13 Glaring iPad Shortcomings

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
MSNBC has taken the iPad around the block a few times and came up with a list of glaring iPad shortcomings that people should probably be aware of before plunking down all that cash.

We've been testing both a low-end and top-end iPad all weekend, also letting family members ages 9 to 59 try it out and offer their reactions, and our overall conclusion is that while the iPad is fun to play with, it's hard to figure out what role it fills that some other device doesn't do much better.
Click to expand...
 
At least 9 of those issues are going to affect every pure-tablet device regardless of origin, OS or vendor.
 
Far be it for me to defend Apple, but that list really isn't that horrible. And if that is the best they can come up with, it puts the product in a better light.

That said, I have no use or desire to own one, but that has nothing to do with brand or this article.
 
Yeah, as soon as I saw the back was curved, I knew it would be impossible to touch/type on a table, not to mention keep a grip. We make portable devices rough/rubberized and boxy for a reason.

$280 for the accidental coverage is over half the cost of the device! Holy crap, the future is expensive!
 
DocFaustus said:
Far be it for me to defend Apple, but that list really isn't that horrible. And if that is the best they can come up with, it puts the product in a better light.

That said, I have no use or desire to own one, but that has nothing to do with brand or this article.
Click to expand...

Honestly? No multitasking and no USB are fucking amazing reasons. Remember the shit Apple caught for only having one USB port on the Macbook Air? This does not put the product in a very good light at all.
 
DocFaustus said:
Far be it for me to defend Apple, but that list really isn't that horrible. And if that is the best they can come up with, it puts the product in a better light.

That said, I have no use or desire to own one, but that has nothing to do with brand or this article.
Click to expand...

Did you read the whole thing? What part of that list wasn't "that horrible".. the last point pretty much sums it up "It doesn't replace anything."

Two words to sum up the iPad in my book... bigass iPhone...
 
iPad is for iDouches

but I agree with most of that article. Its just a object ment to be shiny for the sake of being shiny.
 
Isn't this basically what every skeptic of the iPad has been saying already?

To awkward, overpriced, no peripherals, prone to getting dirty, hard to read. etc. etc.

Combined with the other article that the components make up roughly 50% of the cost.

I think if I had money for new toys I'd rather shell out $259 for a kindle (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015T963C/ref=sv_kinh_0)

And another $300~ for an EeePC (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220675)

The $75~ extra gets me a well received e-reader, and a portable, functional, computing device with lots of space, with the drawback of having 2 devices at twice the weight.

Hrmm...
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
It's nice that they compare it to a Kindle in terms of weight, but why didn't they compare what each device is capable of doing?
 
J32P said:
Nice try but no. Maybe half but not 9 out of 10.
Click to expand...

9 out of 13; not 9 out of 10.

The issues there you can cite purely at the iPad are:

1. It does not multi-task.
2. The browser is limited.
3. There's no USB port.
4. iPhone only apps look horrible.
 
hopefully the 2nd gen will fix some (if not all) of these problems (or at least its competitors will)
 
I saw a lady with a laptop that had a flippable touchscreen the other day. Didn't see what what make/model it was, but she has a stylus and at least a 13" screen on it. Though substantially larger and heavier I'm sure, it appeared to be much more practical than an Ipad. This smallish woman seemed to have no trouble moving it around and keeping it under control. Other than being lighter I fail to see any advantage the Ipad has over other systems. Though I have gripes about the Iphone and similar devices, they are much more practical/functional IMHO. I think a jumbo Iphone with a 6" screen would have been "cooler" than this thing. At least then you could strap it to your side or put in a purse or big pocket.
 
Whoa... I didn't even know it didn't have a single USB port. I thought macbooks were ridiculous with only 2 usb ports. Is Steve Jobs now waging war on USB ports?
 
ViperGrendal said:
I saw a lady with a laptop that had a flippable touchscreen the other day. Didn't see what what make/model it was, but she has a stylus and at least a 13" screen on it. Though substantially larger and heavier I'm sure, it appeared to be much more practical than an Ipad. This smallish woman seemed to have no trouble moving it around and keeping it under control. Other than being lighter I fail to see any advantage the Ipad has over other systems. Though I have gripes about the Iphone and similar devices, they are much more practical/functional IMHO. I think a jumbo Iphone with a 6" screen would have been "cooler" than this thing. At least then you could strap it to your side or put in a purse or big pocket.
Click to expand...

