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The iPad Questions Apple Won't Answer
snydeq writes "Apple's reticence to reveal details prior to a product's launch is legendary. But when Apple extends this silence beyond a product's unveiling, historically this has meant that the product cannot deliver the functionality that analysts and journalists are asking about. InfoWorld's Galen Gruman lists eight key questions for the iPad, about all of which Apple has kept silent. Can you save and transfer documents to the iPad? Does the iPad support Microsoft Exchange email? Does the iPad support VPN? Configuration management? 'I have no doubt the iPad will be compelling to some users. But I now have major concerns that it will fulfill the potential beyond being an iTunes delivery screen that I and other industry observers saw,' Gruman writes."
Can you save and transfer documents to the iPad?
Most likely.
Does the iPad support Microsoft Exchange email?
Not likely.
The iPhone supports Microsoft Exchange mail, it would be strange for Apple to remove this feature when it is already present and works well for me.
Does the iPad support VPN and configuration management?
Not likely.
It is running very similar software to the iPhone, which provides this capability. Configuration management may need more tweaks to support iWork but not much more. VPN is already present in the iPhone OS, there is no reason not to carry this across.
Can the iPad be used for videoconferencing?
There is no camera.
There is a space for a camera that fits the camera in the MacBook Pro - this has been shown in the spares delivered to repair shops. This will probably arrive in version 2, something new to buy for all the early adopters. (Disclaimer, I bought the iPhone 2G and then the 3G and was thinking about the 3GS until the iPad arrived ;-)
Slashdot Beta should die a painful death.
Microsoft Exchange is supported on the iPad Nano (formerly known as iPod Touch), so I don't see why it shouldn't be supported on the big brother.
The whole iPad is completely locked.
Even a locked device can be very useful, if it accomplishes an attractive set of purposes economically and well. If it does not, then it needs to be unlocked, so that people can rectify its deficiencies or add other features that they want. Alternatively, the device needs to drop down the price scale until its locked performance is economically sound. The value proposition of the iPad is very questionable, IMO, but could be improved in a number of ways even while remaining locked.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Will the iPad comfortably fit up my ass, like my iPhone and iPod?
No.
This may be an insurmountable problem for many Apple customers.
It is to serve as a locked-down platform for sales of books, magazines, videos. Entertainment content.
Apple used to be a company that was all about content creation. Now, with the Adobe customers, etc. having mostly migrated to Windows, Apple is rapidly becoming a company that produces only content delivery hardware.
You know. Shiney plastic stuff.
Can you save and transfer documents to the iPad?
Most likely.
YES. When connected to your computer the iPad will mount a "Shared Documents" folder that contains files used by apps on the iPad. This is in the SDK.
Does the iPad support Microsoft Exchange email?
Not likely.
YES. The iPhone does, the iPod Touch does, and the iPad runs the same OS so why the hell wouldn't it? The article even points this out, but then basically say "but you never know... it might not!"
Does the iPad support VPN and configuration management?
Not likely.
See above.
Can you use media services other than iTunes on the iPad?
Uhm.. New to Apple's stuff? The answer is big NO!
How do you get that? There are plenty of media services/apps (Rhapsody, Pandora, etc.) you can use on the iPhone OS that are not connected to Apple. The author of the article complains there's no Netflix app - but how is that Apple's fault? Netflix is free to make such an app if they choose. The only issue is the inability to play in the background - something that primarily affects music apps.
Can the iPad be used for videoconferencing?
There is no camera.
Article acknowledges this and mentions the potential for third-party cameras. Apple allows video capture apps already, so software-wise this shouldn't be an issue. The question is whether the dock connector can support a camera - and this is the one question the article might be right about when they say there's no way to know yet.
Will the iPad's internal storage be upgradable?
There's different storage versions for a reason. Need more space? Buy the larger version (again, in case you have bought the smaller one)
You're right about this one. Why was this even a question to begin with?
Will the iPad allow multiple apps to run simultaneously?
No.
Other than the usual Apple apps (ie. the iPod app) there was nothing that ran in the background in the demo. No reason to assume otherwise. If multitasking ever comes about (ie. as rumored for iPhone OS 4.0) it will be announced when they release the beta SDK for that OS revision.
Will Apple allow the use of Flash on the iPad?
No.
Again, why was this even a question? Apple has explicitly stated it won't. This article was the worst bit of speculative rubbish I've seen in a while. One out of the "Eight key questions" was actually legit.
Seriously, Apple is worse than Microsoft in locking down things. The whole iPad is completely locked.
This is an appliance, not a full-blown computer (Apple does sell those too, you know). Nor is it half as incapable of things as you claimed.
While I'm sure he appreciates your kind words, I think he needs to hear that from Steve himself.
I hate printers.
That is ok-- choice is good, and it's not a zero-sum game. Put another way: Some people do not want to install the projector, screen, soundsystem and seats of a home theater. Some people just want to watch a freakin' movie.
The most important question is "Has Apple found a niche for this product that other Tablet PC manufacturers have been unable to find?"
Wrong. The Ipad isn't built for Apple's customers, it's built for Apple.
When you say it "doesn't carry the drawbacks of a computer", you're simply being dishonest: it would cost nothing in user experience to allow multitasking or free installation of software. A full OS X with the iPhone GUI would be fantastic, and relatively easily accomplishable. It would come with no extra draw-backs for the user whatsoever. And you know this perfectly well.
