iPad?

So as everyone on the planet knows, the iPad by Apple debuted this Saturday. Obviously, some of the initial jokes (iTampon, etc.) were forgotten as over 300,000 units were purchased. I am still very wary of this product, and while many are calling it the 'Laptop Killer,' I honestly don't see how it is possible for it to replace my wonderful laptop (which is also made by Apple).

First of all, I really hate when companies create competition for themselves. Why on Earth would Apple want to have one of their products completely replace and reduce the need for some of their most successful products, the Macbook, Macbook Pro and Macbook Air? I understand the uber-rich who want a desktop, laptop, and now the iPad, but...those people are far and few between. This reminds me of a couple of examples. Here in Lawrence, there is a hotel, The Eldridge that is known as the most classy and expensive hotels in town, and it is also a historical landmark. In the past two years, they have completed building The Oread, another hotel very similar to The Eldridge, except it is bigger and better in almost every way. How can The Eldridge survive when the managing company wants The Oread to succeed? I also heard about a similar situation with Sprint. Apparently, Spring came out with a 4G mobile hotspot that essentially is a box that creates wifi for up to 8 devices near it. Then...a few weeks later, they are creating a 4g mobile hotspot that does the same thing, but it's also a phone! When companies keep topping themselves, they may be forgetting about their most stable products.

So after my "research," I have laid it out this way:

The Pros of the iPad:

-Cool

-Pretty

-Straightforward and simple to use (like most Apple products)

-Small, Light compared to laptop

-Super long battery life

-Cool innovative fun apps already being made for it

-Ideal for web browsing, watching movies, and reading

-Fun! I think anyone would love to play with this. Now would everyone love to drop the cash for it? I'm not so sure...

The Cons of the iPad:

-Expensive

-Need to buy a real keyboard or get used to the touch-screen keyboard

-For readers used to a Kindle, iBookstore has small selection

-No Alarm Clock app pre-installed like iPhone and other Apple products

-Reviews seem to say, after playing with apps they already have on their iPhone...people are left thinking, what am I supposed to do with it?

-Cannot use multiple applications at once (This is the big one for me, as I usually have a minimum of 4 apps open at once)

-Heavy, compared to newspapers, books

-Like an iPhone, fingerprints get everyone, whereas on laptops, just on keys.

-Weird things don't work that work on a computer; opening a youtube link from an email,

I also wanted to point out some really weird Apps or devices coming out to support the iPad:

The iCade, which turns your iPad into an arcade seems pretty cool-

Perhaps the most important point of this is that I have never seen one or played with one. Maybe when I do, my mind will change. For now, I don't see myself buying one anytime soon; and if you have one, let me check it out!

Enjoy this fun video about the iPad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko

cb

****Update!

Since this post, I have in fact played with an iPad. A friend of mine generously donated his to me for a few minutes. There is no doubt it is a good looking product. I loved the screen and size, but it was heavier than I imagined. I was also surprised to find out that the wifi wasn't working on KU's campus (which would be a huge issue for me since I'm on campus all day).

Long story short, I opened all the apps, and was still thinking...OK, now what? If I had the money, I would definitely buy one, but I would need tons of apps to keep me entertained. I think the best reason/purpose of it is reading and sitting with it to read books, newspapers, magazines, or watch movies.

Also- even cats enjoy the iPad !

I will also add that the next day I heard about the HP Slate, a very similar product to the iPad. The biggest differences are the obvious PC software, but also it has a webcam. The cost is predicted to be similar. When I first heard about it, I thought- what about the app store? How will I do anything? HP has done something very interesting. Instead of needing app stores, they have integrated flash into the product. This means, when you want to play a game; instead of downloading or buying an app, you can just play on the website directly. If you want to watch an episode of Glee, just go to hulu and click play. Very interesting. We'll see how it goes!

cb