Paradox Designs

Wednesday, Apple launched the iPad. Many people, myself included, feel that the iPad is an utter failure as a product, and here is why

No multitasking

This is the biggest shortcoming. Apple released the iPhone in 2007, and apps in 2008. Ever since they released apps, people have been asking for multitasking. Yet, come each new update, it is nowhere to be seen.

While multitasking is a minor issue on a screen the size of your typical smartphone, when you double the screen size, it really seems to be a big inconvenience. Productivity goes down, and productivity must be high to make people willing to carry your device around, as opposed to a similarly sized laptop or netbook.

No Flash

This is another problem. Flash support. While flash isn’t as big an issue on a phone, a product designed to be a big webbrowser suffers from this. While flash apps may be slow over 3G¹, when you are selling a device like this; a device that will primarily be used over WiFi, it is no excuse.

Apple isn’t the only girl in town anymore

When Apple launched the iPhone back in 2007, it was revolutionary. It introduced a amartphone that had looks and talent. Same thing when they launched apps a year later.

But now, Apple has a few serious competetors, the biggest being android. And android has a few distinct advantages:

Multitasking

Android has had multitasking since day one. While its implementation is not as good as that of webOS, it is still multitasking.

Tying into this is the style of notifications. Apple device notifications are modal, and have to be dismissed. Android notifications are not modal. They appear in a tray at the top of the screen, and this can be dragged down to interact with them. Perfect, no, but better than modal alerts.

Flash

Flash. Its on the Nexus 1, and is coming to more devices. It runs fast, and makes the web complete.
I explained about why this is vital earlier, and I won’t bore you by reiterating it.

Diversity

There are already several android tablets in the pipeline, from experienced makers such as Archos, and there will no doubt be many more.

But they won’t be me-too products, much like the feature phones launched next to the iPhone. Android is a complete os, and as such, is ready to compete. While its not perfect, it is getting there. 2.1 is the first version that didn’t focus on function, but rather looks.
And it follows the google model of successful products. Work on functionality first, then make it pretty.

Conclusion

I have no doubt that the mass consumerist markets will buy tons of these things, as they did with the iPhones before and iPod before that. The plebeians are lured in by shiny things, and Apple is master of shiny things. But this is disturbing, as it indicates people are willing to give up their rights, in favor of a bit of shiny technology. It also beggs the question where are the antitrust lawsuits?

Microsoft came under antitrust at the end of the 90s, and all they did was bundle a browser and media player with their os. Apple, who has held a majority in the PMP market for a long time, has not yet faced any such lawsuits, and they actively discourage innovation, what with the app approval process. But that is a matter for another article.

1. The Nexus one doesn’t seem to have any problem with flash, and it has similar specs, aside from the screen [↩]