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T3#6: 10 Reasons Not To Get an iPad – Yet

Today’s Facebook statuses were filled with mostly only 2 things: the search for the next Las Vegas Mowdels, and Apple’s launch of the new iPad. Of the two, the former interests me not, on many levels (check out this YouTube video to know why), while the latter obviously, especially to an Apple Techie like myself, lends itself to instant ogling and lusting over. And yet, even with all the obvious reasons to get one asap, I find myself holding back on this one. At least for the meantime. Here’s why.

Apple iPad

1.) It ain’t available till April. ‘Nuff said.

2.) First generation Apple products usually come with a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, this one being no exception. This has been a consistent theme throughout their entire product line — from the iBooks and Powerbooks of old, down to the newer Macbooks and iPhones of late. And with a new A4 chip (which is probably a pimped-up version of the old PowerPC processor), development and improvement for this new technology would probably start getting better on its second or third generation.

3.) The name bothers me. With all of Apple’s investment in product development and design (which in fact, was specifically praised by veteran Braün designer Dieter Rams in the documentary “Objectified”), they seemed to have left out the focus group assigned to name studies (or simply didn’t have one). iPad is too close to iPod; people with vowel-pronunciation difficulties might mistake one for the other. And there is also the story of the iPad and Regine Velasquez, but that’s another entry altogether.

4.) Speaking of bad name studies, it lends itself to too much misrepresentation. In the current context of the English language, the term “pad” has evolved from more than just being sheets of paper for writing, but more so to being that one tool women need once a month to protect themselves from very nasty things. If you still don’t get what I mean, watch this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTzhXMbOWHE[/youtube]

5.) If you are one who loves the smell of a new book’s pages, or someone who insists on getting the morning news from the morning paper, or if you are a regular subscriber to the physical copies of Vanity Fair & Vogue and intend to remain as one, you wouldn’t want to support the one product that is positioned to kill them all.

6.) There’s no camera (yet)!

7.) Don’t be fooled by the price. Though Apple has announced the introductory price to the entry level iPad as $499, I’m pretty sure you’d want to be able to use it with 3G and would want more than just the standard 16GB model (which roughly would require one to cough up a minimum of $800). Wait till the second or third gen and I’m pretty sure prices will drop, and specs will improve.

8.) There are still very limited third-party accessories. It’s like having a Barbie with only 3 sets of clothes! Très triste!

9.) Software-wise, the iPad can only run one application at a time. It is much like an obese iPhone or iPod Touch (as it runs on the iPhone OS as well) and can only support one application running at any particular moment. That means you can’t use your Yahoo Messenger and click on a pasted website and remain connected to YM. Also, since a great chunk of the internet is using web 2.0, you might not be able to watch any flash videos unless they’re on YouTube or Quicktime format.

10.) Because I can send a text message on the Google Nexus by typing with my voice.

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Don’t get me wrong, though. I want to get an iPad. I seriously do. But for the time being, since my iPhone can do everything that an iPad can (minus the big screen), I see no reason to rush to reserve one right away. And for someone who’s still uses this third generation 40 GB iPod (with the all-touch interface), that says a lot.

Third Generation 40GB iPod

In the meantime, I will sit back, relax, and watch Jonathan Ive explain to me why I should get an iPad because seeing him, I get more iKilig. And that doesn’t even cost me anything.

i ♥ Jon