Disclaimer: everything I have written is based on last night's Apple keynote; since hindsight is always 1080p, I fully expect to look stupid once user reviews on the device start pouring in.
Apple rolled out Steve's dream device yesterday. Labeled iPad, he declared the touch-based tablet "magical" and "revolutionary" - and I definitely agree that the device is at least evolutionary, indeed.
The revolution is not quite there. Or not at Apple, at least; the ability to run multiple applications is very much a requirement, and not optional, sorry. The stupid USB-only syncing is boggling as well: we've been living on the internet for the past 15 years, is it really so hard to back up my contacts and meetings online?
Not to mention the fact that everybody does e-mails in the cloud these days (GMail, Live Mail, Yahoo! Mail, etc.), and you really need to have Flash for the internet. Native Youtube is cheating, and e-mail clients in 2010 are just redundant.
But again, Jobs is clearly not focused on where things are going, but rather, on where he wants to go. Which is fine I guess - he puts more than enough innovation in motion to compensate.
And frankly, there are multiple possible uses for his new toy; I'm also curious to see how these initial concepts will expand and mature over time.
(...)
Productivity tool
Forget it. It rocks for carrying presentations and diagrams around, but the last thing you want on a small-screen, light-CPU device is code, render videos, edit spreadsheets, or type in lengthy documents.
(...)
Multimedia device
Can definitely see the appeal; finally a device with a screen you can see from an arm's length. It handles your pictures, and plays HD - or rather, it could, provided you plug it to a TV. But why do that at all? Your TV can grab content on its own just fine. (Or will, soon enough.)
It's extremely funky to mount it to, say, a spin bike, and work out while watching House. Or stare at in the kitchen, and carry it back to the living room once your dinner (read: coffee) is ready.
However, USB-only syncing makes uploading content to it a real pain in the rear. It has wifi; why can't it surf my local network and play files from shared folders like any Windows Media Center-capable device would? (Sorry for actually bringing up Microsoft, but they have a clear winner with that.)
Without the ability to play content shared across your home network, you still end up having to return to your desk every 45 minutes to get a new episode onto your iPad. (And yes, I ignored iTunes here on purpose - should be obvious, why.)
Which kind of defeats the purpose of a wifi-enabled, mobile multimedia device now, doesn't it.
(...)
Internet on the go
Face it: it's awesome, as long as internet means passive content absorption for you. Just try and avoid having to actually type anything. (Man, will chat be annoying.)
Based on the pictures I've seen, the on-screen keyboard eats up a disproportionately high screen space. As much as I approve trying to make typing on a small screen possible, this is just ugly - and a bad compromise.
Implement voice recognition and an auto complete function that's actually useful. Just look at where Android is today with both features; they are magnificent, and way ahead of where Apple is right now.
Also, add the possibility to resize and reposition the keyboard. I'm perfectly fine typing with one hand - the other will be needed to hold the device anyway! Let me collapse the keyboard to a size that fits single-hand movements better.
Keyboard issues aside, I can totally see myself wandering around new places, trying to navigate using the Street View of Google Maps...
...though it really bugs me out that I won't be able to stream music, or have voice conversations, or simply chat while doing so, because there is no f.cking multitasking.
Overall though, sadly, the device is just as stationary as a laptop: you want it sitting on your lap or on a table, with both hands free (one for interaction, the other for coffee, phone, or whatever else). Carrying it around in one hand still means gripping 0.7kg in an awkward wrist position; though it is a lot lighter, and more compact than a netbook, that much is true.
Also, another issue comes from light sources. Say, you browse the net while out in a café - you will put it down on the table, because that's simply more convenient than holding it in your offhand. Now imagine staring at the ceiling lights, as the LCD will probably just reflect everything from above back in your face. Ugh.
I hope it at least has some rubber along its edges. It's just too heavy to keep slippin' back to horizontal every time I fail at leaning it against something; will really need to get the iPad case they sell as an extra, which doubles as a stand.
(...)
Gaming platform
While the device would make an excellent platform for playing chess with a travelmate (or single-player classics like Mahjong, sudoku, crossword puzzles, Minefield, etc.), there's simply no reality in using it for anything more complicated (like an FPS or a car racer).
