MERIDIAN — Apple Computer released its much anticipated tablet January 27th and despite Apple’s claims of “magical” and “revolutionary” the general public has reacted mostly with disappointment and criticism.  Others reacted with derision, mocking Apple for ignoring the inescapable link between the iPad and feminine products. How do you miss that? Some joked that the iPad comes with wings. Maybe if someone had produced a parody a few years ago of Apple naming a product “iPad”, maybe Apple would have avoided the gaff. Oh wait, MadTV did exactly that. Find and watch it on YouTube—prophetic and very funny. Too bad Apple missed it.

    Steve Jobs and company created the iPad to fill the supposed gap between a smart phone and a laptop. Jobs accurately describes Apple as a mobile devices company. It is, in fact, by sales, the largest mobile devices company in the world (larger than Samsung, Sony and Nokia in sales of mobile devices). Jobs believes there is a need for a tablet-like device in between the function and size of an iPhone and a laptop. Netbooks are a product of the same belief.

    For a tablet to make sense, its ability to perform core functions must be better than the devices it replaces (your smart phone and laptop). If you want (and can afford) a gap device for email, rich web surfing, photos, video, music, games, and eBooks, then the iPad is an excellent device. Its form factor is untouchable: a half-inch thin weighing only a pound and a half. It has an 9.7 inch IPS display which means it’s big, bright, beautiful and easily viewable from different angles, which is nice when you’re watching a movie with another person. Battery life is ten hours, impressive for a netbook, but paltry for an eReader. And it’s green (no mercury, highly recyclable, etc.). It comes in two versions (WiFi only and WiFi + 3G) and three sizes (16, 32, and 64 GB). The WiFi-only version will be available in March and the 3G version in April.

    Apple has maintained its high bar of hardware and software quality. No other device feels or performs like an iPhone, iTouch or iPod. The same is true with an iPad. It gives you the same experience as an iTouch, only larger. But that’s actually the downfall of the device and its big disappointment. It’s an over-sized iPhone without phone capabilities.

    It can’t run more than one program at a time, it doesn’t have a USB port, can’t make a phone call, and runs an iPhone operating system instead of Mac OSX. Instead of enlarging the iTouch, Apple should have shrunk the MacBook. I don’t want something in the middle of my iPhone and laptop, I want my iPhone and laptop combined. I don’t want either or in between. I want “both and.” If I want a book reader, I’ll stick with eInk technology in the Kindle or Nook—a bright IPS screen is difficult to read for long periods of time.

    What we were hoping for was a truly revolutionary tablet, not an iTouch on steroids. Imagine running all the iPhone apps (now above 140,000) AND all the Mac OSX applications, which includes a Windows emulator so I could run all my Windows applications, too. Add accurate and fast voice recognition to make up for the lack of built-in hardware keyboard and now you have both a magical and revolutionary device.



    Bott Technology Solutions helps small to midsize businesses with computer technology needs and may be reached via e-mail at gregbott@bottinc.com or at 601-207-0509.