You sure saw a convertible Tablet PC, and these things actually are VERY flexible.

I hate it when I'm right. I've been working with TPCs for a while and what's funny is that I've heard pretty much ALL of this before!!!:D

These issue are endemic to ALL slate devices. But one has caught me off guard. When I was in Best Buy the other day, I actually heard a couple people complain about the weight. Huh?:confused: Now of course I'm a guy used to carrying about a 4.5 lbs TPC a lot of places and while its not light, its just like carrying a book and actually its size and weight make it easy balance and place in positions the iPad can't.
 
I've been seeing reviews here and there, and it seems like most of the positive ones run along the lines of "it's so cool and will change how you approach your life, but we can't really explain why. You just have to see/use it for yourself to understand!" How exactly is that supposed to convince me?
 
Torq said:
9 out of 13; not 9 out of 10.

The issues there you can cite purely at the iPad are:

1. It does not multi-task.
2. The browser is limited.
3. There's no USB port.
4. iPhone only apps look horrible.
Click to expand...

Besides you being right about 13 instead of ten which was just a thinking about other shit mistake, you're wrong.

The four you mentioned above and

5. It's awkward
6. It's slippery
7. The screen has too much glare
8. Fingerprints are annoying

Plus throw some other negatives on it that other sources have stated that were not mentioned.

9. Big, Ugly Bezel
10. No Cameras
11. No HDMI Out
12. The Name iPad
13. No Flash (Don't tell me about html5 until everyone uses it)
14. Adapters, Adapters, Adapters
15. It's Not Widescreen
16. A Closed App Ecosystem
17. Need I say more
 
radioactivez0r said:
I've been seeing reviews here and there, and it seems like most of the positive ones run along the lines of "it's so cool and will change how you approach your life, but we can't really explain why. You just have to see/use it for yourself to understand!" How exactly is that supposed to convince me?
Click to expand...

Exactly. The thing that has impressed me most about the iPad thus far is a fellow tm2 owner who initially wasn't impressed by the device, bought a tm2 than saw an iPad and says now that he doesn't use his tm2 that much any more. THIS impressed me simply because he just gave so much functionality but says that we loves the weight and battery life. I'd NEVER be willing to make that trade off but different strokes for different folks.
 
It's slippery
- Apples rounded back was originally meant to hide the fact that the new iphones are thicker by making the edges thinner.
- PC tablets are flat.

Fingerprints are annoying
- PC's can avoid this by using the pen. I actually prefer the stylus on my phone when outdoors coz the sunlight causes the fingerprints to stand out.

Virtual Keyboard Stinks
- On the PC's there are alternatives. Truth be told, we have three laptops in my house (1 netbook, 1 laptop, 1 notebook), the preferred input method is to plug in a USB keyboard. The laptop keyboard layout is far from ergonomic. They're compatible with desktop keyboards and costs around $8.00, unlike Apples proprietary one.

There's no USB port
- Also all the other ports. One of the appeals of the netbook was the ability to 'dock' into your existing peripherals. Keyboard, LCD monitor, mouse, TV tuner, thumbdrives, card readers. The card reader gets a lot of use on my netbook coz that's the most practical way of moving several gigs worth of music and movies to and from my smartphone.
 
J32P said:
Besides you being right about 13 instead of ten which was just a thinking about other shit mistake, you're wrong.

The four you mentioned above and

5. It's awkward
6. It's slippery
7. The screen has too much glare
8. Fingerprints are annoying

Plus throw some other negatives on it that other sources have stated that were not mentioned.

9. Big, Ugly Bezel
10. No Cameras
11. No HDMI Out
12. The Name iPad
13. No Flash (Don't tell me about html5 until everyone uses it)
14. Adapters, Adapters, Adapters
15. It's Not Widescreen
16. A Closed App Ecosystem
17. Need I say more
Click to expand...

