Apple iPad
So Apple announced the iPad yesterday.
I followed the event via the engadget liveblog and whilst the device looks awesome, I was left a little underwhelmed.
In recent years, Apple’s launch events have sparked a huge amount of anticipation and hype and even with the best will in the world, delivering everything everyone wants is impossible.
I started writing this post this morning, then (puny body wracked with man flu) shelved it for a few hours.
Since then I’ve been able to soak in much of the response to this new device and I have to say that I fall on the iwantitrightnowpleasewantonewantonewantone side of the fence.
Sure, it’s missing a camera, user-instigated multi-tasking, usb ports, gps, a phone, micro-fusion power source, hover board and flash but y’know what, so what?
My primary income is from teaching (I say it that way to make me sound enigmatic, I’m a teacher) and with the vga out cable and keynote, this thing will be awesome (once I get past the whole “sir, is that an iPad?” thing).
Another facet of my teaching experience made it immediately obvious as I watched the photos posted of the Missing Plugin place holder that you don’t display something like that by accident, “whoops, how embarrassing, it’s not working quite right” it was not. I recognised it as a dig at Adobe right away - “iPad doesn’t do flash, we don’t care, you’re all gonna love it anyway”. I wholeheartedly agree.
My only hesitation is that I know for sure that the iPad will be so successful that Version 2 will be better, longer lasting, camera toting, micro-fusion powered (but still no flash), and on my teacher salary, I probably won’t be able to justify buying another one.
I’ll just buy Version 3 when it’s the size of a box of matches with direct neural input and a 50” holographic 3D display!