iPad!?!

Yesterday, Apple announced a new type of tablet computer that they are calling the iPad. The iPad from initial looks is nothing more than an oversized iPhone/iPod Touch.  After watching Steve Jobs’ keynote speech, I began to realize, “WTF Apple?"

It never amazes me anymore that Apple would do something like this. While I will give Apple credit that netbooks aren’t the best laptops, but they aren’t meant to do everything a normal laptop can. A netbook is for those who want a cheap portable computer that does basic tasks such as internet, email, and office documentation for the most part. A netbook was never meant to replace laptops.

A big thing with Apple’s iPad is its integration with all things iPhone/iPod Touch. The iPad can do everything that the iPod and iPhone can do just on a bigger screen (3G capabilities will come at a later date to the iPad). The other thing that Apple will have to address quickly is the fact that there are no ports for anything except power/expansion cable port (think iPod / iPhone data cable). The iPad has no USB ports, no card reader slots, no disc drive, and no expansion. Yes, Apple has done it again, users can’t upgrade or replace RAM, the battery, or anything else that a normal laptop user can replace. To top it all off, the iPod come with 3 storage options that are all internal. There is a 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB flavor ($499, $599, & $699 respectively). This means that once a user purchases an iPad, they are stuck with the storage space they have. This problem is made worse with the no ports that I mentioned above. The final hurdle I see with the iPad is the fact that it will not multi-task applications unless they are Apple’s applications. This means no fast switching between apps. With Windows, Linux, Unix, and even Mac OSX you can run multiple applications at once without any problems.

Even with all of these ‘features’ and issues, there will be millions of Apple faithful that will purchase the iPad no matter the outcome. They will buy it and then a couple months later be irate because Steve Jobs has announced an upgrade to the device (remember the iPhone launch). Apple is here to stay, but how loyal will their customers be?