10 things about the iPad we will laugh about

Remember the first mobile phones or portable computers or cars. Looking back only a few years there was much about their design and technical limits that we find amusing. So what are the things about the iPad launched a couple of days ago that we will find very funny in 2 to 5 years?

  1. The weight: Its about 1 kg now, a great achievement, but it is much heavier than say, the standard Kindle. We will pick it up in a few years and not believe how much of a brick it was.
  2. The icons: The launch icons are hard to find on both the iPad and iPhone. The concept was a victim of not understanding the potential of apps. There are surely better ways. That said, after a couple of days of the iPad, I find the iPhones icons cramped.
  3. No multi-tasking: On the iPhone that was something we could deal with but if you really want to get some work done on the iPad, having multiple applications open at the one time is what will make it a laptop substitute.
  4. Lack of native Google Apps: Who knows what is holding that up? Well, I reckon we have a few guesses.
  5. Web page design for 19 inch monitors or above: this is not an iPad thing but our monitors for viewing the web grew but now consumers are likely to want something smaller. In the meantime, those large web pages will look strange.
  6. No over the air syncing: With all this connectivity we still need to plug in a cable.
  7. No cloud backups: So they want you to work on documents but the backup to the cloud isn’t automatic?
  8. No brightness button: We should have the option to use the volume controls to control brightness. Carrying the iPad around in variable light, it is clear you want to adjust.
  9. No wireless output to large screen monitors and projectors: This should replace tablets for presentations. But there seems little reason why we need to lug around the big, VGA cable.
  10. Front facing camera: I can see this being important in terms of talking to people although it is hardly a must right now.

9 thoughts on “10 things about the iPad we will laugh about”

  1. I wonder about practicalities of a front facing camera on the iPad. Wouldn’t you get a shaky picture and tired arms, or an unflattering angle? I’m not sure exactly how you’d best handle it, though maybe it’s more apparent to people who have actually used an iPad.

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  2. Ummm, how about…
    11. No Flash support because every frickin’ game on the web is Flash and that ain’t gonna change with HTML5 or any other technology in the near future.
    Not to mention things like every movie web site, Google Maps street view, Flickr image editing etc etc etc.
    Here’s a gallery of the internet on iPad. Get used to seeing blue legos everywhere.
    And why are iPad users going to experience a sub-standard web? Is it because Adobe can’t be bothered porting the Flash Player? No, they’re desperate to port it. Is because the Flash Player is too slow and heavy to run on the iPad? No, because it runs perfectly under Android on similar hardware.
    No, its all because of Steve Jobs sheer bloody mindedness and determination to protect the App$tore rivers of gold.
    Here’s the Führer’s iPad review. He didn’t miss the lack of Flash.

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  3. you forgot battery life

    as for front facing cameras, they are great I have one on my phone and do video calls

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  4. number nine means we really just need an input device that connects to any screen (or projector) that is lying around. A slim keyboard or mouse with all our data in it hardrive or flash. The fixation with the screen and GUI describing the form factor is what we’ll be laughing at in the future.

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  6. That’s a fairly impressive list of deficiencies IMO – some (weight, battery life) are hard to fix but others (front-facing camera, cloud backup, wireless sync, adjustable brightness) could and should have been there from the get-go. None of these are rocket science; what were Apple’s designers thinking?

    But never mind all that, can you read the screen easily in bright daylight? If you use it as an e-reader that’s a must, and whilever LCDs can’t manage that more specialised devices like the Kindle will not be threatened.

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  9. CoRE economics — Commentary on economics, strategy and cheerleading for all things Apple.

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