Review: Jury Still Out on iPad
By Nick Statt After months of online rumors and fierce consumer anticipation, CEO of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs held up what looked like a giant iPhone in front of a wide-eyed crowd on Jan. 27 in San Francisco. As anticipated, the new device is a tablet computer with a short and self-explanatory name – the iPad. The unveiling of the iPad marks a new direction for Apple, a company known for revolutionizing the markets for both MP3 players and cell phones during the past decade. The question: Can Apple actually pull this off? Without being able to hold one in hand yet, the iPad's potential success is hard to discern this early on. With the iPhone – and the endless development options within the Applications store – the smart phone era combated competing developers as they released "iPhone-killing" alternatives. Apple seems to be aiming to do the same with the tablet computer market. As a tablet computer, the iPad is being marketed as both an e-reader and the perfect portable Internet device. That comes into direct competition with the recently successful e-reader market, led by Amazon's Kindle II, and the netbook market, which has recently been increasing in popularity as products like the 3G-enabled Nokia Booklet have hit stores. It was only within the last year that the public became aware of the groundbreaking Apple product coming out. About six months ago, rumors that Apple's new venture was to be a revitalized tablet computer popped up on the Internet. Apple, as per usual, stayed silent. But even their traditional media barricade could not stop anonymous sources from leaking information to a savagely hungry online community and, recently, The New York Times. This created an intense buzz because the tablet computer, which has failed to climb into the consumer limelight in all nine years of its existence, is viewed as a risky product that could tank as easily as it could take off. It is intended to be the perfect mix between a mobile device, like a smart phone, and a laptop. While a conceptually simple blend, it can get complicated when matters of satellite internet service, like the pay-only 3G service of the iPhone, and the idea that a tablet computer can replace a laptop enter the mix. The iPad has a 9.7-inch screen, weighs between 1.5 and 1.6 pounds, and is a remarkable half-inch thick. It only has one button, which turns it on. From the look of it, the iPad is essentially a giant iPhone – except it cannot make any calls. Many tech specialists have jumped on this as a way to denounce the new Apple product, citing the fact that many people expected an even more dramatic leap in terms of innovation from the now-legendary company. Another major criticism of the iPad is the fact that it lacks features that appeared to be necessities with a modern tablet computer. It has no camera at all, despite the iPhone having both photo and video capabilities. "The iPad doesn’t support multi-tasking, doesn’t have Flash [animation], and is basically not what it was hyped up to be," says tech enthusiast Amir Khan, a junior journalism major at Stony Brook University. Also, Apple snubbed both T-Mobile and Verizon when they didn’t even mention possible 3G service or iPhones for those networks. "I was really hoping that Apple would open up to Verizon or T-Mobile, especially considering the iPad's 3G capabilities," says junior Hector Fonseca, a chemical engineering major at Stony Brook. "I don't plan on buying one because I really have no use for a device without 3G or Flash software," he added. "A net book is just as expensive, but I'd gladly sacrifice a touch screen for both those add-ons," he concluded. The lack of Adobe’s Flash software and the unchanging exclusive contract with AT&T are the two most popular topics of debate since the unveiling of the iPad and are sure to be make-or-break points for consumers when Apple stores stock their shelves with the devices in late March. Since its unveiling last week, even the name has come under fire from critics. The name iPad is very similar to feminine hygiene products, which has invited middle-school humor from even the most professional of online communities. Also, the iPad is already a product for an inventory scanner in Europe and a cell phone in Japan. Rumors of potential lawsuits have been hanging in the air since the unveiling. Despite all its criticism, the iPad will definitely be the most talked-about product this spring. Whether or not it will revolutionize e-readers, portable gaming, or any of the other intended uses of the "magical" device, one thing is clear: Apple has survived all forms of criticism about every product to date since Jobs retook the reins in 1997. Now, 13 years later, it is hard to avoid catching a glimpse of those trademark white ear buds of an iPod or the glow of the Apple symbol from behind a laptop screen. Only time will tell if the iPad will be the next addition. |
iPad
After all, I’d still want to have an iPad. Truly, I was really desperate that I did look if can have even in eBay, until, a friend of mine tells me about Beezid.Beezid has a penny auction category, and you can get great prices, but you also have to pay to play – it can cost you up to $1 to see the highest bid. So if you make 20 bids, and pay each time, that could be up to $20 to win the auction, and if you save less than $20…you lost money. Oh, and you don't get that money back if you don't win the auction.