iPad, FIRST MUSINGS ON THE NEWEST CREATION FROM APPLE

I have been deluged with emails (spam) about this new gizmo from  Apple and I thought perhaps I should say something about it here.

In common with most reviewers of the iPad (what does that lower case "i" stand for?), I haven't yet had the pleasure of actually holding one in my hands and putting it through its paces, so I have to rely on the acres of loving verbiage (Apple owners) and less loving verbiage (PC owners) that is spreading like some dreadful disease over the net just now.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

My first impression when I saw its specifications was that it is actually a rather wonderful machine, as it appears to have all the capabilities of a real computer, without the size and weight of even a laptop.   However, on further reading I discover that most of the computer functions -surfing and so on, are  somewhat limited in scope, or in several surprising ways absent. (no built in camera, no Flash support, no built in WiFi support, no expansion memory slots and the list goes on and on........)

WE ARE eREADERS HERE, NOT ACTUALLY NECESSARILY COMPUTER USERS.........

Anyhow, our interest here in this machine is whether or not it is a serious contender in the eReader market, and on this I am completely sure it isn't even a starter.  It is too big, you have to use the screen to turn pages, it is a normal backlit computer screen, which as we all know, isn't the same at all as electronic ink, it doesn't support the normal formats for eBooks, but merely all the normal computer formats - doc, txt, pdf and so on. 

And worst of all, its battery will only power it for about 10 hours, and you can bet that in reality it works out at much less.   Whilst this is better than a laptop, it isn't even on the same planet as any eReader currently on the market.

WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE KINDLE?

For some reason all the various comments I have read about this aspect of the iPad compare it to the Kindle, it is very odd how almost all such reviews on computer websites seem to ignore all the other serious competitors to the Kindle and talk as if the Kindle is the only eReader that needs to be taken seriously. 

Doubly odd when you consider that the Kindle locks its users into buying books from Amazon (Only reading Amazons own format), whilst the rest of the vast and growing world of eReaders mostly support multiple formats,and almost all support the ePUB format.

MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS

There is a general feeling that the large screen size and the fact that it is in colour will make the iPad an extremely good machine to read magazines and newspapers with.  I find myself in agreement with this thought, since even the kindest soul in the world can't deny that images on most eReaders are a complete disaster still.  

We are back in the early days of computers with their 16 grey tones still.   But I am sure that electronic ink will develop in a reasonable time to give us colour too.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

I think this machine will very rapidly become as important as the iPod and iPhone have become, as it obviously has a large range of perfectly sensible uses for a lot of us, but I agree wholeheartedly with those reviewers who say "Hold tight, wait for the second or third version of the iPad before buying, as by then probably the missers in the current version will have been corrected".   But I don't think it will ever be a serious contender in the eReader market, as it simply isn't an eReader in the general sense of that word, nor can it become one without undergoing a complete redesign.

APPLE'S WEB PAGE FOR THE iPAD:

SHARE WITH  US:

If you have managed to actually play with one of these new toys, or have feelings about it, preferably in the context of eReaders, I would be very happy to hear them.   Simply put your thoughts into a comment box, and we can all share them with you.