Nowhere did I say there weren't other issues. I merely stated that of the issues LISTED in the article that 9 of the 13 applied equally to all devices of this nature regardless of who builds them or what OS they run.

Have you actually used any other tablet device?

Items 5-8 are absolutely issues with all of them and CERTAINLY issues for those currently in pre-release status. Technically someone could build a non-glare screen which would limit the issues (some of the TPCs do a great job here, but they're much larger and heavier so really a different class of device), but we'll have to see how that pans out.

On your additional items:

If item 9 isn't a problem for ALL tablet devices then you're going to have your fingers over the viewable areas of the screen to hold it, or be holding it around its periphery which won't be very secure.

Item 12 is funny ... who cares what it is called?

Item 13 is the same as "Limited Browser", since the limitation there IS simply Flash.

So you've added four new iPad specific issues. I could add more, none of which change the fact that device has use for me, and none of which make the 9 common ones I was referring to in the article any more iPad-specific.

I am not even disagreeing that the items on the list are issues; I am simply saying they are not by any means all unique to the iPad.
 
Torq said:
9 out of 13; not 9 out of 10.

The issues there you can cite purely at the iPad are:

1. It does not multi-task.
2. The browser is limited.
3. There's no USB port.
4. iPhone only apps look horrible.
Click to expand...

My phone appears to do everything this ipad can do, plus it:

5. Weighs less
6. Fits in my pocket
7. I can read my books in the sun
8. I use a stylus so I'm not smudging my fingers on the screen

Etc... How about you read the article? Even my PHONE has a USB port!
 
About half of them are valid. The rest are limitations of the technology.

Fingerprints on a touch screen? Ya don't say!
 
snowden said:
My phone appears to do everything this ipad can do, plus it:

5. Weighs less
6. Fits in my pocket
7. I can read my books in the sun
8. I use a stylus so I'm not smudging my fingers on the screen

Etc... How about you read the article? Even my PHONE has a USB port!
Click to expand...

I did read the article; did you?

It pointed out shortcomings with the iPad. All I did was indicate that 9 of those were going to be common to all tablet devices. I didn't mention phones or any other devices; I kept the comparison to tablets.

Personally I see having to use a stylus (as opposed to having an option for REAL pen input) as a huge negative. Drives me nuts on my Tilt (one of many phones I have, but the last one I bought that needs a stylus).

And what can you do with that USB port on your phone? Hook up external hard drives, printers or other peripherals (which is what the article was talking about)? I'm sure you can charge the phone and transfer files to and from it, that's a definite plus, but I am betting that's all you can do with it.
 
Torq said:
And what can you do with that USB port on your phone? Hook up external hard drives, printers or other peripherals (which is what the article was talking about)? I'm sure you can charge the phone and transfer files to and from it, that's a definite plus, but I am betting that's all you can do with it.
Click to expand...

I sure do use the usb port to transfer files to and from my phone. I convert videos and transfer them over all the time. Books, music, etc... I suppose if I waste money on an ipad to do these things I can just set my ipad next to my PC and it will grock those files right into it.

And some of us, including the person who wrote the article, find fingerprints and smudges on the screen to be highly annoying. Seems like a great article!

I mean, just what is the ipad for? What can it do for me that I can't already do more conveniently?
 
snowden said:
I sure do use the usb port to transfer files to and from my phone. I convert videos and transfer them over all the time. Books, music, etc... I suppose if I waste money on an ipad to do these things I can just set my ipad next to my PC and it will grock those files right into it.

And some of us, including the person who wrote the article, find fingerprints and smudges on the screen to be highly annoying. Seems like a great article!

I mean, just what is the ipad for? What can it do for me that I can't already do more conveniently?
Click to expand...

The sole difference in you transferring your converted videos and music to your phone versus mine is that you open a file browser and do drag and drop, and I plug the phone in and iTunes grabs them from a different location. Both require a PC and a cable of some description (yet one of my Nokia phones allows this to happen wirelessly via BlueTooth).

I'd prefer that the iPhone and iPad let me mount them as simple USB storage devices as WELL, but as long as I am plugging it into a PC it's not a major difference for me personally.

