April 15, 2010 4:00 AM PDT
Real-world iPad annoyances: A timeline



Everyone knows the first-gen iPad is lacking a camera and multitasking and that many of its apps are overpriced. Annoying. But those of us who bought iPads knew this going in, and we've found ways to work around or to justify to ourselves these omissions in the product. What we didn't know about on iPad Day, April 3, was all the little things that would drive us up a tree. These are the annoyances and roadblocks that makes this appliance, otherwise engaging and attractive, feel like it was rushed out the door. Or done on the cheap. Which, for a device that starts at $499, is just wrong.
Here's a brief calendar of my personal iPad let-downs.
April 3: No chamois
MacBooks and iPhones come with little screen-cleaning cloths, and they don't collect fingerprints in nearly as spectacular a fashion as the iPad. Come on, Apple, at this price you can afford two pennies of cloth.
April 4: A hobbled New York Times app
It's Sunday, and the New York Times is sitting on my kitchen table. Apple's ads have me thinking that I can read the whole thing on the iPad instead, and if so I'll happily cancel my paper subscription. But the current "Editor's Choice" NYT app gives me only a limited selection of stories. Cruelly, the iPhone version of the NYT app gives me everything in the paper. I didn't pay all this money only to choose between a tiny version of the Times and an abridged version at iPad size. Give me what you advertised, please, Apple.
The New York Times: Where's the rest of it?

April 6: Where's the kickstand?
If the iPad is meant as a media-consuming device, how exactly are you supposed to arrange it to watch said media? You can buy Apple's overpriced case ($39.95 for what appears to be a file folder made from recycled milk jugs), as I did, and that works pretty well, but the device should have some form of stand so you don't need to spend yet more money just so you can do with what it's sold for without generating chiropractic bills.
April 7: Missing apps
Waaaait a minute. Where's the clock? The calculator? Come on, Apple. These are freebies on the iPhone. The clock omission is particularly galling. The iPad is a good e-book reader and it's been spending nights on the table next to my bed, so why doesn't it have the one other app that would be useful there, an alarm clock? And without multitasking support (at least for now), third-party clocks don't even work. (Workaround: Set an appointment in the calendar, which has audible reminders. But see below.)
Entering calendar data takes a lot of twiddling.

April 8: A pretty-but-dumb calendar
The iPad's calendar app looks gorgeous, but data entry is a UI train wreck. Have you tried to enter appointments in it while alongside someone who's using paper and pencil, or a real computer? They'll have their calendar items entered in in seconds, while you're still flipping pretty sliders around. And why can't you move forward or back with swipe gestures, or change meeting times by dragging items?
April 9: No user accounts
My new-toy grip on the iPad is loosening, and the rest of the family wants to play with it. To be sure, the iPad makes a great leave-around-the-house computer for the whole family. It's a nice media-browsing device for the living room, it's good for recipes in the kitchen, and it's useful for catching up on e-mail anywhere. Anybody in a house should be able to pick it up and use it. But it's set up as a single-user, highly personal device, like a phone. If you make an iPad a family computer, you can't really set it up with your e-mail or store your Web app passwords in the browser, unless you're open to the possibility of everyone in your house being able to peek into your accounts. Some--not all--games understand this and have different score records and achievements for different players, but this should be an OS-level API feature. The iPad really needs a user login system.

Actually not bad for typing, but not good at all for editing.

April 12: No arrow keys on the keyboard
Back at work, I'm trying to get productive with the iPad. I'm taking it to meetings and taking my notes on it using Evernote (which I love and continue to use on my MacBook and my Windows machines). But try writing or editing anything other than a short e-mail or Tweet on the iPad's virtual keyboard. It has no arrow keys and obviously no mouse, which makes quick edits go slow. Selecting text by pointing and dragging over it works and looks cool but is just not efficient. It's an annoying roadblock. (The external keyboard accessory has arrow keys, but I'd rather carry my MacBook with me that schlep that thing around.)
April 13: Does not play nice with Google Docs
If the iPad is such a great Web app appliance, how come you can't use Google Docs on it, except to read documents that have already been written? Google Docs is not a Flash app, and it works fine in Safari on OS X. So why didn't Apple work with Google (or vice versa) to make this great Web app suite work for the iPad? What? iWork? No, Apple's productivity apps don't have Google's collaborative editing features, sorry. A potential workaround , the $7.99 Office2 Pro app, will read and edit Google Docs files, but also without the collaboration features (and the current version has a scary data corruption issue when dealing with Google Docs' word-processing files.)
April 14: Yes, I'm still using the iPad
I've been adapting to the iPad's niggles for two weeks and I will continue to. It's a fun and beautiful device, and it is actually useful both at work and at home. Although my affection for this device is tempered by the expanding list of annoyances, I'm hanging on to it in the hope, which I think is reasonable, that most of these issues will get fixed. That's the price you pay for drinking the Kool-Aid. I mean, being an early adopter.

