Apple iPad Falls Flat (For me at least)

They've already started. Text messages, emails, and phone calls about what I think about Apple's latest device. As the Mac evangelist in my social circle, it might surprise you to know that I'm pretty disappointed.

While there's plenty to be excited about with iBooks and iWork, the rest is pretty much an overblown iPod Touch complete with all the limitations of that device plus a few extras. For example, I can't for the life of me understand why Apple continues to shun Adobe Flash support. It's ubiquitous on the Internet! It even showed up in Steve Job's demo when he went to the New York Times website. The camera just sat there staring at a giant broken gear icon that took up a bunch of the screen. Lack of Flash support is my single biggest complaint with my iPhone. Period. I can't imagine my demeanor about it would improve while looking at that same broken gear on an even bigger screen with a faster processor and a bigger battery. Steve thinks Flash is a CPU/Battery hog. Fair enough. I think $500+ is a lot of money for a computer with that kind of handicap.

Steve pointed out that YouTube looks amazing, blah blah. Okay, the problem is I still run into 40-50% of the videos on YouTube that are "unsupported" on the iPhone/iTouch/iPad, presumably because they're formatted in Flash FLV files (see above).

Another disappointment: No front facing camera. Imagine the possibilities if that were included. Families and businesses could have face to face video phone calls across the Internet using iChat. Including it makes the device a game changer in terms of potential market.

Another disappointment: No Infrared transmitter. Imagine the application potential if this thing had an IR transmitter that was accessible to the SDK. Another game changer in terms of potential market. This thing could be the smart remote everyone dreams of for their home theaters.

No multi-tasking? Yeah I get it with the early phones. Not powerful enough, not enough battery. But what's the excuse now? Why can't I launch the XM Radio app, tune into my favorite channel, then switch to iWork and work on a spreadsheet?

I'm getting comfortable with built-in batteries, but I still can't figure out why Apple won't put a damn flash memory slot on the device. It would allow users to move files around and expand storage. Its omission makes no sense.

I also noticed that the Mail app seems cobbled and oversimplified just like the iPhone's version is. In the iPhone version, I can't, for example, color-code messages, edit rules, create folders, add an attachment while creating a message (like from my iDisk or photo collection). The iPad Mail interface looks the same so I doubt that any of these shortcomings are being addressed.

And what about wifi syncing? Give me a friggin break, Apple! I'm sitting on my couch with a fast wireless network and you won't let the device talk to my main machine to give and get information and media? I should be able to do this from any wifi hotspot. It's absolutely an insane and intentional omission.

And I still can't make a friggin folder on the home screen? Really? I've actually stopped buying applications because I'm tired of reaching across five screens to get to them all. Have you factored THAT into your "billions downloaded" statistic?

People accuse me of "drinking the Kool-Aid" all the time when it comes to Apple. I always reply that I'm one of Apple's biggest critics. I just don't often find much to criticize. The iPad is definitely worth criticizing. I think Steve Jobs is flat out wrong when he says that the iPad surfs the Internet better than a laptop. Why? Because it's touch screen? Hey Steve, go touch that broken gear and see if that helps you see 30-40% of what's worth seeing on the Internet.

Most of these issues can be resolved in software. But since we're looking at the 3rd generation of the iPhone OS, I'm quite pessimistic about Apple adding them or they would have done it already.

I'm not buying one of these things. As much of an Apple guy as I am, I don't think this rises far enough above the experience I already pay for - my iPhone - to justify another $500+ device that still can't do the things much less capable devices from competitors can.

This thing is perfect for technophobic people who just want to get email and surf the web. For those of us who do more than that, well, it just falls flat. Back to the drawing board Apple. I wish I could share your excitement, but I can't.