Whats missing from the iPad. (iOS) in general.

[Enkay]

I just got my first iPad around a week ago and really have been enjoying it. That being said there are a few things missing ( in iOS) that have become even more annoying since I have added my iPad to the mix.

Me and my girlfriend both use iPhones and now with an iPad around as well it is impossible to tell which device has received an email when it dings. This is such a huge oversight on Apple's part. My Blackberry, W7 phone, Android devices all have this feature, seems like someone at Apple forgot and they just never got around to adding it.

Flash. I know I am beating a dead horse but since I purchased an Android phone for my work phone I find myself using that for browsing over my iPhone. Why? Because if I am browsing and I end up on a page that has a flash video on it my iPhone won't run it. The same thing can be said for the iPad. People say that flash is dead and HTML 5 is the future. May be true but it doesn't mean that the ability for a device to run flash is pointless. If this were the case every OS Apple releases from here on out should have no flash support, see how that goes over. The device can run flash, get over the little tiff with adobe and get it in iOS5.

The overall look of iOS on an iPad comes off as weird. I don't think it looks bad, but it does appear that 90% of the screen is not being used. The dock can do 6 across, why can't the rest of the screen. I feel that with all of this screen space Apple could do a better job using it. Since iOS was originally designed to run on the 2g iPhone and has not seen any major visual changes ever, it just looks plain. It WORKS fine, but doesn't look any different from my 2G iPhone really.

Not trying to bash Apple or the iPad, heck I got one, but some of these small details could make a really good product into a killer one. If this played flash, and was bit more customizable, this would be a product that was a generation or two ahead of anything and everything else out there.

My 2c

 

[Itzxdjx]

Yeah good points hopefully things are addressed in iOS 5, or they give it a nice revamp to have people be happy for a while until these issues rise again!

My biggest thing also is I would just like it to evolve just a little more! That why I love android always changing always fresh and there not scared to try new things if it docent work thell fix it mod it in the next version it's always a pleasant surprise when you get a android update.

Not saying that iOS hasn't evolved it evoles in just features, no visual!

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

I just got my first iPad around a week ago and really have been enjoying it. That being said there are a few things missing ( in iOS) that have become even more annoying since I have added my iPad to the mix.

Me and my girlfriend both use iPhones and now with an iPad around as well it is impossible to tell which device has received an email when it dings. This is such a huge oversight on Apple's part. My Blackberry, W7 phone, Android devices all have this feature, seems like someone at Apple forgot and they just never got around to adding it.

Flash. I know I am beating a dead horse but since I purchased an Android phone for my work phone I find myself using that for browsing over my iPhone. Why? Because if I am browsing and I end up on a page that has a flash video on it my iPhone won't run it. The same thing can be said for the iPad. People say that flash is dead and HTML 5 is the future. May be true but it doesn't mean that the ability for a device to run flash is pointless. If this were the case every OS Apple releases from here on out should have no flash support, see how that goes over. The device can run flash, get over the little tiff with adobe and get it in iOS5.

The overall look of iOS on an iPad comes off as weird. I don't think it looks bad, but it does appear that 90% of the screen is not being used. The dock can do 6 across, why can't the rest of the screen. I feel that with all of this screen space Apple could do a better job using it. Since iOS was originally designed to run on the 2g iPhone and has not seen any major visual changes ever, it just looks plain. It WORKS fine, but doesn't look any different from my 2G iPhone really.

Not trying to bash Apple or the iPad, heck I got one, but some of these small details could make a really good product into a killer one. If this played flash, and was bit more customizable, this would be a product that was a generation or two ahead of anything and everything else out there.

My 2c

One possible way around the Flash problem is to use a third-party browser, such as iSwifter, that hosts flash content remotely and so gives you access to Flash-enabled websites. You can download a 'lite' version for free to see if it meets your needs. Yes, I accept, it's not the complete solution, but for access to some Flash sites it can work acceptably.

Tim
Scotland

 

[Enkay]

I have tried other apps, not what I am looking for. Especially after seeing how it can be executed in android.

 

[USBill]

Most of what I've read indicates that Flash on Android phones is pretty poor. The review of the dual core Atrix said "jittery" if I recall correctly.

Since sales of the best Android tablet out there have been "disappointing" according to Motorola, and the fragmentation of Android is causing lots of problems I would suggest that people who really care about Flash wait a couple of weeks and get a Blackberry Playbook.

