all of these add on fees, a fully loaded device will cost you $830 to walk out of the store with, and then there’s the wireless. Oh and despite the incredible processing power, you can’t multi-task.
This device has all the halmarks of the Newton. Fairly good tech, marginal usefulness versus the competition and way too expensive for what you get. Apple seems to have overstepped on this one.
Oh and one more thing. In the US they are heavily marketing this as an e-book reader complete with a new Apple iBook store. This is fine, but reading text on a LCD screen hurts most people’s eyes. eInk is the best screen format for an e-reader. Also, Jeff Bezos and Amazon don’t charge you a monthly fee to buy books.
Some quick links to what others are saying: