Snow Leopard Would Be Better Choice For iPad
The first impression when I saw the photo of Apple’s iPad was, “the device design is fugly, look like a giant version of iPhone.” ,“Apple confirm they’ve bought the correct product to the event?” , “even the rumor sites have better designs.”
We can just skip the criticizing part on the exterior design and missing hardware features, because that’s Apple, they have to maintain the consistency of their product design.
What about the software?
That’s even the worst portion to be brought up. It is built on top of the iPhone OS. If I have a larger screen, I would actually expect the OS to be a slimmer version of Snow Leopard and not a giant version of iPhone OS.
Think about it, a slimmer Snow Leopard could let you to run your instant messenger in the background, could allow you to install your favorite browser and could let me install a better media player that can play all encoding format. Isn’t this more appealing than the current iPhone OS?
To be honest, Safari isn’t enough for web surfers who knows well about internet. And everyone wants Adobe Flash. Thought from the software architect aspect, Adobe Flash is not really a good piece of software. But on the other hand, we need to acknowledge that it has been well adopted by the web designers. At the moment, we don’t have anything similar to replace it, unless Apple wants to accept Silverlight.
We put much hope on iPhone OS 4.0, hoping it can bring us multi tasking. But we feel disappointed because it was not announced.
iPad just a crappy mobile device? Don’t get me wrong, it at least is still a good eBook reader! It well can cover the missing eMagazine market portion with the gorgeous colour display. This is which the EInk Kindle at the moment couldn’t catch up with.
However, I have a bad feeling that iPad will be heading towards the same fate as AppleTV. So now, our only hope is the jailbreak community to save this Apple product, just like how they’d saved iPhone by accelerating the 3rd party iPhone App development.
If any of you have anything you’d like to add, please contribute by commenting below. Thanks!
January 30, 2010
It is targeting novice users instead of advanced users i think. That explains the price too. Just like iphone, even uncles, aunties everyone also happily using XD
January 30, 2010
Yeah. We shall soon see other PC manufacturers release something similar but running on Android.
February 1, 2010
yes. i sincerely hope apple's pricing decision will quickly bring down the prices of a tablet! tats a win win situation for us
July 11, 2010
The iPad should run a subset of snow leopard, have a usb port, be multi-tasking and, not be limited to applications that are “apps” specifically proprietary to the ipad. Now I realize that's a lot to ask for on a 1mgz processor and an unspecified amount of ram. (At this writing.)
I haven't been able to find out how much RAM is standard and how much can be upgraded, but usually what you buy is what you get, (unless you replace the ram included, basically tossing it after having bought it, for two more higher capacity integrated circuits.
If I were to buy an iPad, it would be the cellular version with wi-fi built in, not as a stand-alone appliance but as an extension of my current mac systems. I use Microsoft Office, and Adobe Creative suites among other “non iPad apps” and would want to be able to sync information from one appliance to another.
I do understand that this type of software requires quite a lot of disk space, isn't widely used by the general public, and for that reason can see why they are yet supported, if that time comes at all. I also cringe at having to download an app for every newspaper, magazine, weather service, florist location, and web service or local television channel that believes that I need a VIP entry to their web content especially for “Doppler radar alerts”.
Safari works very well for me and I choose where I'd like to surf. Not to mention avoiding the tracking software that is probably embedded in the content specific apps created by each organization that sees this only as an opportunity to infringe what on is already tenuous internet privacy at best. Get ready to see content specific ads for umbrellas when you check use your weather app.
Another deal breaker for me is in order to back up the iPad, it seems that one needs iTunes and a separate Mac computer to do the deed. Some people don't have the luxury of owning one let alone two apple computer.
I would also like to be able to use the iPad as my user interface while booting up from an external hard drive in scenarios where the 64g SSSAs hard drive just won't hold all my files, (ms Entourage database, archived photos etc…). Having access to my home computer, using the iPad screen would be a delight.
Where I can see a market for Ipad customers succeeding are those completely naive to the Apple experience, or who are existing clients with iPhones or Touch ipods. They are used to compartmentalized applications, and most often that not are not to savvy on how to protect against internet privacy intrusions.
On the whole, Apple has made a great first generation table appliance. The design specs are a thing of beauty. Let's just hope they open the market up to more teck savvy consumers, who though they to enjoy the bells and whistles, are too
Unless Apple decides to abandon it's attempt to build upon the current iPhone app model, (which I believe has already gotten out of hand with all the useless apps on the market), and use it's marketing power to complement current Apple technology (namely it's laptop and desktop customer base, I see the iPad being out done by other companies who will develop true tablet computing, creating a viable alternative where business men and women as well as casual vacationers can take their office with them for a fraction of the weight and expense. If Apple doesn't come up with viable alternative on it's on, I see the iPad being a cool fad, but eventually joining the likes of other e-readers that you will be bought off the shelf at Walmart.
I see no point in investing in a appliance that will certainly lead to a dead end for me without being required to buy “adapters” and “adopt work “arounds”.
One last marketing facet, find a way to uncouple the need to have iTunes on a separate computer to administer updates and library syncs. (This might already be in the works are currently exist, but from my experience with iPods and iPhones, it seems likely that Apple will continue to use this model with its iPad.
All said and done, I haven't given up and believe that market forces will bring about the above changes. I'll just wait until the 3rd or 4rth generation of the iPad to hit the market. I believe me I won't be waiting in line in from the an Apple store at 3am to be on of the first guinea pigs.
Introducing an appliance which on the surface was supposed to revolutionize the way the world compute, both in connectivity and simplicity, I think most geeks and casual users have been sold a soon to be silicon diva, that in time will need a larger and larger digital entourage to keep it's star power, if at best lack luster.
Apple has made a modest first pitch at a true table computer. Let's just hope that in future incarnations, they can attract more of the tech crowd, who by the way enjoy bells and whistles as much as the next geek, as long as those features are just an attempt of blowing hot air up their posteriors.