What I Didn’t Like
The very same walled garden ecosystem drives me nuts. I want to be able to customize my iPad in countless ways and I don’t want to have to jailbreak it to do that.
The multitasking capabilities, while certainly improved, do not rival the ease of multitasking possible with Android (4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich) or even HP’s now open source webOS.
The iPad occasionally gets a little bit hot, especially after using it for extended sessions. While not an extremely serious issue, at least in my experience, it’s mildly frustrating and uncomfortable.
Syncing and collaboration aren’t as great as they could be. While Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, and other cloud storage and social media are present as apps, their integration is not as tight as it could be. This is at least partially due to Apple’s tight control of APIs, but it certainly could be improved upon, at least to the level of Android.
The lack of native file support for many file types can also be very frustrating. While many third-party applications, such as VLC, can support all the filetypes you need, Apple’s locked-down nature once again prohibits a level of integration and ease found on other platforms.
While the Retina display is brilliant and gorgeous to stare at, many apps have lower resolution and look off, if not grainy on the new iPad’s screen. This issue will be solved in the near future as apps become updated, but for now it’s a miss for the iPad.
Finally, the lack of Flash support is a definitely a huge minus. While the web slowly converts to HMTL5 as we progress into the future (and Adobe stops developing mobile Flash), upwards of 80 percent of online videos are still in Flash. This issue may not ever be solved, but it’s definitely a thorn in the side for power iPad users.
What have you done to me, iPad?
What happened to me? I was a devout Apple hater for so long and now I love my new iPad. How did I transform from an Android enthusiast and disavower of all things Apple to an iPad owner? The answer, I think, is simple. Apple has a competitive edge over all other OEMs right now in the tablet market. An enormous app and accessory ecosystem, beautiful hardware, LTE, an incredibly high resolution display, and many other intangible factors set the iPad apart from the rest of the market. By no means is the new iPad perfect, but its biggest competitor is the iPad 2. Not the Asus Transformer Prime, not the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and not just another Apple product, but an earlier version of the same product. The Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet occupy another market completely and may cannibalize sales to a certain extent, but Apple is unquestionably the market leader. With no competing tablet on the horizon that manages to match the new iPad’s specs, I made the jump and am happy with my decision.
A now more enlightened tech enthusiast, I can truly get techcited about Apple products. I can sincerely recommend the new iPad, albeit with reservations, to the tablet-seeking consumer, especially one not as tech-savvy. While I hope the Android OEMs, especially Samsung and Asus, can successfully compete with Apple’s dominance, for now, I think the decision is clear and it is iPad.
I hate being the first comment.
I’m also an Apple hater, who admittedly, wants an iPad.
There, I said it.
Hear that Mordechai? I actually want an apple product in this household!
no way
But what incentive is there for me to buy into a new ecosystem? when I would then have to pay again for an app that is available on both OS’s.