For a serious gaming experience, it would make much more sense for Apple to have its own gaming console. Have all titles on all platforms available, and enable syncing game status between your devices - there's a huge potential in there, which would help overlook the annoyingly low-grade GFX on the more mobile platforms.
For one, just imagine being able to do all the chores of an RPG-title (selling junk, accepting quests, reading up on the lore) while travelling home on the subway. Get home, fire up your console and let the devices sync while you grab food, then resume the actual gameplay on your new 3D high-def TV. And I'm positive you can port more than just the "Go back to town" parts to the mobile platforms without sacrificing a significant portion of the game experience - which would be insanely addictive. There's a huge selling potential in here.
But without it, you just end up playing serious titles on a small screen that can only handle "Ugly" settings for graphics.
Thanks, no.
I'd rather stick to playing chess.
(...)
E-book reader
Definitely a brilliant one. Provided that the LCD can handle direct sunlight, using the iPad as an e-book reader is quite possibly the best use for the device. Not sure how various features (text search, bookmarking, search across books) are implemented in the recommended iBooks application though, but I'm just going to assume Apple took care of the basics.
However, there are some issues I can't overlook:
Book prices on iBooks. The entire idea of online publishing was cutting costs. By eliminating paper, printing, and physical distribution, a 13$ book should really cost as low as 2-3$. For the 12-14$ Apple is planning to sell books, I can actually get a hard copy, and enjoy it without having to worry about battery power.
Way too overpriced - and I read too much to just live with it.
iBooks content is restricted. Come on. Seriously? I'm not Apple-exclusive, and thus want my stuff available across multiple platforms and devices - this is why common formats like .pdf or .epub were created in the first place!
I know, it might not seem like a big issue, but when I buy a book, I expect to be able to read it anywhere. Not being able to access the e-books you've purchased for your iPad on any non-Apple device is pretty much like buying meal tickets only a handful of places accept, instead of getting some actual food.
Guess there'll be third-party solutions though, as iBooks is US-only. The iPad would truly make a great e-book reader - let's hope we'll be able to get our own content on it.
Apple rolled out Steve's dream device yesterday. Labeled iPad, he declared the touch-based tablet "magical" and "revolutionary" - and I definitely agree that the device is at least evolutionary, indeed.
The revolution is not quite there. Or not at Apple, at least; the ability to run multiple applications is very much a requirement, and not optional, sorry. The stupid USB-only syncing is boggling as well: we've been living on the internet for the past 15 years, is it really so hard to back up my contacts and meetings online?
Not to mention the fact that everybody does e-mails in the cloud these days (GMail, Live Mail, Yahoo! Mail, etc.), and you really need to have Flash for the internet. Native Youtube is cheating, and e-mail clients in 2010 are just redundant.
But again, Jobs is clearly not focused on where things are going, but rather, on where he wants to go. Which is fine I guess - he puts more than enough innovation in motion to compensate.
And frankly, there are multiple possible uses for his new toy; I'm also curious to see how these initial concepts will expand and mature over time.
(...)
Productivity tool
Forget it. It rocks for carrying presentations and diagrams around, but the last thing you want on a small-screen, light-CPU device is code, render videos, edit spreadsheets, or type in lengthy documents.
(...)
Multimedia device
Can definitely see the appeal; finally a device with a screen you can see from an arm's length. It handles your pictures, and plays HD - or rather, it could, provided you plug it to a TV. But why do that at all? Your TV can grab content on its own just fine. (Or will, soon enough.)
It's extremely funky to mount it to, say, a spin bike, and work out while watching House. Or stare at in the kitchen, and carry it back to the living room once your dinner (read: coffee) is ready.
However, USB-only syncing makes uploading content to it a real pain in the rear. It has wifi; why can't it surf my local network and play files from shared folders like any Windows Media Center-capable device would? (Sorry for actually bringing up Microsoft, but they have a clear winner with that.)
Without the ability to play content shared across your home network, you still end up having to return to your desk every 45 minutes to get a new episode onto your iPad. (And yes, I ignored iTunes here on purpose - should be obvious, why.)
