iPad? iDon't. Why I think Apple's "Magical" new device should be called iNewton.

I'll keep this very short:

1) no Flash

2) no multitasking

3) no webcam

4) no way

Calling this halfway between an iPhone and a laptop is a joke.
Calling it "magical" reminds me of the famous Arthur C. Clarke quote
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic." I think Apple desperately wants us to view the iPad as
"sufficiently advanced" but really, it's not. It's just a giant
iPhone. It doesn't do anything the iPhone can't already do--in fact,
The iPhone can do more--it has a camera. Sure, the iPad has a bigger
screen, but so what? This isn't innovation at all. It's just a device
that lets you do things bigger.

The Asus T91MT (http://is.gd/7aWaE ) is more along the lines of what I
think makes a good mid-range device and is what I'd rather own. Sure,
the iPad is more sleek and sexier than the Asus, but the Asus runs a
full OS. It comes with Win7 but you could put Linux on it or dual-boot
it. It's got a multitouch screen with a tablet mode, so you get the
best of all worlds. It's slower than a full-powered laptop, but
that's why it costs $500 and is so small and portable. It's all about
balance. What I'm going to miss without the iPad is the $30 unlimited
3G data connection. THAT I want bad. But it's AT&T so it'll be slow
and snails, flaky, and will likely be plagued with dropped
connections. For $30 more a month I can use Verizon's MiFi portable
wifi hotspot (http://is.gd/7aYuM ) that will give the T91MT (and 4
other devices) a 5GB/mo of 3G connection. Sure, that's not
"unlimited," but it's *Verizon*.

So, again, the iPad isn't innovating anything.

The iPad may not flop as hard as the Newton did, but it won't be for
lack of trying.

Posted via email from thepete's posterous