The iPad was announced this Wednesday and it’s time for us at TechGeeks-Online to criticize it. There has been some criticism at local radio stations but we haven’t heard much more than that. Searching for iPad criticism brings up few results. Here’s our take.
Price
The Apple iPad is simple overpriced. This isn’t what enthusiasts will tell you but it’s a factor which will discourage many people. The $500 pricetag for the cheapest version is simply too much for the common person. Right now the main competitor to the iPad is the Amazon Kindle which goes for $259.
Features
Why would someone buy the iPad? It doesn’t offer anything unique. The iPad won’t replace laptops for students, it won’t replace iPods for music, it won’t replace gaming systems for casual gaming. So the question remains, what is the advantage of the iPad over anything else? Everyone would agree that you can be more productive on a laptop. For people who need to do something small on the go, we have have smartphones. For ebooks, we have cheaper alternatives like the Kindle. For video, well, nearly every portable device now offers video. There is simply no situation where the iPad would be a preferable choice.
Size
How do you carry the iPad around? It’s too large to fit in a pocket or jacket, would you carry it in a laptop bag? If yes, that defeats the point of quickly checking information while traveling. The iPad gives the impression that it’s more mobile that a laptop computer, but if you think about it, in reality you will end up carrying the iPad around in some sort of bag. Laptops nowadays have batteries with large capacities which allows you to simply put your laptop into sleep mode and wake it up within 5 seconds. The iPad’s size is not small enough to be fully portable.
Overall, after you consider everything, you should ask yourself: Where will I use this? While walking? While driving? While waiting for something? Ask yourself that before you buy the Apple iPad.
Any comments would be appreciated.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the size is a large deterrent when it comes to the iPad. It is, as you stated, too large to be conveniently accessible and to small to be a work station. However, it might be just the perfect size for certain businesses who require workers to move from room to room with their data/statistics. It would be more ideal than a laptop, in this view.
Great article, looking forward to seeing more!
Next week, we’ll be upgrading our core sites to make sure they’re iPad-friendly from front to back, and we’ll be rolling out more iPad specific sites like Full Comment in the coming days and weeks as we learn more about how users are interacting with the device.
has anyone had a screen go funny on them where you can not turn it off and it has got lines all over it .
we have not damaged the screen can anyone help please
I have no idea. But you might have better luck at the forum because more people will see your question.