I didn't want to devote a whole blog post to this, but I brought it up in Friday's post and wanted to go off on it, but it just didn't "fit" the theme, so here we are. I know there are some of you out there who couldn't care less about this stuff, so... sorry.For those who live under a rock or who don't obsessively check Gizmodo 30 times a day, Apple recently announced a new tablet computer called the iPad.
Now, the tablet computer is NOT an Apple invention. They've actually been around for quite some time in various incarnations, but have failed to gain widespread public acceptance, for a bunch of reasons. But Apple (and others) thinks that technology has evolved to the point where it might be a viable product. For weeks there was buzz about what they might create, how they would innovate the platform to take it to the next level. Considering how many times this form factor had been tried and failed to flourish, they really had to put the Apple magic spin on it and create something new. And then a few weeks ago, they had a press conference and announced... the iPad.
Putting aside how RIDICULOUS that name is - the jokes about feminine hygiene products have been made a million times already, but c'mon now - what it essentially is is a giant iPhone, without the phone. Now, don't get me wrong - I have an iPhone. I LOVE my iPhone. Until VERY recently, there wasn't a single product out there that I would consider trading it in for (and even now, with the Droid and Google Phone as iPhone alternatives, I still think I'd stick with the iPhone), but that doesn't mean it's without its faults, and it CERTAINLY doesn't mean it will scale well to a tablet device.
Let me quickly outline the major faults as I see them, before getting into why I give a shit at all :
- Not Innovative - It's just dishonest for Apple to claim this is an innovative new device. It is almost exactly an iPhone, blown up. They did very little to tweak the UI from the standard iPhone interface, which brings us to...
- No Multitasking - To those not tech-savvy, this means you can run one program at a time. You can't have your IM buddy list up and be surfing the web at the same time, you can't be watching a video and chatting at the same time, you can't be streaming a lecture for an online class and taking notes. On a three-inch iPhone screen with a tiny ARM processor, this at least makes SOME sense, but on something that's supposed to take the place of a netbook? No.
- No I/O - There's no expandable memory, no removable battery, no USB port... though they'll sell you an add-on that you can use to add a USB port!
- Apple Restrictions - My biggest complaint with my iPhone was the number of things Apple didn't ALLOW you to do with your device. I didn't even really realize the extent of these restrictions until I Jailbroke my phone, allowing me to install tweaks and non-approved apps. Suddenly I had a lockscreen that actually told me useful information, the ability to change the look of my iPhone, the ability to put apps into FOLDERS, the ability to install a simple program like Google Voice, the ability to change even sounds.... the list goes on and on. All of these issues will be carried over to the iPad.
Now the question is : why do I care? There are a million pieces of technology out there that just don't appeal to me, and I simply ignore them; I don't spend 3000 words trying to tell the world why they suck. So why this crusade?A lot of it is that, as an iPhone owner, I don't like how Apple ignores complaints from their users. Taking several years to implement simple features like cut and paste or MMS; insisting on sticking with their proprietary 30-pin connector when every other cell phone provider is working towards a standard micro-USB charging solution; keeping a stranglehold on the application market and setting up arbitrary rules blocking apps... the list goes on and on. To see them continue to maintain a rabid fanbase despite these tactics is annoying to say the least.
The aforementioned rabid fanbase is another sticking point. I can't stand when people defend a barely tenable position regardless of the evidence to the contrary. Politics is rife with this type of fault-blindness, and for some reason technophiles are subject to the same issue.
But mostly I'm just annoyed that Apple has built up good will by creating decent products, and they're using that good will to peddle a weak product to a gullible public. They realize they have a good image and an adoring group of fans, and they're exploiting that. Is that overstating it? Sure, but it doesn't mean it doesn't annoy me, and I wish it annoyed other people too.
3 comments:
As an engineer you should understand by now that there is usually a large gap between what customers think they want and what they actually want. Apple has been extremely successful in recent years building product that people didn't know they wanted. I think the iPad falls into this category, though I agree it is more evolutionary than revolutionary (and it is not "magical" as their website describes it).
Bottom line is, if you know you don't want it, don't buy it. If you think you are better off with a netbook, get one. But I expect this move towards simple appliance computing will be successful among a different base of customers that don't know what multitasking is.
I do understand that what people want is often impractical or outright impossible, but I also think that Apple continues to air WAY too much on the conservative side of that argument. Having jailbroken my iPhone, I've seen what it could do if they added just a little more thought to it. You keep saying that multitasking would be too complicated, but I'VE SEEN IT implemented and it's not. And if it was implemented officially by Apple I'm sure it would be much better. People may not know the word multitasking, but anyone who's ever used a computer knows what it is, and I think they'll realize very quickly that they want it.
Well to continue the multitasking example, I suspect Apple realizes that the desktop computing model of applications and window does not translate to this device. The iPad may have plenty of RAM and CPU to support it, but the concept doesn't fit. Apple knows that once you add a feature, you can't take it away, or else the improved replacement will be drowned out by the cries of the masses (see: Facebook). So they would rather wait until they get it right than get it wrong the first time around. Clearly, you disagree with this aproach for valid reasons (something probably is better than nothing), but that's how they operate.
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