iPad is coming tomorrow and here’s top 10 things Apple can do to make iPad actually worth buying for consumers like me who expect more from every dollar I spend:
- Multi-tasking – We live in a world where multi-tasking is essential to get things done. For example, I want to be able to stream internet radio while I play games. If iPad seriously wants some “serious” attention from consumers, this is the one thing that’s going to seriously turn consumers away. My Nexus One phone can stream internet radio, receive Twitter updates, and browse internet all at the same time, why can’t an iPad do that? I mean, isn’t it BIGGER? I guess bigger doesn’t always mean “smarter”.
- USB Ports – USB ports are actually rather cheap to implement. You can still get USB ports on the iPad but you will have to pay for an over-priced USB adaptor. Even if iPad just had one USB port, that would make it 10 times more awesome.
- Flash – Missing flash player on such a big 10-inch device is unacceptable. If Steve Jobs has an “emotional” problem with the company Adobe, he should see that running business on his emotions can be rather costly.
- Open source – There’s no real way to hack an iPad (other than jailbreaking). iPad is still a computer that has a CPU, memory, display, etc…etc… If Apple wants to keep making things more proprietary that’s fine, they should make a separate open source version for people to hack it. Otherwise, people like will never buy another Apple product ever again. They need to make it more useful for people who want to do more than just browse the web and buy apps. Trust me, there’s a lot of smart people out there that want to hack it with something other than iPad OS.
Overall, my impression of the iPad is a giant iPod Touch. The thing is, I have an iPod Touch that’s been collecting dust ever since I got it. If iPad wants to make an impact on people’s life, it needs to be more “useful” than an iPod Touch.
I am an early-adaptor but I don’t buy things that don’t seem like a good deal. To me, iPad seems to still be in its early stages and all those people buying are only guinea-pigs to future versions. It just seems like a lot of money for something that doesn’t do all that plus you need to spend even more money on apps. Great idea for monetizing Apple for another gazillion, not fun for the everyday Joe who works hard for his dollar. (I would love to see a flat membership fee for apps instead of having to pay for every one of them.)
I am sure iPad will get better in 2-3 years when it gets even thinner, perhaps become more “useful”. Until then, I think I will hold off on my iPad purchase (even though I pre-ordered one), I will waiting until iPad 2 or 3 is out. And oh yeah, I have to agree with Cory Doctorow on this, Apple is only getting more evil. Smart people don’t need dumb gadgets.
