Shiny Fruits > The iPad is Not a Netbook

OK, so the announcement finally came about the Apple Tablet, and of course, everyone is up in arms about it. You've got all the fanboys who love it, and you have all of the non-Apple people who are finding things wrong with it. The main thing that everyone is upset about is the fact that it can't do everything that a laptop or netbook can. Here's the deal: It's not a netbook or a laptop.

The whole vision of the iPad is to fall between a laptop and an iPhone or iPod Touch. It was never intended to be a watered-down laptop. The iPad is a more specialized device rather than a generalist like a netbook. Like el Jefe said in the speech, he wanted the tablet to do a few things well. The main things are the internet, movies and music, books, and apps/games. If you want to do other stuff, you'll just use a regular computer. The people who will buy an iPad aren't people who need their device to do everything; they just want a device that can do a few things very well.

Once we understand this, then we can understand what the iPad is all about. So, what are the criticisms, anyway?

Flash Support:

It was an EPIC FAIL when Steve was reading the NY Times, and that familiar icon that iPhone users are used to seeing on websites popped up. This criticism is actually a good one. Flash is still used by tons of websites, and if the iPad is supposed to be excellent at looking at websites, not supporting flash is straight up dumb. If you like to play Flash-based games on Facebook like Farmtown or Restaurant City, for example, you're out of luck on the iPad.

However, one thing about Flash is that it's a bit antiquated. It hogs computer resources, and it's becoming less relevant every day. With HTML 5 and CSS 3.0 already supported by the most modern browsers, many of Flash's tricks are easily reproduced by using web standards compliant technologies like HTML and CSS, plus Javascript. Sure, some lazy developers probably won't be changing up their Flash-based sites for awhile, but the truth is, Flash's days are numbered. UPDATE: Maybe the iPad will have Flash support?

Camera:

No Camera! So what? Are you telling me that you want to take pictures with this huge tablet thing? Don't drop it! With regards to video support for things like videoconferencing, I don't think the tablet is the right device. For one, you'd have to hold the tablet, so videoconferencing would be sort of wonky. Of course, on the other hand, with a stand, videoconferencing makes a bit of sense on the tablet. I wouldn't be surprised if v.2 comes with a video camera. I mean, if they can put one in an iPod, why not a tablet?

Multi-tasking:

The iPad is a specialist, not a generalist. There really isn't much need to switch back and forth between a web page and an other app. You either browse the web, or you use the app. Same thing with video content. You usually just focus on watching. With books, again: You focus on reading, that's it. Of course, there probably is a degree of multi-tasking on the device, similarly to the iPhone: You can listen to music while you do other stuff, for example.

No Optical Media:

Optical media is dying. I expect Blu-Ray to be the last mainstream optical media format. It's all about the internet and wifi, and it's better for content providers and consumers.

But! Let's look at the bright side:

Gorgeous Screen:

The screen is very nice, and is perfect for consuming digital media, whether it's movies or webpages. It's awesome for gaming too.

Long Battery Life:

Great for those long flights. You can watch a few movies on it, no problem. That won't happen with a laptop, or even a netbook.

Games:

This looks like a serious threat to Nintendo and Sony. Those tiny screens just can't compete with the massive iPad screen. Plus there are thousands in the app store, and most of them cost significantly less than what you would pay for a Nintendo DS or PSP game.

Digital Content:

This is the whole point of the iPad, and this is where it excels. If you want to read, watch, or listen to digital content on the go, then the iPad is for you.

So, just to clear things up, the iPad is not a generalist computing device, it's a specialist device. If you're the type of person who likes to consume digital media, then consider it for that purpose. If you're a person who wants to edit digital photos, write documents, program, and multi-task, you're probably better off sticking to a laptop. The iPad is a device for passive activities, not active. It's not a netbook, but it never was intended to be one either.

Tags:apple tablet, ipad, netbooks