iPhail, Mr. Jobs?

Got an e-mail from Apple this morning. The same that millions of others also get, iSuppose. Apple's launching the iPad. I've heard (or read) the rumours about it for quite some time. It was supposed to be the next best thing since bread came sliced. "This Will Be The Most Important Thing I've Ever Done." said a certain Mr. Jobs. "Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price". O, rly?

Reading up about this magical and revolutionary device that has Apple's most advanced technology (at an unbelievable price to boot!), iFound nothing magical or revolutionary about it. It's nothing more than an oversized iPod Touch. Yep. Mr. Jobs said this thing was supposed to be better than a laptop at doing several key things and better than an iPod Touch at everything. iDon't think so. Unless the key thing is weight, of course, but then it wouldn't be better than an iPod Touch (which weighs a lot less than the iPad, obviously).

I haven't had a hands-on with this thing (nor am I even interested), so I've gobbled up some points from the interwebs as to why iThink this device is an iPhail.

1. Name.
Whoever in their right mind would name a product iPad? Do they even know what people would associate it with? And the way Mr. Jobs said it's more "intimate"... So, iPad and "intimate". What's the first thing that comes to your mind? MadTV's spoof from way back in 2006 seems to have it bang on. Time to hire a new marketing team, Mr. Jobs? Maybe look for someone who actually does research before deciding on a product name?



2. No multitasking.
One question to 1 Infinite Loop: Why? iCan't work while listening to music and having IM applications running in the background? Or maybe not even be able to work effectively at all?

3. Keyboards.
'Nuff said.

4. Storage Capacity.
Wait, isn't this device supposed to be "the best way to experience the web, email, photos, and videos"? Where do I plug in my memory card from my camera? Where do I save my 8GBs a piece HD movies?

5. No Flash support.
I hate flash. But the fact is, almost every site on the interwebs uses flash. So, the best way to experience a flash ridden website is to not show it at all. Way to go, Apple! Apparently, even Mr. Jobs' keynote showed error boxes instead of flash animations when he opened up The New York Times.

6. iTunes.
How does this work? Can i sync other devices from the iPad, or is it just a giant, oversized iPod that syncs from a computer?

7. Price.
Yep, it's unbelievable, alright... In the sense that iCan get a netbook for half the price and do more with it too...

8. Etc...
Google, anyone?

All in all, it's a beautiful device. But it looks like that's all it will be. Beautiful. I'm not an Apple hater. iHave and use a MacBook Pro. Before that iUsed an Acer TravelMac. I even have Mac OS X running on my AMD desktop. But that doesn't mean iHave to be a Jobsian fanboy who buys everything that 1 Infinite Loop churns out.

The iPad is nothing more than an oversized iPod and e-Book reader to me. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm sure Jobsian fanboys will bash me and say that the App Store will add more functionality to the device, just like it has done with the iPhone and iPod Touch. Sure, but just like the iPhone, why buy a half-baked device at an "unbelievable" price and spend even more for apps that add capabilities that should have been included in the first place? iThink I'll pass, thank you.

As an end note, iThink Youtube Hitler sums up the iPad nicely... ;)

=p~

Never thought I'd drool over a keyboard, but this one is f***kin' awesome! Go check it out. Too bad it's too far from affordable to me... :(