The iPad. Well, it definitely is on a league of its own. There simply is no other device like it. It is revolutionary and is perceived to herald a new technology for personal computing. Just like its smaller twins – the iPhone and iPod Touch.
It took nearly ten years for an idea like this to come to fruition. Even the name has been debated on for years. Prior to Steve Jobs’ launching of the iPad, big fans of its smaller predecessors have come up with the names The Slate, Apple Tablet, and a couple of other guesses, only to be presented with a name that sounds like a Chinese parody of the iPod. And more disappointments soon came the way of iPad.
Among the most notable is that the thing is only a larger version of the iPod touch, as many argue. Many disappointed ex-iPad enthusiasts even went so far as create images of Steve Jobs presenting the Ipad, only in the picture the device looks like 4 iPod Touch taped together.
Maybe it’s the hype created for the device – it seems so hyped that no other device in recent memory can compare to the publicity it has received – or maybe it’s because people have expected so much. For one, they expected to have a device that performs way better than the one they already have – the iPod Touch. But then again, when a device carries an updated software of its predecessor with a few alterations here and there, it would be hard not to compare the two. But really, is there anything to compare aside from what has been already said? Also, is the iPad really just a larger version of the iPod Touch?
Hardly.
The user interface, itself, while for the most parts resemble those already available in iPod Touch has some additions that you can love, know and gripe about, just as you did with iPod Touch. For one, there is a small handful of new tools like Pop-overs or modals, tap-and-hold, split screens, toolbar drop-downs, cover flow, contextual menus and that famous virtual keyboard. All these user interface additions allow you to do more and go further with your iPad. That simply can’t be done with its smaller, older twin.
To top these off, the iPad, although not necessarily made as a real personal computer, is packed with applications like Keynote and Numbers that can let you do work on the go. There’s a lot more to like to this beast. It allows you access to engaging Apple-made applications and third-party applications, for example, many of which are applications that iPod Touch enthusiasts have come to love.
Still, iPad has some shortcomings that many people are justified to complain about. Huge shortcomings. For starters, iPad does not allow multitasking, although it allows multitasking for Apple’s applications. If you’re used to doing 5 things at the same time on your computer, you’re out of luck with this device, buddy. You can’t Twitter and open your email simultaneously. You can’t also hold a conversation over an IM app and run Facebook apps simultaneously. For some users who are used to doing things this way, iPad is a big disappoint. However, for the majority of users, this isn’t much a big deal. This is probably why Apple did not take long to ignore the problem.
See, while many people are disappointed with the close comparison of iPad and iPhone, it is still clear that the former is a revolutionary device that is not comparable to anything available in the market. And what’s even clearer is that the iPad is not a bigger version of the iPod Touch.