iPad

REALLY?

I'm about the furthest thing from a loyal Apple fan, but even I expected something, well, NEW given all of the tech blog speculation and the cloak of secrecy surrounding this thing. There hasn't been a hype-letdown event quite like this one in a while. This is on par with Y2K. Rumors of Project Natal style motion sensing or at the very least, a revolutionary input mechanism, were all met with utter disappointment.

According to Steve Jobs, the iPad is a gadget that will render netbooks obsolete. Obsolete, the man says! Let's see how that pans out with the following typical computing scenarios:

You want to listen to music while surfing the internet.
● Netbook: Yes.
● iPad: No. Seriously.

You want to watch Hulu or play Flash-based games on Facebook
● Netbook: Yes.
● iPad: No Flash on the most revolutionary internet device ever conceived by man or machine.

You want to access files from a thumb drive.
● Netbook: Yes.
● iPad: Sure, as long as you buy an expensive adapter.

You want to type up a semi-lengthy sales report.
● Netbook: Yes.
● iPad: Yes, BUT a) If you use the onscreen keyboard, Apple engineered the device to oscillate furiously while typing on a flat surface. This is made possible by an innovative, curved posterior. An example of Apple's continued commitment to form over function. b) Buy expensive keyboard dock.

I have no doubt that Apple will rectify many of these glaring issues through their infamous process of incremental updates. Don't be fooled, these omissions were purposeful. The second generation iPad will likely drop later this year or early next year. The device will probably see the addition of a single USB port and the iDrones will queue up along the entire length of 5th Ave ready to replace their aging stockpiles of first-gen iPads. Do you see where I'm going with this? Apple does these things because they know their loyal user-base will take the abuse.