Commentary
10 Things The Apple iPad Doesn't Have
Today Apple announced the iPad, a new iPhone-esque mobile computing device. As neat as many of its features are, it is still missing a lot. Here are 10 things that it lacks.Today Apple announced the iPad, a new iPhone-esque mobile computing device. As neat as many of its features are, it is still missing a lot. Here are 10 things that it lacks.1. Flash. The Safari browser included on the iPad doesn't have Flash -- just like the iPhone. That's a huge hindrance. How does Apple think it can get away with no Flash? Did it bake HTML5 in and forget to tell us about it?
2. No camera. A user-facing camera to enable video conferencing and/or video chats was high on the list of features expected. It doesn't have one.
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3. No multitasking. It appears that even though Apple has re-jiggered iPhone OS to work on this device, it still can't run background processes. That's a huge detractor.
4. No Verizon. The 3G wireless service that comes as an option with the iPad is not being provided by Verizon Wireless. It is being provided by AT&T. Man, can AT&T handle it? We know the scorecard there.
5. No widescreen display. The 9.7-inch IPS display may be capable of showing HD movies, but it doesn't match the 16:9 standard screen dimension that many of today's devices conform to.
6. No Mac OS. The iPad runs a new, in-house built processor that Apple calls the A4. It clocks in at 1GHz. That appears to be just fine for iPhone OS, but the iPad doesn't run the more capable, full OS X, which is what would have really set the device on fire.
7. No GPS. The iPad has an accelerometer for a great gaming experience, but no GPS. That means Google Maps is going to have to rely on 3G and/or Wi-Fi to locate the iPad. So much for replacing your smartphone.
8. Enough storage. I realize that the iPad can sync content with iTunes and users can add/remove content at will, but 64GB (max size) is just not enough. Not enough for the games, movies and music I'd want to carry around.
9. Removable Battery. The iPad follows the footsteps of Apple's iPhone and newer laptops in that it doesn't have a user-removable battery. So much for bringing a spare for flights that last more than the 10-hour rated battery time.
10. No HDMI. How is it possible that Apple would skip an HDMI port for easy compatibility with today's HDTVs? Stunning, in my book.
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