Re: iPad... Revolution or just another gadget?
[#permalink]
23 Apr 2010, 09:53
I think it's a mistake to buy it now.
I've been following the tablet growth for several months now. First of all, the iPad will not be the only tablet out there. Heck, even with this first version, you're essentially buying a beta or trial version of the iPad. New hardware and software for the iPad IS going to be coming out next year. $500 is way too much for a one year beta version.
Plus, you have to wait for competitors to develop and release their products. Companies like dell, HP, notion ink, and countless others will be offering their own versions in the next coming months. Why limit yourself to just Apple?
Apple's iPad is basically just a portable media player and gaming device. It's a little too heavy to be reading with (anyone else afraid of it dropping when you doze off?) and the LCD screen -- beautiful for videos -- is not optimized for hardcore reading. (1-3 hours of constant novel reading)
Flash is also important. More than 60% of web content (of videos and games) uses Flash. You may think that's not important but one of my classes uses Flash paper so you never know when you might need to use it. Flash isn't great but it definitely is more capable than HTML5. This exclusion of Flash, no matter what Apple fanboiz might say, is purely a business decision by Apple.
When Apple fixes these problems, flash and multitasking in particular, then it might be worth while.