Hypeless Blog

iPad: Innessential

The iPad is inessential.  Inessential like dining at a Michelin star restaurant, when you could eat at McDonald’s. It’s unnecessary, like buying a bottle of vintage wine; cheap table wine gets you just as drunk. It’s not a question of needing an iPad. It’s a question of whether the price justifies the improved experience.

With so much hype flying around the machine, it’s a hard to sort the reality from the spin. Is the iPad closer to Apple’s flawless, perfect photographs, or the fingerprinted mess you see in the photo above? Get the HYPELESS perspective.

LIVES UP TO THE HYPE

Apple’s hype carries so much clout, because they deliver exceptionally good experiences with their products. Here’s where the iPad excels:

• Consuming media. From looking at photos, to watching YouTube, to flicking through the pages of a magazine, things just feel “right”. Using the simple USA Today Newspaper App, it’s clear this is better than reading the paper, and better than browsing the web. And the media companies have just started to tap the potential.
• Battery life. Getting a real-world ten hours of use is simply outstanding. Standby mode is ultra-efficient, meaning it can do days without a charge.
• Interface. Slick, fast, accurate. It’s everything you love about the iPhone. The extra screen real estate is like adding a drop of water to fine scotch: the extra room to breathe lets the excellence of the design shine through. 

UNEXPECTED GREATNESS

These are the hidden elements of greatness. Ones that don’t make snappy soundbites, but which make living with the device worthwhile.

• Great for a quick dive into the internet. By the time my notebook has booted up, I can have already found my way using Google Maps on the iPad. 
• Sharing. “Hey look at this” – passing the iPad around like a magazine is second nature. Something that doesn’t make sense with a netbook.
• Apps that work on both iPad and iPhone lead to hidden surprises. After installing the piano app “Virtuoso HD” on the iPad, it was a delight to find it automatically sync into my iPhone, so piano fun on the go!
• Appeal to kids and pets… if you haven’t seen this, you should http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9NP-AeKX40&feature=fvw

FALLS FLAT

Bitter disappointments. Things raging anti-Apple supporters will love.

• The screen is nearly useless in bright sunlight, killing your dreams of reading your digital morning paper in the garden.
• Did you see the fingerprints in the photo? Apple claims the screen is “oleo-phobic” (meaning ‘oil resistant’), but fancy semantics or not, this iPad is in the running for biggest fingerprint magnet of all time.
• Want to watch television on demand? The iPad is perfect for this! Except most web-based services use Abobe Flash, which the iPad doesn’t support. So now we need to wait for each network to create a bespoke on-demand player for the device. 
• Weight. I’ve shown the iPad to a lot of people, and the common refrain is “it’s heavier than I thought”. Now consider watching a two hour movie. The reality is this isn’t really a handheld device; it’s designed to be put on the top of your lap. Sound familiar? 
• Mobile? Not with the current model which only supports Wi-Fi. This device loves the internet, so taking away from Wi-Fi coverage makes it as useful as a Porsche without fuel. 
• Limited web browsing with a “lite” version of Safari. Web browsing is fun on the device, until you want to search for some text within an article. Or want to quickly jump between tabs. Or want to use advanced feature such as “layers” on Google Maps. These little things stop it being the best-ever web browsing device. 
• Software keyboard. You need to hold the iPad with both hands, so you can’t casually type away with one hand, as you do on the iPhone. And if you want to do some semi-serious typing, you’ll need to rest the iPad on a table or your lap, which feels awkward with the curved back. So you end up with an unsatisfying solution for both casual and serious use. 
• A device built for consuming, not creating. The iPad is great for looking at stuff, but if you want to create anything more complex than a Facebook post, then the awkward soft-keyboard, the limited power of the browser, and Apple’s restrictions to what software runs on the device means it constantly feels awkward. Reading a blog on the iPad is great, writing one is torture.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Wouldn’t it be great if…? Well too late, the product is out, and your wishlist of features didn’t make the cut.

• Home entertainment integration. I’ll just plug my iPad into the TV to watch this movie. Oh wait – it doesn’t come with the cords for that. Surely I can then stream it via Wi-Fi to my network connected television? Nope.  
• Wouldn’t the iPad be the best home theatre remote control in the world? But as it doesn’t support infrared, this is just a dream.
• Video Skyping on the iPad would be great! The magic of your friends and family appearing in the “photoframe”. Sorry, no camera, no joy.
• Saturday morning, lazing in bed… time to check Facebook, it’s iPad time! However, lying down with the iPad becomes a chore, as the weight of the device, coupled with the awkward keyboard forces you to sit up and put it on your lap.
• My iPhone has 3G coverage. My iPad only has Wi-Fi. Surely they can work together to give me internet coverage on my iPad wherever I go? Actually this does work, if you’re prepared to hack your iPhone. If you go the legit route, you have to stump up more money for the upcoming 3G iPad to get truly mobile. 

THE HYPE FACTOR

How the hype surrounding the iPad makes a lasting difference to the experience.

• There will be some fantastic apps made specifically for the iPad. Companies around the world have bought into the hype of the iPad, meaning you have an amazing App Store to look forward to!
• On the downside, the price and hype of the iPad are leading companies to charge US$10 for games – serious money for what are currently underwhelming games, and a step away from the impulse buys which makes the iPhone App Store so great.

HYPELESS

• Great for consuming photos, video, apps.
• Easy and satisfying to use. 
• Built for the couch, or at least a comfy seat on a plane or train.
• The Wi-Fi version isn’t really mobile. If you travel, wait for the new version with built in 3G mobile internet coverage.
• If create content, don’t sell you laptop – or even your netbook - anytime soon.

Hasta la proxima, see true the hype