Let's talk about some old news...a couple weeks ago now, Apple announced the iPad. While I'm not planning on buying one, I wouldn't be too offended if you didn't believe me when I say that. I am pretty excited about the iPad, no doubt. However, I previously detailed my experience with getting a Hackintosh (by the way, I managed to up the RAM in the little guy to 2gb, and yeah, well worth the investment). Since the Dell Mini serves pretty much the same purpose as an iPad, I think I can hold out buying one...for now.
So what's the big deal with the iPad? Well, I bought the Dell Mini with the intention of replacing my aging laptop, which I use mainly for email, reading the news, watching the occasional YouTube/failblog videos, and other similar low-intensity computing tasks. My main requirements were long battery life and portability. And I know I've heard people say, well you have an iPhone now, why don't you just use that? Definitely true, but usually those people aren't iPhone users. While I love my iPhone, using that tiny screen for long periods of time isn't an awesome experience, that's just the way it is.
Certainly, that is exactly the target market for the iPad. Sitting on the couch, watching TV, eating dinner. So if I have a full-featured netbook, running a legit OS, why would I want an oversized iPhone? Especially considering I already have an original-sized iPhone? That's been a lot of the hating that I've heard from "the internet", that there isn't any advantage to the iPad when compared with netbooks and even cheap laptops.
But the reason that I still want one, and the reason that I think the iPad is going to be gigantic, is the multi-touch display. Apple talked about the "intimacy" of the device in their intro iPad video. Eliminating the mouse is huge. Think about it - all these years you've been interacting with your computer and your applications through a third party, the mouse. You move the mouse to do something, and the pointer tells the computer your intentions. Not anymore - it's just you, and the device. You want to move an object? Just tap on something, and action occurs, it's really that simple now.
Now definitely, this doesn't make sense for all applications. And you can't get rid of the keyboard. But for a vast majority of the time that you're spending casually on the computer, the mouse has become expendable. The reason it's going to work this time, is because you've got an interface designed to use your finger as input. I've tried to use standard Windows XP with a touchscreen before, it's miserable. Not Windows' fault, it just wasn't designed in that way, OS X would be just as terrible. I get the feeling that a lot of people will have to try it in the store before buying into the concept, but I think it will be really natural once you start messing with it.
So why am I (planning on) not buying one? So far it sounds like I'm drunk on Apple's Kool-Aid and just painting rainbows and butterflies like a true Apple fanboy. No doubt, I do think it's awesome. But it's also ridiculously expensive. The Dell Mini I bought, even with the 2gb of RAM I installed, still comes in well under the starting price of the iPad. And it's still got a lot of the same limitations of the iPhone. I can watch Hulu on my Hackintosh (although I just read a rumor that Hulu wants to be on the iPad). I can use 1Password on my Dell Mini. I have a keyboard with actual clickable keys - regardless of how good the iPad's keyboard claims to be, it still doesn't have legit keys. I also have USB ports, which is a pretty handy feature here in the 21st century.
And the 3G option on the iPad? So wait, you're telling me that AT&T wants me to pay for TWO data plans? I pay a ridiculous amount a month for UNLIMITED data on my iPhone, and you want me to pay even more for a limited amount of data on my larger, more data-hungry device? Now, if I had an iPad, I'm not sure how much traveling I would do with it, but regardless...that's pretty insane AT&T. How about I just pay you for the internet once? (also, imagine if you just paid for the "rights" to a song once...and you could listen to it on your MP3 player, as a ringtone, in Rock Band/Guitar Hero, and in whatever other digital form you wanted to? Ah dreams...)
If anybody wants to buy me an iPad when they come out, I would happily accept it. But I'm going to wait at least until the second version comes out, complete with dueling cameras, GPS, and unicorn-delivery-service standard. Well, that's my intention anyway...
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