Apple iPad not really a "magical" or "revolutionary" device (2)

Because there's nothing new, innovative or ground-breaking about this offering from Apple. Yes, it's true that the iPad is the first tablet computer whose display can support multitouch function and it's the first mass-market mobile device to use a microSIM card, which is smaller than the current range of SIM cards, but apart from these two features, the iPad has nothing "magical" or "revolutionary" to offer.

And, the iPad has its own share of letdowns. They are as follows:

 1.  The iPad can't handle multitasking. In other words, the iPad will surely freeze up if you open a dozen applications, watch a movie and listen to music at the same time. And, the failure to bring multitasking to a device the size of the iPad seems ludicrous as the iPad is expected to bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops and these days most smartphones and all laptops can handle multitasking like a breeze.

 2.  No matter how much Jobs claims the iPad is "more intimate than a laptop, more capable than a smartphone," it's nothing more than a tablet. And, till date, tablets haven't yet proved popular with general consumers like you or me and have been used only in very specialised markets. For instance, it's used by retailers for stock taking. It's also used by logistics companies to monitor the delivery (and signing for) of post and stock. Traffic wardens also use them to issue parking fines. So if someone already owns a smartphone and a laptop or netbook, will the iPad make a compelling buy? I think not.

 3.  Like the iPhone, the iPad doesn't support Flash. No Flash on the iPhone is bearable, but for a gadget that purports to be a netbook-killer, it's unforgivable as the Adobe software powers a great deal of animation and interactivity on the Web. It means the iPad's utility as a surfing device is significantly compromised for the time being. You can't, for example, watch Hulu, the popular site that offers a free buffet of network TV shows. It also means no streaming video from the likes of the BBC or The Guardian, forcing papers to develop New York Times-style apps with video encoded specifically for the iPad.

 4.  The iPad comes with Apple's Safari browser. Now we don't deny that Safari is great but Apple ought to allow the iPad users to try out and see how Firefox, IE, Opera or Chrome performs as well on the device. But it seems that it's not going to happen.

 5.  The iPad's 9.7-inch display has a 4:3 format ratio with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels. In other words, not only the iPad is not HD-ready but also it's not an ideal device for people who wish to watch widescreen films, as they will only be able to do so with a black bar at the top and bottom of the film.

Furthermore, absence of other features such as microSD card slot, HDMI-out, USB ports, GPS and webcam in the iPad and its inability to support external software that haven't been approved by Apple, doesn't exactly put the iPad in the "must-have" category.

In conclusion, Apple's new device is nothing more than an oversized iPhone and can do almost everything the iPhone does (I say 'almost' because the iPhone can take voice calls which the iPad cannot). But it's certainly no ground-breaking new category of device that Jobs described it as.

But Apple's ability to set technology trends, the iPad and iBook store's sleek design as well as its existing fan base would ensure that iPad would not be a complete failure either, some experts claim.

Why? Because it's always dangerous to underestimate Apple and the power of its marketing. The company has already given a makeover to all-in-one computers with its iMac line, to portable music players with the iPod, and to smartphones with the iPhone. All of these device categories existed before Apple decided to introduce its own version, yet the company managed to make its products more appealing than those of its rivals. So if there's anything "revolutionary" or "magical" about the iPad, it's that it's an Apple product.