What's missing from the Apple iPad.
The title is a bit silly really because what is missing and/or present is a matter of what you intend to do with it. This really only hit home the other night as I was sat on the sofa half watching telly and half catching up on some surfing and emails using my MacBook.
I kept up with the keynote using Arstechnica's feed and as the details come through I have to say that I was underwhelmed. I was waiting for the multitasking to be shown but it never happened. I really thought after the announcement of the Apple A4 chip that Jobs said “screamed” we would be getting multitasking. If it is really as fast as Steve claims, and everyone who has used one says that it is, it should be able to handle multitasking. Why do I need multitasking? I use Skype and to be available to receive calls I need to have the Skype program open all the time. With the iPad (and iPhone) this is not possible. As soon as you close the application your Skype connection is shown as closed to all your friends and business partners. So I can't check my email and/or surf and take calls. Also if I am on a call over Skype and I need to check an email, when I close the Skype application to go to the email application the call is closed as Skype has to close.
This for me is a deal breaker. I would us an iPad as a communications device. It would mean that I could run a lot less applications on my main computer - Skype, mail, various instant messengering clients - speeding it up when I'm developing. Also the iPad is far more portable than my laptop. I can walk around the house with it and check emails anywhere and it would have been perfect the other night as I sat on the sofa and tried to get comfortable with a heavy laptop trying to position a keyboard that I didn't actually need.
I, though, am not the target the audience for the iPad at present. People like my father are the audience. He does very little on his computer except surf and send emails. We do use iChat from time to time but I'm sure he could live without that. If he hadn't already bought a laptop I'm sure he would get an iPad and get a lot of use out of it.
In the meantime I'm going to wait for multitasking and a front facing camera then I can justify spending the money to fill the massive and gaping void between iPhone and MacBook which makes my life so miserable and unfulfilled at the moment. Well clearly not, nobody actually needs an iPad in the way nobody actually needs the vast majority of crap we have in our lives. I also feel the need to justify the crap I am buying (or asking the wife to buy for Xmas or birthday). Most of it fulfils a need and makes me more productive. My wireless Mighty Mouse for example is much quicker to use than the track pad. My aluminium keyboard is much better than the laptop keyboard and as I have a second 30 inch screen plugged in, I can sit back and type. My netbook has it's uses but as Job's said at the keynote, they are basically crap. I'm typing this on my netbook now and it is quite difficult to get comfortable, just like my MacBook although lighter to carry around than a MacBook. Typing up articles like this would be a perfect use of an iPad but this is not something I do that often.
The other limitation I see with the iPad is that applications that it can run are limited to what Apple decides it will approve. Apple's decisions in this regard are not as straight forward and logical as it may seem. Using any sort of voice application over the cellular network was banned until recently by Apple. Was this Apple's decision or was it the telecoms companies who didn't want their income retarded by people making ostensibly free phone calls if they have an unlimited data plan? If I stump up for an iPad then I want to use it to the maximum of its capabilities. I don't expect to be developing software on it – I couldn't anyway as Apple's application store rules wouldn't let the tools needed get through. But there are many things that the iPad could do that both myself and Apple have not yet thought about. I'm sure there are developers out there who are having fantastic ideas but are being hobbled by the restrictions. On the other hand I'm sure there are many developers out there having really silly ideas and Apple's restrictions are keeping them away. I do appreciate that by having a gatekeeper Apple can try and snuffle out applications that steal credit card numbers and bank login details etc and give an extra layer of security to the already tight OS X. Again while this is something that I do not want or like, for my Dad is is another layer of protection that would help him buy.
The rise of web based applications is already getting around Apple's restrictions. With the rise of new web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3 installed applications are going to become less and less important, something that can only drive tablet sales in the future.
So in summary I'm waiting for a front facing camera and multitasking and GPS to be incorporated into the iPad and then I'll be buying one. Although they haven't released the UK pricing yet – it would need to be around the £350 mark. $499 is around £320 at the moment so anything more than £350 and Apple are extracting the urine big time. Many fear that the $ will be replaced by a £. I really hope that they don't attempt that trick.
So to summarise again: £350, multitasking, front facing camera and GPS. I'm not worried about a data plan. I'll get a MiFi for that.