Posts tagged google

Since its debut in April, my opinion of the Apple iPad has gone from ‘completely unnecessary’ to ‘must have it’, to ‘it’s really useful but now I want an alternate platform’.

During those transitions, I bought one, used it, loved it, and then sold it.

The form factor is nearly ideal for the consumption of data, especially for multimedia.

But no gadget is perfect and the iPad is no exception. The screen is wonderful but the device is too heavy to replace the Kindle. I like to read in bed before going to sleep but holding the iPad like I do the Kindle causes my arm to quickly become numb.

And the glare off that gorgeous glass finish can be an issue if you can’t control the ambient light.

Then there’s the sticky matter of file management – it doesn’t really have any. The darn thing is so much like a computer that you want to use it that way, and yet you really can’t and that’s more frustrating than you might imagine. It has to be connected to a real computer from time to time; also frustrating for a device that’s nearly a real computer and you know that it’s been crippled this way intentionally.

Apple left out some key features in this first iteration, no doubt so they can crank up the sales machine for the soon coming second edition – also frustrating. For instance, the development of the iPad and the iPhone 4 occurred nearly at the same time yet the new iPhone got a front-facing camera for video chatting but the iPad did not. Do you have any doubt that same camera and FaceTime application will find its way on the iPad2 just in time for the holidays?

But like I said, no gadget is perfect and my observations above amounts to little more than picking nits – my motivation to sell it was rooted in my recent conversion to Android.

Apple and Google are busy building their own eco-systems and the two aren’t compatible by design. The iPod proved long ago that if you can get people to buy one item that’s tightly coupled with other products, then a magical halo effect can lift sales to new heights – "I have an iPod and using it with a Mac is easier than with a PC therefore I need a Mac too", etc.

It makes very little sense to me to try and straddle both worlds, Android and iTunes, so I made the decision to get out of one and embrace the other. Accordingly, I’ve retired my Mac and am liquidating my iPod collection for the same reason (anyone want a new generation 32Gb iPod Touch with ios4?).

Now I want an Android based tablet. And while many have been announced, none have actually made it to market. But that’s okay for now, I’m still too busy playing with my new Droid X to bother with yet another doo-dad.