Stuff You Don’t Need to Know about the iPad (Because these are Just My Opinions)
Originally published at www.fakeweblog.com on April 9 2010.
Ah yes, the iPad. Where to even start… I guess I should start by saying that I am not an Apple fanboy and that I probably won’t be buying an iPad anytime soon. However, I do have an iPod Touch, and I’ve used Macs before, so I’m basically an expert, therefore my opinions are extremely valid. I went to a local Best Buy to finally lay my hands on Steve Jobs’ newest child. To be honest, I was a bit let down. After reading what others have said, I was honestly afraid I might make a large impulse buy. The iPad seemed pretty amazing despite the broken record of down falls (aka. no Flash, no USB, doesn’t allow you to fly, can’t make you invisible, etc).
The first thing that annoyed me was all the finger smudges of the great looking screen. The Minnov8 Gang was right on with its suggestion to go into the microfiber cloth business. (Listen to the latest podcast, it quite entertaining.)
When I finally stepped up to the plate, I froze up and didn’t know what to do first. It was like when a speaker forgets what to say in front of a crowd. I couldn’t remember what I wanted to try first. Eventually I opened up YouTube and searched for an HD video. I watched the 2012 tailor (I think, I can’t remember, is that bad?), and I’ll admit, it looked gorgeous.
One indirect feature I found the iPad to possess is the “make-people-argue-and-defend-their-opinion-to-anyone-that-happens-to-be-in-the-area” feature. Seriously, this one guy just started going off about how stupid the iPad is, it was distracting and annoying.
Best Buy Employee: Hey guys, can I answer any questions for you?
Annoying Bro: Yeah, why’d they make this? *snicker*
Me (thinking in my head…I think…maybe that’s why he left): HOLY SHIT YOU ARE SO HILARIOUS WHEN IS YOUR NEXT COMEDY SHOW DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER GEMS?!?!?!?! I then logged into Twitter to make a post to prove to the world that I actually have touched an iPad:
The web browser did look really nice, I have to admit. However, I still don’t like a pure touch screen device. I like having hard buttons, and especially actual keyboards. I like my BlackBerry because I can just press the spacebar to scroll down. On the iPad (and iPod), I always seem to scroll sideways, but I might just suck at iPods. I attempted to type a paragraph I saw in the store, but I eventually gave up. (Chime in with your opinion on typing, please.) I’m having a hard time coming to a conclusion because I don’t want to just sound like every other negative review. I see use cases for the iPad, but for me, the use cases I’m imagining are not that too important, so it would be hard to justify the $500+ price tag.
Also, I just can’t get passed the idea of how it is locked down. The only way to install other programs is through one single distribution channel, and as you probably know, that particular distribution channel likes to deny applications. I understand the benefit of making sure everything works together, but for me that’s not a huge benefit because I’ve always been able to figure out how to get things to work, especially using Windows. Recently, one of the most popular (I believe the most popular) iPhone development blogs and podcasts, Mobile Orchard, is shutting down because of this. The site was co-founded by Dan Grigsby, who is an amazing entrepreneur and whom I’m extremely fortunate to know.
In general, I think the device is pretty slick. However, as I’ve learned in entrepreneurship, making something cool doesn’t necessarily solve a problem. I guess I’m just not in the target market…my mother did always tell me I’m special. :) Oh and this was the biggest deal breaker for me:
Seriously, it can’t even stand up to being smashed with a baseball bat? Come on!