But this would cost Apple a lot, in that a user with choice wouldn't be tied to iTunes. The question is: why are you being dishonest? Apple probably doesn't pay you a cent for your work as a freelance advertising agent. And why is this bullshit so prevalent among Apple fanboys? There's a reason why you guys are called a cult: you are one.
Actually in these kinds of sadomasochistic relationships the abuser often despises the adbusee for being so weak in the face of their dominance.
That's what I've been asking. What is it for? Seems like a simple enough question, but I see no answers.
You obviously haven't been looking hard. It's for
- websurfing
- email
- movies
- photos
- gaming
- music
- all those zillion apps that will be written for it
Now you are probably going to say "I can do those on a laptop/iPod touch, how exactly is iPad different?"... And that's a fair question which I'll try to answer now:
iPad is obviously quite different from a laptop. The UI is totally different and a lot more direct. It's smaller, has longer battery-life and is a lot simpler to use. What would it been like if Stepehen Colbert had whipped out a netbook as opposed to an iPad at the Grammys? Could you see someone using a netbook (or any other netbook) for something like that? Me neither. It would be awkward and clumsy.
And I bet that iPad is better at many key things than a laptop is. Things like watching movies or surfing the web. iPod touch is already my websurfer of choice, and iPad would be even better.
And the thing iPad has that a laptop does not have is simplicity. You can't hide one app-window behind another app-window. You do not have to worry about which app has focus when you try using keyboard-shortcuts. YOu do not have to worry which app is slowing the system down. You just have one app right in front of you. It's easy and it's simple. Some might find that too simple and too limiting, but fact remains that iPad offers simplicity and ease of use that does not exist in a laptop running traditional OS. And there are lots of people who will find that appealing. People want to do things with their computers, they shouldn't have to worry about cleaning up the filesystem or other crap like that.
Well, what about iPod touch/iPhone? It should be quite obvious that iPad offers possibilities that simply do not exist on those devices. Like iWork. Running an app like that is simply impossible on an iPhone. You could view a document, but editing a document would be very hard indeed. On the iPad it's perfectly doable. And that's just one example. The level of sophistication in the apps is simply a lot better on the iPad-apps than what is possible on the iPhone-apps. The big screen really changes things.
I bet that the device Apple introduced is just the tip of the iceberg. The key is the software. When we start getting news of iPad-apps that would simply not be possible on the iPhone, it will start making more and more sense. I mean stuff like this: http://blog.omnigroup.com/2010/01/29/ipad-or-bust/
We can't simply think that "I can do XXXX on my laptop, wo why would I want an iPad?", we need to think more about HOW we do those things. In theory I could surf the web with my Nokia-phone, so someone could say that iPhone has no advantage over Nokia when it comes to mobile websurfing. But anyone with any experience with websurfing on the two would say that Nokia is next to useless for web-browsing, whereas iPhone is perfectly capable websurfer.
With the iPad we are still stuck at the point where we stare at paper-specs and use them to determine the value and use of the device.
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
Nearly all Apple gear can be classified as "optional" in life and more often it is simply extravagant. PCs and (I can't believe I am saying this) and Windows is "necessary" in contrast.
I'll bite (and whoever modded this troll up should get his head checked).
What, pray tell, is the difference between one set of Intel CPU, Nvidia graphics card, some hard disk, display, etc. and the other set of practically the same things, with a different logo on top?
A PC is no more "necessary" in any sense of the word supported by a dictionary than a Mac is. Depending on your likes and environment, one or the other may be preferable for the tasks at hand, but "necessary" vs. "optional"? That's a strange world you are living in.
Apple is built around some pretty interesting ideas and concepts, but the moment they place limits on things, they immediately stop their growth and development.
Those "pretty interesting ideas" have turned Apple into one of the largest technology companies on the continent. I wonder who you are to pass judgement on that, do you even have 1% of the same success?
Not likely, because you are so far off the mark, you've probably hit the target of some other shooting range. See, Apple isn't built around "pretty interesting ideas". It is built around one concept - "design for the user". Almost all of those "limits" you and I and all the other geeks and nerds spot are most welcome by almost all non-techie customers. There is a tyranny in too much choice and options and configurability. And there are huge advantages in consistency and limitations in design. Ever asked yourself why no car manufacturer gives you the option to choose betwen 20 different steering wheel designs, 5 ways the doors could open and 200 different layouts of the console?
I wish Apple would change its ways before the larger consuming public sees Apple for what it is. It's not "exclusive" any more -- it's just limited.
Apple is extremely exclusive. And will remain as long as windos and Linux put the desires of the developers before those of the users (each in their own ways) and Nokia et al purchase the user-interface design of their phones at firesales.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
she remembers those tricks much better than where her files magically hide on her netbook.
This bit is key, and it's the paradigm shift few are seeing here.
The shift is from document centric computing to task centric computing.
Document centric computing got its start on command line interface machines as "files."
It was copied over unthinkingly to the first WIMP machines via the desktop and GUI folder concept.
Task centric computing has users do tasks via apps, each of which stores its associated data
however the app developer sees fit. The user is blissfully unaware of where or how the data is stored.
This is the part that surprises most /. readers:
For the overwhelming majority of users,
not knowing or having to know where data is stored is a huge improvement.
This is why old timers and tech geeks will be late to the party. Apple have already moved on.
For the vast majority of users, the future is a task-centric, cloud computing world,
and it will make their computing lives much simpler and easier.