Digital Paper Revolution

iPad Impressions

The world seems to have died down a bit on exclaiming what they think of the iPad, presumably (finally) waiting until they get their hands on it to give more factual analyses. Not me, though.

This is actually more in response to some of the most common complaints pundits had about the device in question. I have my own, of course, but all in all, they're pretty minor. But first things first:

No camera

I think the presence (or lack, in this case) of a camera is something that the Apple designers put a lot of thought into. The desire for a camera seems to be so we can video chat on our iPads. Now consider, if you will, where and how you will be holding this device. Chances are good it's going to be on your lap, and I would bet nine times out of ten it will be angled up at you as you peer down at it. If you've ever taken a picture, you know this is not a flattering shot. Yes, you can just hold it up for a straight picture, but now you have to hold it there, somewhere around arm's length, not moving your hands while you awkwardly talk to someone. It would be like the middle school slow dance except without the smells of bad breath and too much cologne.

There's also the orientation issue. If you are holding the iPad portrait-wise, it will (if it's like the iPhone) capture you in portrait, meaning it's sending you in portrait, forcing the person on the other end to also hold their iPad in portrait. Or if they don't have an iPad, they need to rotate their heads 90 degrees to see you straight. That'll work well. Even assuming we all have the spare cash and inclination for this device, every video call would start with people turning their iPads around to compensate for the other's orientation, then realizing they both did that and trying to turn back, like two strangers trying to get around each other on a sidewalk, always accidentally blocking the other until someone thinks to say "You go first." This is a terrible user experience, and until they figure out a better solution, I think Apple was right in scrapping the camera idea.

While I might be more desirous of a back-facing camera, I'm not sure a device of this size and weight would hold steady enough as you tapped it to take anything except a very blurry picture. I have trouble getting a clear shot on the iPhone, I can only imagine what would happen if my finger sudden acquired more torque from me trying to focus on something higher up on the screen.

E-ink

I can't believe so many people think e-ink, in its current state, would have been a good idea for what the iPad is billed for. LCD's refresh rate is limited by the video card, usually around 60 Hz. E-ink, we're talking more like 2 Hz at best. If it takes you half a second to turn a page in a book, I think we expect that. By our current expectations, it cannot take half a second for a screen to respond to, say, keyboard input.

I say this having never used a Kindle or other e-ink reader before, but it is my understanding that those devices are more about output than input. I think the iPad was intended to be differently oriented.

Of course, if they come out with more responsive e-ink, I'll be all for it. I spend the majority of my waking hours staring at one backlit screen or another, so it might be nice to give the eyes a break. But hopefully if that comes to be, we will see the benefits in more than just our handheld devices. Imagine playing a game on what looks like paper. The aesthetic possibilities are awesome.

Screen Dimensions

It is true, 16:9 has been the standard for a while now. But we also haven't had a lot of screens we are expected to hold in portrait mode. The whole idea is that it needs to look good in both portrait and landscape, and while we know 16:9 looks great, does 9:16? I don't know. I can only assume that Apple, with its attention to how things look, tried both and went with what they thought was better.

The Detachable Computer

I have seen in a number of places the suggestion that the iPad should have been (essentially) macbook with a removable screen, so you could use it like a tablet when you wanted. At first, I thought "that sounds amazing". Then I started to think about it, and it's actually pretty silly.

The question becomes where do you put your core computer components? In order for the tablet end to be fully functional, everything (processor, storage, memory) needs to be inside the screen. Which means that the only thing doing a clamshell design would add is a keyboard with a very heavy screen, and Apple has already provided a keyboard option via the keyboard dock. Call it nickel-and-dime-ing if you want, but it ends up being the same thing.

The OS, The Launcher Paradigm, and The App Store

The general thinking, as far as I can gather, behind the App Store and the heavily locked-down nature of the iPhone OS is that it is safe. Everything is vetted by Apple (theoretically) for safety and security, and you can do pretty much nothing to crash the system. For a lot of people, that's great. I'm not a fan.

First of all, as Apple has shown us on numerous occasions, they will use this lockdown power to prevent users from having choices. It's why Safari is the only browser, and why a number of Google applications were denied. They are also (hypocritically) forcing censorship, preventing apps from being distributed because, so they claimed, you can find porn with them. Because you can't find illicit materials with, say, Safari.

The launcher system (not having access to the files on the device, only the applications) reminds me of the annoyance I felt when I realized I could take pictures on my first cell phone, but I couldn't get them off of said phone. Again, this is a security issue, you are less likely to screw things up if you don't have access to things that might screw things up. But people have been successfully not crashing their own computers for years. For the most part, anyway. Is this lock-down really necessary? I don't think so.

The result of this is that Apple maintains a ridiculous amount of control over what we do and how we use the devices we have paid quite a pretty penny for. As a consumer, I don't like this, but I also am aware of it as I buy into it, so I can only complain so much. All I can really do is hope that some day, someone will make a device as nice as Apple's, only more open.

Will I buy one?

Yeah, I totally will, but I am going to keep to my rule of not buying first generation Apple hardware. It has never been a healthy choice to be an early Apple adopter. I am very excited to see how it might change how I do things, but I'd rather do that without the frustration and regret.