Not having flash at this point doesn't really bother me that much. I think a hands-on with it will tell me more and if I really need it for the daily browsing and work that I do on the web currently.
If you want to find out the amount of Flash involved in the web I recommend that you install
Firefox and the
Flashblock addon. You may be surprised how much Flash is used for things like buttons & etc to navigate web sites.
For me, the lack of Flash is a deal breaker. There are a lot of other shortcomings, but the lack of Flash is a continuing failure of Apple. Steve promised "all the internet" for the first iPhone. Without Flash you can not access "all the internet". Steve lied.
You keep saying the same thing over and over again.
Please tell me what sites you use regularly that are unusable without Flash.
Because I used the Flash Blocker for 2 weeks (like I said above) and there wasn't a single site that I wasn't able to get the information that I needed without Flash. It was all superfluous advertisements, video clips, and games.
Good for you! (Seriously.)
Most people have no idea at all how much Flash is used in the internet (especially people who have never used anything but Safari as a browser simply because it does not offer the option to block Flash (a good thing when on a slow connection)) and the sites that they use. If you do and are making an informed decision to purchase the device that is great. Far too many people are being misled by Apple. I very much like the news reader
NetNewsWire. It saves me a lot of time. Unfortunately, it lacks Flash capability which means that I frequently have to open a web site in a browser in order to access web content. Fortunately, this is easily accomplished with it.
You are aware that they quietly pulled promotional materials that fraudulently showed a Flash based web site to be working on the iPad aren't you?
I suggest that people use Firefox and Flashblock so that people can make up their own minds based upon their own use. My experience is that the iPhone was of little use to me because of a number of rather fundamental problems the device had. The review I read after trying (and returning it) that best described my experience with it described it as a fundamentally flawed device. Take a look at
Canon's web site. It uses a Flash based map to select the region and country for access to information. Other sites use it for buttons used to navigate the site. I am not arguing that this is the best way to build a web site. I am just saying that it is done this way in many cases which means you either have Flash capability or you can not access the web site's content.
Without Flash capability I will not purchase this or any other device. It does not fit my needs. Like it or not, Flash utilization is widespread if not ubiquitous. The truth is that Steve promised "all the internet" with the first iPhone. Without Flash you can not access all the internet. Steve lied.