inkyBoot

If you really think about the main tasks you use a computer for everyday you will begin to realise the Apple iPad would actually be able to cater to the majority of them.

The iPad, just like other iDevices, has the facility to download 3^rd party applications which give it added functionality. This is such a vital part of this device and gives it another distinctive selling point.

For example, the recent Skype 2.0 application turns your iPad into an amazing mobile Skype device. It gives you the ability to send chat messages and make voice calls not only in your home through WiFi but also through 3G when you’re out on the move (if you purchase the 3G version of course).

The iPad is a device that allows users to interact with it in the most natural ways, through both touch and speech. The utilisation of a smooth touch interface with multi-touch gestures really does give you an amazing new experience when completing your regular tasks.

However, the iPad does of course have its flaws. These are in the form of exclusion of what many people would consider standard features in modern devices.

Lack of:

These are the “main” problems with the iPad. Multitasking is obviously a major problem too, however this will be introduced shortly through the iPhone OS 4.0 software update.

Flash is an interesting one, a lot of big brand websites can not be accessed because of this problem leaving you with no other alternative than going back to using a standard desktop browser.

According to Steve Jobs (Apple Inc’s CEO and Co-Founder) the reason Flash is not being used in his iDevices is because it drains battery life, has slow performance, is buggy and causes applications to crash. The truth is he’s kind of right, you just don’t notice these things as much on desktop computers because of more powerful CPUs and no real need to worry about battery performance. Mobile devices need to be treated differently and they cannot afford to be running inefficient software draining both system resources and battery life.

Flash is to a certain extent the only omission I can really defend. The other three problems are all hardware related and really hold the iPad back from being a truly phenomenal device. I have no doubt that they will be addressed in further iterations of the iPad, however they are fundamentally what stop the iPad from being a replacement device and make it into just another expensive accessory.