Apple recently 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.
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.