Boston Herald Bashes iPad

[Sonny Burnett]

The only question left is will the Boston Herald sell subscriptions for the iPad?

 

[rob the elder]

I am sorry, but where was the bashing?

He had a lot of positive comments. And he correctly stated that the IPAD has a limited keyboard but that you can add an external one. And if you want to do hard core computer work or run your aps, the IPAD will not so that.

This looks more like fact than bashing.

I admit that he did talk in a somewhat pajorative way about the kool-aid drinkers but if you parse the article he told no lies.

- the device is so sleek, slick, light and, well, cool.
- the touch-screen keypad is cumbersome. (true for a touch typest)
- keypad impresses by intuitively popping up onto the screen when you need it and disappearing when you don’t.
- you’ll soon catch yourself hitting the wrong keys and having to backspace and correct. (true for a touch typest)
- You can buy a keyboard for the iPad, but that comes at an extra cost and means more stuff to carry around. (but good for a touch typest)
- The iPad is lightweight -- about 1.5 pounds -- and simple to a fault,
- no USB ports (true, but solvable with addons)
- no DVD drive (true)
- no place to plug in an Internet cable or modem (true but with wireless who cares?)
- no opportunity to upgrade memory (true)
-The operating system is also annoying because it’s the same one the iPhone operates on (fact and opinion. Disagree with the opinion but for many its true. Probably biggest reason some are calling the IPAD a giant IPOD because it lacks a "real OS")
- can’t play any of your other Mac software
- nor can you run videos or Web pages using Flash program (true, you can argue that its for your own good but that does not make it false)
- also means only running one program at a time (sadly true)
- Not only is the device itself attractively modern and
everything you’d expect from Apple, it also has a display that’s sharper and clearer most Netbooks.
- iBooks app is crisp and inviting
- Web sites that you can open look easier to read (non-flash)
- for someone looking to do real work, Netbooks may be the better choice (also very true)

Again, when people denegrate the facts and attack those stating them, they weaken their own credentials and become kool-aid drinkers not worth of serious consideration.

I choose to rejoice in what the IPAD does and not beat up on anyone who chooses to point out that it does not do everything. For its target audience, non-technical computer user wannabes it is outstanding.

For people who are happy with a really big IPHONE that because of its increased size and performance does what the IPHONE does only a whole lot better, its a great device.

For people who want a really outstanding IPOD touch for casual use, its a great device.

But if you want to use "real" computer functionality, then the IPOD does not do that very well. Yet.

 

[iserian]

Not so much Bashing -

I don't really see the bashing.

From someone who has been using two of these since the 3rd I agree with most of his points. He praises the pieces that I think the PAD excels at - EReader and Movie Watcher etc... Lets be honest here the on screen keyboard is never going to be as good as a real keyboard. In this form factor the on screen is all that we are going to get. At the end of the day if I need to get some work done the PAD is the last device I turn to.

I can tell you that my netbook's, laptop's etc.. did not accompany me to the beach this weekend. The Ipad is the KILLER toy/gadget for sitting at the beach - reading, light surfing (mifi) etc...

 

[Seadog]

Too many of the pundits see the iPad as a computer and try to compare it to other computers. The iPad is a media device that blurs the distinction between media players and computers. It is in a young phase of existence and is indictitive of the future. However, let me remind all that this is a Boston journalist(?). Boston is known as beantown. We all know what beans do to people. So my advice is to blow it out...............

 

[docfreed]

He Did Not Bash Enough!

There are a lot of missing (important apps)! What were the Apple boys thinking - where's the clock, for example so you can set the music to go off at a set time - this has been on the Touch since day one, and on Ipods before that. Serious flaw - maybe El Jobso wants to sell us one.

 

[Sonny Burnett]

There are a lot of missing (important apps)! What were the Apple boys thinking - where's the clock, for example so you can set the music to go off at a set time - this has been on the Touch since day one, and on Ipods before that. Serious flaw - maybe El Jobso wants to sell us one.

I am sure that all of these things will be in iPhone OS 4.0. Remember, iPhone OS 3.2 wasn't really designed for the iPad, they just made tweaks to it so that it would work acceptably. IPhone OS 4.0 is designed with the iPad in mind.

 

[gentlefury]

There are a lot of missing (important apps)! What were the Apple boys thinking - where's the clock, for example so you can set the music to go off at a set time - this has been on the Touch since day one, and on Ipods before that. Serious flaw - maybe El Jobso wants to sell us one.

I am sure that all of these things will be in iPhone OS 4.0. Remember, iPhone OS 3.2 wasn't really designed for the iPad, they just made tweaks to it so that it would work acceptably. IPhone OS 4.0 is designed with the iPad in mind.

Well if rumors are correct (and lately they have been) expose should be finding it's way into iPad 4.0 which would include the world clock and the calculator!

 

[Sonny Burnett]

Well if rumors are correct (and lately they have been) expose should be finding it's way into iPad 4.0 which would include the world clock and the calculator!

It will be a lot better and make the iPad the device that it should be. Kind of reminds me of back in 94 when Apple came out with the Power Macintosh. They patched the original OS (I believe 7.6) for it, but then they wrote OS 8.x with it in mind.

 

[Bremen]

I to miss the clock, apps are okay but you have to turn them on to function (alarm for example).....

One thing that continues to bug we when people talk about the iPad is their insistence that it lacks "real" computer functionality. Exactly what do most people use their home computers for? The vast majority use them for Internet and email and gaming. Others will add photos, music and movies to the mix. It is not an accident that the iPad is designed to do those things with ease. It is designed to be used the way most people use their home computer, not to cater to the 5% that want to do spreadsheets or video editing on the couch. In short, it has all the "real" computer functionality most people need in their home. Those that degrade it for not having a "real" OS ( whatever that is) don't stop and think that there have been Samsung Q1's and then like for years. What has turned on the marketplace to the iPad is the fact that it is NOT just another miniature PC without a keyboard.

 

[Finnedog]

Do you think the software for the iPhone and the iPad will diverge and become separate operating systems??

 

[Bremen]

Do you think the software for the iPhone and the iPad will diverge and become separate operating systems??

Good question, and at some point I think they will have to. There will be common aspects and shared componuts, but the iPad will likely grow and develop in a different direction than the iPhone.

The iPhone OS is Apples mobile device OS, but over time I am sure will develop different flavors. The iPhone OS is an excellent OS for mobile use. OSX or windows are not. For mobile use you want to be able to turn the device on, check email, and turn the device off..... In less than 30 seconds. You want to be able to instantly use it's functions. You do not want to worry about it you have the right drivers, have the correct .dll installed, or endure a 30 second wait for boot up, and down. You do not need to do every possible thing you can do in front of a computer workstation. You just need core, consumer use functionality.

But, in the future Apple could design an "iBusiness" device designed more for an office/professional environment. Anything is certainly possible.

 

[gentlefury]

Do you think the software for the iPhone and the iPad will diverge and become separate operating systems??

They're already quite different and the fact that iPhone is getting it's os update in summer and iPad isn't until fall means they could become very different. I think cosmetically they will remain the same as the interface is great, but they will become internally more diverse until iPad os become the consumer mac os and osx becomes the pro os.