Which kind of defeats the purpose of a wifi-enabled, mobile multimedia device now, doesn't it.
(...)
Internet on the go
Face it: it's awesome, as long as internet means passive content absorption for you. Just try and avoid having to actually type anything. (Man, will chat be annoying.)
Based on the pictures I've seen, the on-screen keyboard eats up a disproportionately high screen space. As much as I approve trying to make typing on a small screen possible, this is just ugly - and a bad compromise.
Implement voice recognition and an auto complete function that's actually useful. Just look at where Android is today with both features; they are magnificent, and way ahead of where Apple is right now.
Also, add the possibility to resize and reposition the keyboard. I'm perfectly fine typing with one hand - the other will be needed to hold the device anyway! Let me collapse the keyboard to a size that fits single-hand movements better.
Keyboard issues aside, I can totally see myself wandering around new places, trying to navigate using the Street View of Google Maps...
...though it really bugs me out that I won't be able to stream music, or have voice conversations, or simply chat while doing so, because there is no f.cking multitasking.
Overall though, sadly, the device is just as stationary as a laptop: you want it sitting on your lap or on a table, with both hands free (one for interaction, the other for coffee, phone, or whatever else). Carrying it around in one hand still means gripping 0.7kg in an awkward wrist position; though it is a lot lighter, and more compact than a netbook, that much is true.
Also, another issue comes from light sources. Say, you browse the net while out in a café - you will put it down on the table, because that's simply more convenient than holding it in your offhand. Now imagine staring at the ceiling lights, as the LCD will probably just reflect everything from above back in your face. Ugh.
I hope it at least has some rubber along its edges. It's just too heavy to keep slippin' back to horizontal every time I fail at leaning it against something; will really need to get the iPad case they sell as an extra, which doubles as a stand.
(...)
Gaming platform
While the device would make an excellent platform for playing chess with a travelmate (or single-player classics like Mahjong, sudoku, crossword puzzles, Minefield, etc.), there's simply no reality in using it for anything more complicated (like an FPS or a car racer).
For a serious gaming experience, it would make much more sense for Apple to have its own gaming console. Have all titles on all platforms available, and enable syncing game status between your devices - there's a huge potential in there, which would help overlook the annoyingly low-grade GFX on the more mobile platforms.
For one, just imagine being able to do all the chores of an RPG-title (selling junk, accepting quests, reading up on the lore) while travelling home on the subway. Get home, fire up your console and let the devices sync while you grab food, then resume the actual gameplay on your new 3D high-def TV. And I'm positive you can port more than just the "Go back to town" parts to the mobile platforms without sacrificing a significant portion of the game experience - which would be insanely addictive. There's a huge selling potential in here.
But without it, you just end up playing serious titles on a small screen that can only handle "Ugly" settings for graphics.
Thanks, no.
I'd rather stick to playing chess.
(...)
E-book reader
Definitely a brilliant one. Provided that the LCD can handle direct sunlight, using the iPad as an e-book reader is quite possibly the best use for the device. Not sure how various features (text search, bookmarking, search across books) are implemented in the recommended iBooks application though, but I'm just going to assume Apple took care of the basics.
However, there are some issues I can't overlook:
Book prices on iBooks. The entire idea of online publishing was cutting costs. By eliminating paper, printing, and physical distribution, a 13$ book should really cost as low as 2-3$. For the 12-14$ Apple is planning to sell books, I can actually get a hard copy, and enjoy it without having to worry about battery power.
Way too overpriced - and I read too much to just live with it.
iBooks content is restricted. Come on. Seriously? I'm not Apple-exclusive, and thus want my stuff available across multiple platforms and devices - this is why common formats like .pdf or .epub were created in the first place!
I know, it might not seem like a big issue, but when I buy a book, I expect to be able to read it anywhere. Not being able to access the e-books you've purchased for your iPad on any non-Apple device is pretty much like buying meal tickets only a handful of places accept, instead of getting some actual food.
Guess there'll be third-party solutions though, as iBooks is US-only. The iPad would truly make a great e-book reader - let's hope we'll be able to get our own content on it.
