iPad Thoughts
Wednesday saw Apple introduce the iPad, their revolutionary new mobile computing device, designed to fill the gap between smartphone and laptop. All in all, I was fairly impressed by the device and will probably end up buying one - partly because I'm a gadget whore, and partly because I think it could actually live up to some of its promises.
Some of the features things were pretty much what I was expecting:
- The form factor. When dealing with multi-touch computing, you are always dealing with a big sheet of glass. I do like the aluminum back - a very elegant and understated piece of design common across the unibody Macbook's and iMac's.
- iPhone OS. Anyone who thought the iPad would be running a full blown version of Mac OS X must be sorely disappointed, but I think this move makes perfect sense - the tablet was never going to be the kind of device which replaces the desktop, but instead one which was good at a subset of its functionality. Having an OS designed around the multi-touch experience makes perfect sense.
- The Apple A4 silicon. A given really after their acquisition of PA Semiconductors.
- No Flash support. More on that in a future post.
- iBookstore.
I have to admit, I was a bit surprised by some of the aspects of the device:
- iPhone OS. Whilst I had no doubt that the iPad's operating system would be based on the same codebase as the iPhone, I was expecting a bit more. Whilst the apps looked very nice, especially the new versions of iWork, the Springboard and lockscreens looked very awkward when scaled up to a larger size. Apple seemingly has done nothing to help users manage their apps, and based on all the patents posted on Engadget and Gizmodo, I was really hoping to see some kind of new and sexy multi-touch gesturing system, and of course, multi-tasking would have been nice.
- The price points. I see why Apple did it, they wanted to keep costs down and price the base model at $499, but I was not expecting a separate 3G versions, especially with staggered release dates. Especially with the service being pay-as-you-go, anyone who jumps in early and gets the wifi version is an idiot. Okay, a bit strong, but they are missing out especially given the iPad is not upgradable later. I really would have thought that Apple would have found a way to have a single version. One thing to consider, which no-one seems to have been talking about is GPS - unless you have a 3G version, there is no location enabled niceness - a very useful feature and one which a great deal of app developers are embracing.
- The camera (or lack thereof). Now before anyone says anything, no, I did not want to take pictures with my iPad! Instead I was hoping for a front facing camera for two reasons. First, video conferencing. iChat or Skype could have become the killer app for the iPad, turning it into a serious communication device. If a $249 netbook can incorporate a webcam, then why not the iPad? Video conferencing isn't exactly something which requires an expensive camera sensor - 1.3 megapixels would be fine, and they are cheap as chips. The second reason I was hoping for a camera was due to Apple's patent on switching user accounts based on facial recognition. As a device, the iPad is meant to sit on your coffee table and be used by multiple family members- unlike the iPhone which has a one-on-one relationship with its user. With the iPad there seems to be no way to offer user specific customizations or accounts.
Across the internet, debates are raging wether its about the lack of Flash support, cameras or coffee making abilities. I have a few predictions for the future:
- Apple were rushed to get the iPad ready for January 29th. Part of the reason why we are looking at iPhone OS 3.2 and not OS 4.0. Whilst the iPad will be released with 3.2, 4.0 will also be announced at the same time for a July release. This is where we will see enhancements to Springboard and multi-tasking.
- AT&T will offer a subsidy on the iPad with a 2-year contract. This will bring the price of the 3G model down to something comparable with the wifi-only models.
- We won't see any pre-launch hardware updates of any consequence. That means no camera this time round.
- The iPad will change app development for the better. Companies such as OmniGroup have already re-prioritized their 2010 plans around 5 separate iPad apps because they see the value in the device - a large multi-touch screen opens up a lot of doors for both interaction and information density. We are going to see better apps, more complex and innovative apps, and many of the simplistic trivial, joke apps which pollute the app store will not survive the transition.
