iPad, iSchmad!

Don't drink it!

In my real life I'm a technologist - I buy and implement technology for school districts in the Finger Lakes region of New York.  Part of my role includes visioning and determining how best to integrate technology into classroom curriculum.  I wouldn't say I'm a technology snob, but I do tend to analyze this stuff because schools can't afford to waste money and I won't spend taxpayers' hard earned cash on fads and over hyped gadgets that aren't dependable and can't be supported.

So of course a lot of people I work with have been asking me about the iPad.  I'll share with anyone who wants to read about it that you'd be wasting your money on this first generation attempt at a revolutionary device...and wait until HP launches their Slate later this year if you really want a cool gadget to surf the web on your couch or read color ebooks.  That is, of course, unless you're a Steve Jobs' Kool-Aid drinking Apple cultist who can't see logic through your rose colored iGlasses.

Now before people show up some night and burn an Apple logo on my lawn, I'll admit that Apple is good for something, and that's the fact that they influence the creativity of the company's they compete with.  I'll never own a product whose name starts with a lower case "i" - and frankly the trend to name all kinds of non-Apple products that way is more than a little annoying.  But for those that want to know why you should wait on the iPad, here's a list of some things that should just jump out at you as a problem:

• No usb support - so you can't print with it or hook up any type of usb peripheral.  You can hook up the proprietary Apple iPad accessory's, though, so you can keep lining Apple's pockets.
• No expandable memory - uh, yeah, no card slots so you can't easily get your own media on it.
• No Flash support for the Internet - so that means you can't access most media rich web content providers since flash has become something of an Internet standard for dynamic content delivery.
• Proprietary Software - this, to me, is one of the main problems I have with all the "i" gadgets.  You must buy your apps from the almighty app store because Apple must have absolute control over what you can run on their equipment.  Yeah, you paid (too much) for it, but you don't really own it so much as consume it.  And Apple can remove an app you paid for from any of your iGadgets remotely at any time.  Remember when everyone thought Microsoft was the evil Empire, well Apple knows what's best for you and you can only have what they tell consumers they can have.  I'll take an enemy I know I can't trust over one who pretends to be friend until I'm asleep to slit my throat any day.  And let's not even discuss Apple's DRM strategy to make sure you can't share anything with anyone.
• Connectivity - Worst part about an iPhone - there's apps for it but and it's great for just about anything but making a phone call.  AT&T may have a faster 3G network where you can get the coverage, but that map is pretty small.
• No camera - so, you can't take a photo or, heaven forbid, use this supposed uber-gadget to do something so simple as a Skype call.  The future the iPad ain't until someone actually takes a moment to really thing about what they're trying to deliver to the consumer.

If you're really itching for a tablet type device, then wait for either the HP Slate coming out later this year or until someone at Apple who actually understands where technology trends are going gets a chance to fix the iPad.  The HP device, despite having a shorter battery life and slightly higher price tag, has all of these concerns covered and it's actually a tablet computer, not an iPod Touch with a gland condition.  Take a look at this comparison courtesy of Engadget:

And you can actually run real computer applications.   Unlike Apple, HP has partnered with Microsoft and Adobe to create a device that truly is a step into the future.  Take a look at this demo, unless you're using an iPad because it won't support the video:

What the iPad and its inevitable competition lacks is a real purpose.  Smartphones have already got the functionality down in terms of mobile access, but they lack the screen real estate.   A laptop already has both, and with the current prices in the marketplace you can purchase a laptop for about the same price as an iPad or a Slate without sacrificing anything.  Tablet computers in general suffer from this identity crisis - they are either an over sized smart phone or they are a limited function laptop.  So in the end they are categorized as an extravagant luxury rather than the next evolution of human computing.

Frankly, that will be the struggle to move this type of technology forward and I hope that the people that produce these products put the time into making sure that the device is as well thought out as the Slate, but with all the marketing and Kool-Aid that Apple has behind it.

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