Some buyers remorse… say it ain’t Newton!
Featured iPad-Flash NewsPublished April 6, 2010 at 11:17 pm 1 CommentI’d love an iPad, but some of the buyer’s remorse around the internet is sounding decidedly Newtonish. You know, the Apple device people could see was cool, but no one quite had a use for:
“people’s reactions to my MessagePad generally depend on whether they see it as a ‘big Pilot’ or a ’small laptop.’”
“As might be expected, sites with heavy reliance on graphics lose much of their effect on the Newt”(contemporary review)
Lacking a clear purpose, the Newton became defined by its weaknesses in the public mind, and buyers were scared off. Early users of the iPad claim they are hitting “limitations everywhere“. The entry point of $500 is not small change for most of us. If it doesn’t actually replace anything, the hype could fall to earth with a decided thud: call it the Newton Law.
Some of the newer criticisms:
- can’t print from it
- iWork not compatible with desktop version
- Not very “cloud aware” – retrograde approach to web services
- Flaky wi-fi
- no conventional file system for saved work
- claims that, with no file system, you can’t even upload photos to the internet in the standard way
- not truly mobile… travelers still reach for the smartphone when the luggage is packed
- heavier than a kindle (or a book) for extended reading
- sensitive to overheating in warmer conditions
In practice the multitasking limitation adds to aggravation. For example we are used to jumping from word processing to the internet to grab quotes and check facts. How about saving and closing every time you want to do that?
If it can’t really be used for productivity, it doesn’t show the web right, its not convenient like a smart phone, it freezes in sunshine, it won’t reliably load and show keynotes presentations prepared on a desktop… the case for it being the new newton sounds scarily arguable today, coming down from the euphoria of the launch. Its sexy as all get out, everyone agrees, but how do you make the case for needing one?
Apple’s now well polished hype machine guarantees it will sell: it’s probably already outsold the Newton. But it needs to be more than niche, more than the macbook air of the iPhone OS range.
Update: great article about iPad not actually changing anything
I am not an Apple fanboy by any stretch (never owned a Mac, have a Zune and a MyTouch not a iPod or iPhone) but I bought one on day one because I will get more benefit from the device than I get drawbacks from its limitations. i can’t multitask, but i can read for hours on a device that doesn’t melt my legs. i cant watch hulu but i can stream hundreds (thousands?) of netflix movies to a device the size/weight of a large book. i dont have tabbed browsing or flash but i have a device that is instant-on and is great for viewing most web pages that.
With any device trying to be something new there will be trade-offs – if people bought one expecting to be able to use a 9inch touchscreen tablet with a limited OS as their be all and end all device, they were woefully misguided. No its not as “fully functional” as a netbook, but for me it sits in the same gap as a netbook for me: an ultraportable but admittedly limited device that does more than a phone but less than a laptop. Its limitations are just different