So now we know what the iPad – not the iSlate, the iTablet or Canvas – is, and what it does. It’s got plenty of interesting features, including some that haven’t been talked about much (including accessibility options and projector support). But in many ways, the more interesting questions are what it doesn’t do.
Let’s build a list. Here’s a few things for starters:
Still no support for Flash
Apple appears to be continuing its dogmatic stance against Adobe’s de facto web video standard. Yes, it’s not an open standard, which means Apple can say it’s not just making a power play, but it’s also ubiquitous — and that means that when Steve Jobs says “the iPad is great for surfing the web”, what he really means is all the bits of the web that don’t use Flash. This is not just an issue for video — after all, services like YouTube and iPlayer can stream videos straight from the source using H264 — but also for web advertisers. All those Flash ads on websites aren’t getting seen.
No multitasking
This, to me, is one of the most disappointing aspects of the iPad: you can still only operate one application at a time. This is a well-known and artificial limitation brought in by Apple — hacked iPhones are able to multitask, and Google’s Nexus One, which has a similar 1GHz processor, manages multitasking fine. Apple has previously said it’s because it’s a drain on battery life — which is true, but it also cripples a whole category of applications such as music service Pandora.
No USB
The iPad basically sports an iPod connector, and not a lot else. This limits the things you can plug into the device, so no 3G dongles, no thumb drives full of files, no non-iPod accessories. And one of the obvious benefits of a living room tablet (to my mind, at least) is as an easy way to download and store photographs. This is the sort of thing that infrequent computer users love — none of that awkward fiddling about by the PC, just do it with your family there and then. Yes, you can buy a camera connector — but it’s an extra step.
No SD card slot
Along the same lines as USB. Including an SD card reader is pretty normal for lots of the netbooks that the iPad will go up against (largely for photography), and it also comes as standard in recent Mac laptops.
In fact, no camera at all
Lots of people had thought that the iPad might include a camera or two to help turn it into a handy videoconferencing platform — just imagine toting one around to speak to the office, or all those grandparents able to tune in for a chat with their families with a simple press of the finger. No joy on that front.
Ultimately, all of these omissions are the reasons why it’s easy to dismiss it as a big iPhone.
Some of them can be fixed in the software (Flash, multitasking) but some will require a hardware update — if they ever arrive at all. But I wonder whether leaving some of these things out will be a dealbreaker for some potential purchasers. – guardian.co.uk