IPad
I was there at the Apple Store in 5th Avenue yesterday both to check out the device itself, as well as to experience first-hand the hype and buzz surrounding an Apple product launch.
Here are some random thoughts on IPad:
+ UI: The device is just amazing to use. Its hard to describe in words, you have to try out one to understand.
+ Gaming: Apple touts it as many things, but the part of IPad I found the most amazing was as a gaming device. I tried out a car racing game, and the UI is plain incredible to use.
- Pretty much all else is extremely mediocre. Apple touts this device as many things. Lets see:
Book reader: Kindle and Nook are way more nicer on the eye (and the battery) with their e-ink.
Web Browser: The main stumbling block here is availability of ubiquitous internet connectivity everywhere, which is today still far from a reality. The IPad 3G pricing is an overkill, and without 3G it is pretty much useless today as a mobile web browser.
GPS Navigation: Very slick, but would be lot better with internet connectivity (search, live traffic, etc.)
Computing: Office applications are going to be very hard to use without a real keyboard.
Also, to do anything with a semblance to real computing is going to be hard when apple does not allow the Apps to run in the background.
- Software distribution: Apple App Store is the most retarded concept one could have ever come up with, but more on that for a different day.
All that said, the IPad is a step in the right direction. Thanks to Apple, the future looks very bright for all of us, as more and more traditional CS companies are going to look beyond traditional CS and into making cooler consumer electronics.
Here are some random thoughts on IPad:
+ UI: The device is just amazing to use. Its hard to describe in words, you have to try out one to understand.
+ Gaming: Apple touts it as many things, but the part of IPad I found the most amazing was as a gaming device. I tried out a car racing game, and the UI is plain incredible to use.
- Pretty much all else is extremely mediocre. Apple touts this device as many things. Lets see:
Book reader: Kindle and Nook are way more nicer on the eye (and the battery) with their e-ink.
Web Browser: The main stumbling block here is availability of ubiquitous internet connectivity everywhere, which is today still far from a reality. The IPad 3G pricing is an overkill, and without 3G it is pretty much useless today as a mobile web browser.
GPS Navigation: Very slick, but would be lot better with internet connectivity (search, live traffic, etc.)
Computing: Office applications are going to be very hard to use without a real keyboard.
Also, to do anything with a semblance to real computing is going to be hard when apple does not allow the Apps to run in the background.
- Software distribution: Apple App Store is the most retarded concept one could have ever come up with, but more on that for a different day.
All that said, the IPad is a step in the right direction. Thanks to Apple, the future looks very bright for all of us, as more and more traditional CS companies are going to look beyond traditional CS and into making cooler consumer electronics.