Things to consider before buying an iPad

It’s been a week since the iPad hit the shelves (of the Apple stores that is), and while they keep telling potential buyers this is the “ultimate” computer device ever created by their godly hands, there are some things you might want to consider before coughing up the cash for one of this expensive toys.

The purpose of this post is not to bash the iPad as I have been doing in past posts, I just want people to think carefully before they buy, one often makes the mistake of not doing enough research before getting a new computing device.

1. No native print support, you might have to buy apps to be able to do it
2. No native PDF support, again you might have to buy apps to view them
3. No USB ports, that means you have to buy the USB adapter to connect things like a camera to import your pictures
4. No SD card slot, you have to buy the adapter if you want to be able to read your SD cards
5. Can’t play divx files (YET), there might be a work around later on, but not right now, if you have a large collection of divx files you might want to wait until this is solved
6. No GPS in the wi-fi model, which is the only model out at the moment
7. It doesn’t support FLASH, that might be bad if you visit sites that use that as part of the design (or the whole design)
8. If you want a physical keyboard Apple sells one that comes with a small stand to get the iPad upright for $69.99
9. As of this moment it still doesn’t support multitasking, that means you can’t listen to music while checking your email, only one app at a time
10. Some (or many) apps might cost more than the iPhone apps
11. No battery replacement, if it goes bad you take the iPad to the Apple store and they will give you a whole new iPad for $107, there is no mention of backing up your data or prices on that yet
12. It may not look like it but some people might actually feel it a little “heavy,” keep that in mind if you plan on holding one in your hand for long periods of time
13. No integrated camera or web-cam

I say “you might have to buy” because I don’t know if there are free apps to do those functions, so far I’ve only seen people talk about “buying” this and that app to do this and that.

As for multitasking, Apple already announced the iPhone 4.0 OS, which will support multitasking, but don’t start dancing yet, it’s only for a few applications so the user doesn’t “stress the battery” and consumes the power faster o_O.

How are we adding multitasking while preserving battery life and performance. We looked at tens of thousands of apps in the app store, and we’ve distilled the services those apps need to run in the background. So we implemented those services, and we’re providing those services as APIs to developers so they can add multitasking while preserving battery life.

Of course the real reason is their iAd platform. Currently anyone who clicks on an advert in a downloadable app is bounced out of it and onto the advertiser’s webpage. As a result, Apple reckons many users are put off clicking on adverts. In contrast, iAd will allow full-screen video and interactive advertising content to be served within an application. The adverts are dynamically and wirelessly delivered to the device. Crucially, Apple will sell and serve the adverts and developers will receive 60% of their iAd revenue. The videos, by the way, are of course in HTML5 and not Adobe’s Flash which Apple is still waging war against.

Keep in mind what you just read before you buy it, it’s good to know the good, the bad, and the ugly >:3.

Sources: WSJ, Leoblogger, Mashable, and Guardian.