Why I'm intrigued by the iPad, but likely won't buy
When Apple announced the iPad, my first response was "neat...I'll have
to check that out." Well...time has passed and after some prodding by
a colleague to participate in the discussion, I'll share my thoughts:
I'm intrigued by the iPad, but don't see myself buying one. While not
terribly expensive (though more expense than a netbook), it just feels
a bit like deja-vu. And while I love the idea of that people might
start living their lives through something other than a 3.5-inch
screen, I just don't see this working. It seems like a cool device and
will likely spark a new round of innovation in personal computing. But
I have a hard enough time typing with a real keyboard and its too big
to sneak into the bathroom at work.
scenarios for the Amazon Kindle, Sony e-Reader, B&N Nook, etc because
Apple's now in the game. I'm not so sure. I quite like my Kindle, have
the software on my iPod Touch, and since the device is no different
from an iPod, the need to upgrade isn't there for me. My library is
with Amazon. Plus, its a just a damn book. Unless the book comes to
life in ways I haven't imagined, I'll stick to reading on my Kindle
and iPod Touch when I want an e-book. Another "sell" of the iPad is its convenience, especially for those of
us that like to consume media while multi-tasking. Well, the lack of
multi-tasking functionality is well documented on the iPhone and I
don't see any plans to change that. So ix-nay on another beneficial
use. Even if I tooled around on the iPad while watching television,
what exactly am I going to be doing with it that I can't already do on
my laptop? Check email? Laptop. Draft a blog post? Laptop. Watch two
shows at once? Laptop. Finally, the iPhone/Pod/Pad is a closed network. With a computer, I
can configure it to fit my preferences. The iPad works one way,
Apple's way. I don't like that. In addition, I have to pay to play. I
could buy the Wi-Fi version only, but otherwise I have to purchase
another data plan for 3G access when wi-fi is not available. When is
that? While I'm driving between cities or on the go? That seems like a
bad idea.