I'm not keen on finger prints either, but they're endemic to touch screen devices and I PERSONALLY would rather have the choice to use my fingers and then wipe the device off at some point (if you can't wipe the iPad off on your sleeve or your pant leg, then stop being 4ft tall) than to have to use a stylus.

This is one area where the HP slate is really interesting - a real touch screen with digitizer capabilities. That is very cool if the rest of the device is up to the job (and all I really want the slate for is OneNote).

The iPad, for me, is a nicer way to browse from the couch, control my extensive home-media system, deal with social media when I am not at my PC, and have books and games available in a more tolerable format than my phones offer (or for when I don't want to take my Kindle somewhere).

For me Netbooks are too slow and I'd rather use my real laptop, and unless I'm doing ACTUAL WORK my laptop is, now, overkill.

Technically I can do ALL of these things on my iPhone (and most of them from Windows Mobile), one of my netbooks (ugh), or my laptop. The iPad is just a better interface for me due to a more readable and expansive screen and an easier to interact with interface.

I can't say what, or if, it does anything for you, nor do I especially care, but then I'm not trying to persuade you to buy one. I commented on the contents of the article being applicable to other TABLET devices as well.

I'm not the one that dragged the discussion away from tablets or the article.
 
SixtyWattMan said:
Honestly? No multitasking and no USB are fucking amazing reasons. Remember the shit Apple caught for only having one USB port on the Macbook Air? This does not put the product in a very good light at all.
Click to expand...

There's also no SD card slot on it :D
 
Torq, I'm just gonna stop talking to you now.
Have fun defending it like you own the company.

You're still wrong too.

Bye
 
Torq said:
This is one area where the HP slate is really interesting - a real touch screen with digitizer capabilities. That is very cool if the rest of the device is up to the job (and all I really want the slate for is OneNote).
Click to expand...

This is all a great number people want from this device. If the HP Slate works well with a REAL digital pen and OneNote HP won't be able to make enough of them.
 
Torq said:
I can't say what, or if, it does anything for you, nor do I especially care, but then I'm not trying to persuade you to buy one. I commented on the contents of the article being applicable to other TABLET devices as well.

I'm not the one that dragged the discussion away from tablets or the article.
Click to expand...

What? You can use itunes with your ipad? Good for you buddy.

I also transfer files using my phone and USB. Everybody, except poor ipad suckers, have USB. But I also have a job and don't just sit around on my couch talking about how I have an ipad on my couch, a kindle on my toilet, a netbook on the stairs, a laptop in my car, and never seems to reach any point even with all that typing.

What is the ipad for? What is it for? Controlling personalized HTPC setups? Yeah, right. Glad that works for you, I just use a wireless keyboard/trackball and a remote control.
 
I have said it and will say it again...

Convertible Netbooks/Tablets are much superior to a standalone tablet. They have the best of both worlds including win 7.

Lenovo S10-3t
Asus eeePC T91 / t101
Gigabyte T1000 series

and more are coming in the next months.......
 
defaultluser said:
Yeah, as soon as I saw the back was curved, I knew it would be impossible to touch/type on a table, not to mention keep a grip. We make portable devices rough/rubberized and boxy for a reason.

$280 for the accidental coverage is over half the cost of the device! Holy crap, the future is expensive!
Click to expand...

IT's a good scam their accidental damage plan. Basically you are paying full price for the iPad and the full cost plus some on the replacement components. They're getting people on both ends with this thing.
 
J32P said:
Torq, I'm just gonna stop talking to you now.
Have fun defending it like you own the company.

You're still wrong too.

Bye
Click to expand...

How am I wrong?

The article raises perfectly valid issues with the iPad (I've not disputed that once). They just happen to be issues common to other devices of that nature as well.

Sounds more like your position is based on a different argument than anything else.
 
Torq said:
How am I wrong?

The article raises perfectly valid issues with the iPad (I've not disputed that once). They just happen to be issues common to other devices of that nature as well.

Sounds more like your position is based on a different argument than anything else.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I've talked about these issues for a number of years in relation to other touchscreen and even pen only devices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top