Writing an opinion about a product that hasn’t been released is a difficult thing. The most difficult task is determining what features would be the most useful, considering it’s a new type of product. It is this reason I wanted to wait until after the rush of opinions, whether I agreed with them or not they distracted me from forming my own thorough opinion.
First, the way I see it, the iPad is more then just a large iPod touch and significantly less then a laptop. Most people are comparing the iPad to these two products, but the greatest differences are found in the uses for the devices. While the device will run a modified iPod firmware, the developers have the room to make it a thousand times more useful. The with a larger screen, more processing power and a greater battery life the applications can be more demanding and usable. Without running a full operating system, the tablet won’t be utilized like a laptop or netbook. This is not a bad thing.
A lot of people have complained about Flash support and lack of multitasking. Looking beyond Hulu, I don’t have much of an interest in Flash support. Don’t get me wrong, I would love the concept, but as time goes on I am finding less and less of a need for it. To me, the iPad wouldn’t be another media device rather a tool I’d use for work. I am sure I’d watch the occasional movie on a long plane ride, but it’s primary application would be reading and business related tasks. This brings me to my next point, multitasking and the illusion of increased productivity.
As someone who is a self-proclaimed master multitasker, I will admit it gets in the way of productivity. I could see someone wanting to listen to Pandora while reading their favorite blog, but when it comes down to it you don’t need a Twitter application running while you are working.. especially when your phone is right next to you. The reason the iPad doesn’t multitask is the same as the iPhone, they want a seamless user experience without overloading the system. I think this works for the iPad, but not the iPhone because I think people are more likely to multitask on a phone then they are a tablet.