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Ok that was from
Real-world iPad annoyances: A timeline | Rafe's Radar - CNET News

So what do you think? Is CNet dead on or full of it?

What has annoyed you the most about the iPad rev 1.0?

Have you got over it?

I'm with him 100% about the friggin alarm clock...

Yes I too am fairly pissed about google docs not working. I hope they build a chrome browser soon for iPad

I'm annoyed with a lot of things. One thing is more of an app issue. I bought numbers expecting it to convert to excel files like pages to word docs. 2 the case sucks. 3- as mentioned before there are no free apps that came with the ipad that was on the iPhone. Such as stocks as well.. Get it together apple.

I forgot to mention the wifi issue

Originally Posted by Sincere11105

I'm annoyed with a lot of things. One thing is more of an app issue. I bought numbers expecting it to convert to excel files like pages to word docs. 2 the case sucks. 3- as mentioned before there are no free apps that came with the ipad that was on the iPhone. Such as stocks as well.. Get it together apple.

All of the stuff you mention was known before the iPad went on sale. If they were that imprortant to you, maybe you shouldn't have bought the iPad. Complaining that the it doesn't have the features you expected just shows that you didn't do your research before spending your money. I don't see that as Apple's fault.

eh, he's just another whiner in my book.

He doesn't already have multiple microfiber clothes laying around the house? He can't afford to spend a couple bucks for one?

There are tons of very nice clocks in the app store. I never use the default clock on my iphone anyway, in fact it's dragged to the very last page along with the rest of the default apps I never use but can't actually delete of the device.

Haven't used the NYT app but take it up with the app developers

Buy a different case, no one forced you to buy the Apple one. There are after market ones available

I like the calendar

I don't care about user accounts, to me this is a personal device a la my ipod or iphone.

eh to the rest of his gripes


I'm trying to think of my own complaints.......

Well I wish some of my iphone app developers would get their ipad versions completed.

I wish godfinger was less addicting LOL

I have plenty of silk clothes...while surprised it didn't come with one its not a big deal...I have a giant one from oakley that is almost the size of the screen ive been using.

I don't read newspapers...

Kickstand? Get a case you cheap basterd! It is a kickstand and a stand.

Really? Calculator and Clock? Go to the app store..there are plenty of free versions in there.

I really like the calendar and I love that it syncs with google calendar, that way I can make new events on my phone or desktop and they appear on my iPad iCal.

User Accounts??? iPad is mine....you want a user account....GET YOUR OWN!

Arrow Keys on the Keyboard? Its a touch device! What would be the point? The magnifying glass trick works exceptionally well on the big screen. Nit picking there!

I agree with the google docs complaint. You should be able to work off googles cloud in Numbers....This Apple/Google feud needs to end...the only one it's hurting is the consumer!

So far the only complaints I've had have been some 3rd party apps having issues...but the stock bundled device has been a dream.

One thing that I feel many of those not quite satisifed with the iPad have in common is they are forgetting about niches. Think about all the devices we have.
I have a server at home that does nothing other than host my shared hard drives for file storage and manage network printing.
I have one desktop with is hooked to my TV for surfing and playing movies. I have another desktop out in the shop that shares a printer and I use when I'm out there and need a PC.
My wife and I each have a laptop for doing heavy computing.
I use my iPhone while mobile for lots of reasons; finding resturants, finding myself and talking.
I got the iPad so I could surf, check email and goof off without carrying the laptop around or having to sit at the computer desk. Also, for the huge battery life. Any big "shortcomings" of the iPad are handled by one of the other devices I have.
Someday someone will develop a device that is as small as the iPhone, project a huge screen and virtual keyboard and mouse, run all apps and act as a phone too. But until then, enjoy every device for what it brings to the table.

Originally Posted by OUiPad

One thing that I feel many of those not quite satisifed with the iPad have in common is they are forgetting about niches. Think about all the devices we have.
I have a server at home that does nothing other than host my shared hard drives for file storage and manage network printing.
I have one desktop with is hooked to my TV for surfing and playing movies. I have another desktop out in the shop that shares a printer and I use when I'm out there and need a PC.
My wife and I each have a laptop for doing heavy computing.
I use my iPhone while mobile for lots of reasons; finding resturants, finding myself and talking.
I got the iPad so I could surf, check email and goof off without carrying the laptop around or having to sit at the computer desk. Also, for the huge battery life. Any big "shortcomings" of the iPad are handled by one of the other devices I have.
Someday someone will develop a device that is as small as the iPhone, project a huge screen and virtual keyboard and mouse, run all apps and act as a phone too. But until then, enjoy every device for what it brings to the table.

Well said!