Critical Response to the iPad

Only time will tell whether the iPad becomes a success or another one of Apple's brilliant ideas gone awry. Media outlets have weighed in and had plenty to say. Some question the device's utility, especially considering the iPad is not more significantly functional than an iPhone. The iPad is still limited to operating one application at a time. You can't run multiple tasks like you can with a Mac or PC. This limits its productivity and, in essence, relegates the iPad to nothing more than a digital reader with Internet and multimedia capabilities. That being said, it still can be used for note taking and some productivity thanks to Apple's decision to make the iWork productivity suite of Keynote, Pages and Numbers available for the device for an extra cost. Still, you can't run Microsoft Word (although you can open and read Word documents), nor can you run advanced programs such as Photoshop and InDesign like you'd run on your PC or Mac.


Like every other portable device in Apple's line, you can't replace the iPad's battery. Should you get to the end of the iPad battery's lifespan, which Apple estimates is around five years, you would send your device to Apple for a replacement at a cost of $99. That may not be so bad, considering batteries are usually expensive for portable devices and five years is much longer than you'd get out of many batteries in other devices.

The 3G costs can also add up quickly. Let's say you already have an iPhone and add an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G to your portable device repertoire. You were paying around $80 (depending on texting options) for your iPhone service through AT&T. And you decided you were good with the 250MB data plan for your iPad. Now you're close to $100 just for mobile wireless service. Factor in your home Internet costs; you could be approaching $150 just for digital communication costs. As you can see, it adds up pretty quickly. And if you already have an iPhone, you may be asking yourself whether or not it's worth it.

Perhaps the one thing that may keep iPad from bridging the gap between smartphone and notebook is Apple's unwillingness to incorporate Adobe Flash in the gadget. Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad doesn't support Flash, meaning you won't be able to view many videos on the Internet. Apple CEO Steve Jobs contends Flash is quirky and leads to unnecessary software crashes. He has said that if the iPad used Flash, the device would operate for 1.5 hours per charge rather than 10 [source: Elmer-DeWitt]. Critics dispute these claims, and point out that Flash users would be able to circumvent iTunes for content typically only available through Apple's online media store. Apple may eventually permit Flash on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. But for now, iPad follows the precedent set forth by its brethren and doesn't support Flash.

Now that you fully understand iPad and all it can do, in the next section we'll take a look at what it means to the burgeoning digital media market currently dominated by Amazon.

source by : http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/ipad4.htm