 

[Enkay]

I have a HTC Inspire and from my experiences flash videos run fine. And this is on a single core processor. If my grandparent's 6 year old pc can run a flash video this iPad can as well. Specifically the iPad 2 with the added GPU power. While many say that Apple will never have flash support on their iOS devices, I feel that this would be a horrible choice. Flash will be around for a while, and as android tablets continue to improve on their browsing experience, Apple will have to concede that it is a feature that many of their users want.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

I have a HTC Inspire and from my experiences flash videos run fine. And this is on a single core processor. If my grandparent's 6 year old pc can run a flash video this iPad can as well. Specifically the iPad 2 with the added GPU power. While many say that Apple will never have flash support on their iOS devices, I feel that this would be a horrible choice. Flash will be around for a while, and as android tablets continue to improve on their browsing experience, Apple will have to concede that it is a feature that many of their users want.

If you want Apple's official line on Flash you can read it here...

Thoughts on Flash

Tim
Scotland

 

[NumbLock]

I wrote to Apple the following more or less verbatim:

In our household, we have two iPod Touches, two iPads and an iPhone but I'm finding iOS sometimes lacking.

- Files - We find it annoying that when you want to edit or open a file in different apps, the only way to do it is with the "open in" feature, and good luck keeping track of the version on your own.
- User Dictionary - it is frustrating that you have to use the international keyboard workaround to add the user dictionary feature, and then it is still half-baked.
- User Interface Dated - How about opening up and API that allows the home button to be mapped to an app that has access to app icons for cooler display and organization? Devs would love it!
- Notifications Disruptive - PLEASE steal the Palm way.

 

[Seadog]

Not that many want it, it is a battery hog, it is old tech, and if you studied Apple, you would know that they make a habit of dumping old technology and not going back. Let the poor dead horse get a rest.

 

[Thphilli]

One possible way around the Flash problem is to use a third-party browser, such as iSwifter, that hosts flash content remotely and so gives you access to Flash-enabled websites. You can download a 'lite' version for free to see if it meets your needs. Yes, I accept, it's not the complete solution, but for access to some Flash sites it can work acceptably.

Tim
Scotland

Yea, but the usage scenario goes like this:

Browsing around and find a website with flash content missing. . .
No indication there is flash on the page because it just doesn't load . . .
If you can figure out that there is missing content, copy the URL . . .
Back out from Safari/other browser and open up iSwifter . . .
Paste the URL into iSwifter and wait for page to load. . .

Not very apple like experience. I have been browsing on the ipad before and read a story in a blog and later come back on a computer to reference the article and there is a ton of video content that I missed. Its not an absolute deal breaker, but really with the hardware that Apple has used with the iPad2 there is ZERO reason that flash shouldn't be integrated. You can sandbox flash exactly like Chrome does so there are zero threats from virus/malware/crashing.

 

[Enkay]

As I said in my orig. Post. If it really is unused old tech. Remove compatibility from all new macs. My MBP and iMac both ran flash out of the box. I know this isn't supposed to replace those, but the fact is that flash is still used. Especially on a lot of the tech news sites I go to every day. Again, not hating, didn't buy this thing to complain about it. I think it's great and right now there is no tablet anywhere close to this.

 

[Mtnmedic]

Flash...geeez, people. Still whipping that dead horse while it's in the grave, huh? Do you still clutch onto your ZIP drives and disks from the 90s, too? LET IT GO, fer cryin' out loud! There's more people to see, places to visit, things to do and worlds to conquer! There are several compelling reasons why Flash isn't -and never will be- on iOS devices. So, you either live with the iPad without Flash and not complain OR you get some other device and be happy you have Flash (feel free complain about how crappy that device is compared to the iPad, though).

Pssst: having no Flash isn't the end of civilization as we know it.

*rant off*

Michael "Spam, spam, bacon, eggs and spam. Hold the bacon and eggs." Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

 

[thebytedoc]

Another thing I think is really lacking is the ability to specify power profiles (this is very applicable to the iPhone & iPad). I.E. Being able to specify a "Home" profile. This would automatically shut off 3G, turn on wifi, turn off location services, etc. This is a very simple example. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Catfiend]

Another thing I think is really lacking is the ability to specify power profiles (this is very applicable to the iPhone & iPad). I.E. Being able to specify a "Home" profile. This would automatically shut off 3G, turn on wifi, turn off location services, etc. This is a very simple example. Any thoughts on this?

I'd like this as well. At least the ability - it may be there and I've missed it - to skip lock screening when connected to power.

 

[Thphilli]

Flash...geeez, people. Still whipping that dead horse while it's in the grave, huh? Do you still clutch onto your ZIP drives and disks from the 90s, too? LET IT GO, fer cryin' out loud!

Uh, that comparison is stupid. A majority of video on the internet is in flash. Thousands and thousands of websites rely on flash and cannot be used without it. The successor to flash hasn't even been standardized yet. You might want to check this out:

http://ishtml5readyyet.com/

So basically 3 years of non standardized video ahead. Will iOS support HTML5 videos encoded using the WebM format? Currently it only supports HTML5 video encoded with h.264. So without a standard, iOS devices won't even support all HTML5 videos since there will be various encoding formats.