I just returned my iPad, which I had for about 2 weeks.
At the end of the day, I felt it was a crippled device. I bought it so I could browse the web on the couch (among other things), but so many websites just did not work.
A small sample:
[ul]
[li]The Google Adwords website showed me a bare-bones mobile version with missing info, and when I clicked to make it show me the desktop version, Safari crashed, several times.[/li][li]Google Analytics didn’t work either, since, among other things the gadget to change the date range didn’t work.[/li][li]Ebay had issues too.[/li][li]I would say that about 20-30% of websites whose links my friends sent via email, or whose links appeared on sites like the SDMB, did not work. I always had to email myself the link to those pages so I can view them on my laptop.[/li][/ul]
It’s a shame, really, since it was a nice little device, and was very responsive, and its instant-on was a big plus.
Have any of you guys returned your iPads, and if yes, care to say why?
Yes, I was aware of that. I guess what I wasn’t that aware of was how widespread Flash was for mundane operations and websites (e.g. the “plain” Google Analytics page)
I also have an iPhone, and I know the limitation on the websites you can visit, but:
[ul]
[li]With the iPhone, you often get served the mobile version of the website, which works fine, but which lacks features. With the iPad, either you don’t get served the mobile version, and the full version may or may not work, or you get served the mobile version and since that often doesn’t cut it for the big screen of the iPad you select to see the desktop version, and that again may or may not work.[/li]
Basically, with the iPhone, getting stuck with the mobile version of a website is acceptable, since it has the small screen and it is, after all, only a phone. But with the iPad, getting stuck with the mobile version of a website is not acceptable, and in many cases not available.
[li]When I played with the iPad in the store before buying it, I did notice some differences between iPad Safari and iPhone Safari. For example, the video on cnn.com plays in-place for iPad, but either does not play on the iPhone, or closes the browser and opens up Quicktime to view it. This and other differences made me think that iPad Safari has a more desktop feel and reach than iPhone Safari.[/li]
[li]With the iPhone, since I know it’s just a phone, I dont’ “dare” visit some websites that I suspect are heavy on Flash or overly complex, so I limit myself. But with the iPad, since I bought it as a couch-surfing device, I tried not to limit myself. And by doing so, I realized just how big a percent of the web doesn’t work on the iPad.[/li][/ul]
Yes there is a huge amount of interactive content in Flash on the web. For example when I was following the British election I was using an election calculator on the BBC website which was in flash. Then I was following the world chess championship which has a flash application to show the game live. Neither would be usable on the iPad but are easily accessible on any netbook. Perhaps some websites will convert their content to make it iPad friendly but realistically it’s only going to be a few prominent US-based sites. Otherwise we can bet there will be lots of flash content for the next few years at least and probably for much longer.
Android smartphones will soon be supporting flash and I bet that Android tablets will too. I am not sure I want an iPad-style tablet in the first place but if I did, I would definitely wait for something from Acer or HTC which runs Android and will likely have better hardware at a lower price and a much more open and flexible OS as well.
I think it’s unrealistic to say that it’ll take years for this to happen. I see it happening much sooner. As for the UK Election, there are appsforthat.
As for the chess championship - I couldn’t find anything. I’m not much into chess, but I could see that being a very interesting application that one of the chess apps could develop.
It’s still soon - I’m never an early adopter, but there’s certainly potential, especially once some competition emerges.
And anyway those apps don’t do what the BBC election calculator does. In any event if I see some neat interactive content on a website I want to use it immediately and not have to hunt and install some app which may or may not do the same thing.
Why on earth do you need to follow it on a normal computer? I don’t need a computer to follow the election in my local paper. Christ. We ALL realize the ipad is a different device than a normal computer - no one is operating under that delusion. Lantern brought up a feature on a website he liked that the ipad couldn’t do. I directed him to something similar that the ipad CAN do. Why is this so fucking hard to follow along with?
That is a cool little calculator, and it sucks for ipad owners to not be able to access it. Hopefully more major news sources like the BBC will focus some more effort on making their websites and features more accessible to an increasing population.
Closed system means if you want to run the Mac OS you have to buy a system from Apple. They don’t allow it to run on any other hardware. If you want to run Linux or Windows you can just buy them and run it on any hardware you want. (or for Linux you can get it for free in some versions)
The iPad appears to be even more closed than the average Apple device. There isn’t even a USB port so apparently you need to buy a separate dongle just transfer photos from your camera which is ridiculous.
Everything is designed to limit what the end user can do. Apps are only available through the Apple Store. Apps may only enter the Apple Store upon approval from Apple. Music, movies, and audiobooks bought through the Apple Store may only be used on Apple computers. Try to use a non-Apple device, and kiss your investments goodbye. Anything that may compromise Apple’s control over your device that you paid for, such as an SD reader or USB port, have been omitted. You may not use Flash on an iPad. Apple says this is for security, but most of us think it’s to prevent you from playing web games.
Tech people use the analogy of a walled garden to describe Apple’s cumbersome, anti-user stance on products they pay for.
This is, simply, a lie. I can listen to a song, watch a movie or read a book purchased through iTunes just as easily on a PC than on an Apple computer.
Sorry, poor wording. You’re absolutely right. You can listen on a PC, through officially approved Apple software. My, the freedom Apple allows you is almost too much.