The Apple iPad: A Quick Guide to Help You Decide Whether or Not to Buy

While some are debating the merits of the iPad, discussing whether the iPad marks a revolutionary change in computing, and wondering if Steve Jobs' assessment of the iPad is accurate or hyperbole, many people just want to know if they should buy one.

What's the big deal about the iPad?

The iPad is a radical shift in the current computer paradigm. Designed as a slate, the iPad design is like removing the keyboard from your clamshell style notebook and using just the monitor. If you remember not-so-fondly the tablet PCs - no worries - the iPad is radically different - some call it a "game changer." Apple's founder, Steve Jobs, believes keyboards, mice, and other standard user interfaces are outmoded. Apple is rethinking how we use computers. Files and folders, originally based on their physical counterparts, are scrapped in lieu of a very fast, intuitive, user touch interface.

All this talk of paradigm shifts and the future of personal computing, while interesting, neglects the here and now. Does anyone really need an iPad right now? "With iPad, which fits somewhere between phone and computer, Apple must convince people who already have smart phones, laptops, e-book readers, set-top boxes and home broadband connections that they need another device that serves many of the same purposes."¹

Should you buy an iPad now, later, or never?

What to consider before buying an iPad

1. iPad navigation happens via the iPad screen (like on the iPhone) rather than via mouse. You can type, but by touching the keys on a keyboard graphic displayed on the tablet rather than using a physical keyboard. Some have complained that the iPad touch screen keyboard is difficult to use.

2. The iPad was designed for multimedia - if you want to read, play games, surf the Internet, check e-mails, and download and watch movies, the iPad provides an excellent interface. If you need to produce what is read - write a blog, write a long e-mail, create a spreadsheet, then the iPad comes up short.

3. If you need iPad apps, tunes, or books, you'll be married to Apple since a your purchases will go through Apple's app store. But with 1,000 apps and counting, who cares? Google will care. The monopolistic all apps in one Apple basket may provoke the ire of Google, which is poised as a major iPad competitor.

4. You might want to wait until you see what the competition is up to. Google is releasing Chrome-based "netbooks" with tablets to follow. Google's Chrome operating system is designed to eliminate onboard storage and apps in lieu of Web-based everything. The folks at Google portend the imminent death of desktop applications and bet users will use the Web for their apps, their data storage, the whole shebang.

5. The iPad improves on Kindle. The Kindle e-reader is black and white and displays text in only portrait mode. The iPad does color, switches from portrait to landscape as you rotate the slate, and frees you from the Amazon.com only book purchase venue.

6. Web sites are adapting since the iPad doesn't support Flash. HTML5 code fixes that issue. While you may have some sites under construction as they change their code, lack of Flash won't be an issue for long.

7. Apple offer two versions of the iPad: iPads that start at $499 and connect to the Internet using only Wi-Fi, and iPads that also have a cellular data connection ($130 more plus whatever your cell phone plan will charge you monthly for data service). At $829, the most expensive iPad's price exceeds many notebooks. If you need the Internet wherever you roam, you'll want to spend the extra $130. If you are content with making use of Wi-Fi hotspots or your home or office wireless network then the lower cost iPad will suit you. Of course, like all new gadgets, if you wait a while, the price will fall.

8. In addition to the already mentioned on-screen keyboard frustration, initial iPad user complaints also include lack of a camera, lack of media storage cards, and lack of USB ports. The iPad comes as is, with no expansion slots and no ability to add peripherals. The iPad is not Windows so you can't run multiple programs at the same time. To browse the Internet, you'll use Apple's Safari browser which doesn't support Flash video. Some users found the iPad, at almost twice the weight of a Kindle, heavy after a few minutes. If you want full iPad specs, Apple provides them here.

To buy or not to buy. That is the question.

The decision to buy an iPad comes down to knowing what the iPad will and will not do, and then determining whether the iPad's functionality meets your current needs. Or, if you are one of the lucky folks who can afford to buy all new gadgets as they come on the market, more power to you and please let me know what you think of the iPad.

Sources:

(1) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100403/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_apple_ipad

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/ptech/04/02/ipad.preview/index.html?hpt=C1

My April 2010 issue of Wired.