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Friday Readership: No one really likes the Apple iPad?

OK, so this was Apple's week big time. They first announced their best quarter results ever and two days later they launched the new computing/lifestyle device/gadget - the Apple iPad. What it is is just a bigger iPod Touch and folks have been asking questions if this device really makes sense...

Ipad_apple
So here's a roundup of my favorite Apple iPad articles (and at the bottom of everything I'll add my 2 cents):

"It’s about the software, stupid. While all sorts of commentators were focusing on how much Apple’s new $499 iPad tablet computer looks like an oversized iPhone, the key to whether it can be the first multi-function tablet to win wide public acceptance probably lies in whether consumers perceive it as a suitable replacement for a laptop in key scenarios."

So Walt was pretty objective, but most of geeks and gadget reviewers/bloggers didn't like the device:

What's missing from the iPad by TUAW's Mel Martin

While all the final info is not out yet, there were a few major omissions from the iPad hardware. Here's the highly desireable stuff that came out missing: No Camera, No verizon, No notifications, No TV content, No multitasking...

The iPad, much like the iPhone, is completely locked down. The user has no control over what she installs on the hardware, short of accepting exactly what Apple has approved for it...

A lot of people at Gizmodo are psyched about the iPad. Not me! My god, am I underwhelmed by it. It has some absolutely backbreaking failures that will make buying one the last thing I would want to do...

But not all reviews were so bad, some liked it:

Most people won’t yet, but as long as Apple has its base that will buy and use the iPad, they have plenty of time for either themselves or third-party developers to create the killer uses that make the iPad a must-have product for a broader range of people ... there will be no shortage of people willing to splurge on the device just to see what all the fuss is about. They’ll get hooked too.

And I'd like to finalize this post with quote from my favorite NY Tiimes journalist:

"My main message to fanboys is this: it’s too early to draw any conclusions. Apple hasn’t given the thing to any reviewers yet, there are no iPad-only apps yet (there will be), the e-bookstore hasn’t gone online yet, and so on. So hyperventilating is not yet the appropriate reaction.

At the same time, the bashers should be careful, too. As we enter Phase 2, remember how silly you all looked when you all predicted the iPhone’s demise in that period before it went on sale."

What do you think about the iPad? Love it? Hate it? Will you buy it (i.e. vote with your wallet)?

--> me I'm Michael Sliwinski and I'm an entrepreneur who's also the...
.. Founder of Nozbe.com - a time and project management web application
.. Editor of Productive! Magazine - a global PDF publication on productivity
.. and a blogger as well as a producer of a weekly 2-minute Productive! show.

Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 (apple,followfriday,gadgets,ipad)

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Christine Banks
Jan 29, 2010 20:53
I'm looking forward to the day when I can go to the Apple store and actually play with this thing. At first, I got excited at the idea of being able to have all of my iPhone apps usable on the iPad. But after I went through each of my apps on my iPhone, and imagined them working on the iPad, I realized how much each app is really designed to be used on a small hand-held screen, and simply making it "bigger" doesn't really do anything for it. So it goes back to being a nice device for commuters to watch movies and surf the web and check their email, I guess? Like someone mentioned above, the "Killer App" has yet to developed, so it will be interesting to see what "that" is!
Paul_Stagg
Jan 29, 2010 23:11
I can't get all that excited about it. I considered an iPod Touch, but there's not enough storage space. This looks like fun and has more storage, but it's too big. I wouldn't use it as mobile music storage, and it isn't that much smaller than my laptop, which does way more stuff.
Michael Sliwinski
Jan 31, 2010 00:23
I also want to finally get to play with the Apple iPad. I've got some ideas and what David Pogue is saying in his article makes total sense - we just have to wait and not discard the machine right off the bat. I'm sure it'll surprise us even more with time...

Paul, Christine, thanks for comments and let's discover what that iPad thingy is really about!