46 responses to “iPad: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly”

1. 

   Colby Beacham April 13th, 2010 at 07:33

   The biggest turnoff for me right now is simply that it along with the iphone are still tied to AT&T. I hope that this summer when the new iphone comes out they finally move over to Verizon but I highly doubt it.

2. 

   Steve Maniago April 13th, 2010 at 07:41

   I think that all the goods cancel out the bads and uglies. Obviously with almost every product there are going to be some things that arent quite what people are looking for, especially with the first edition of the product. I think over time apple will hear what the consumers are talking negatively about the ipad and will make an attempt to make it even better

3. 

   Jack Kennedy April 13th, 2010 at 07:58

   I too have seen plenty of bad press on the Wifi connectivity being flaky. I wonder if they fix this with a firmware/OS update, or if this is hardware related (bad!)

4. 

   Rob Lampert April 13th, 2010 at 08:41

   Even if the ipad had less “bad and ugly” I dont think I would get it. Not that I don’t like Apple products, I actually own a Mac. Bottom line is that I like having a laptop.

5. 

   Ben Albers April 13th, 2010 at 08:47

   It wont even let you print? That is kind of ridiculous. I have a VGA cable for my computer to hook up to my tv and it is awesome. The only thing that I do not like is that the sound does not transfer unless you have an audio cord too.

6. 

   Dan Wyss April 13th, 2010 at 09:05

   I can’t believe it won’t let you print either. And the price really is rediculous if that is all it costs to make one. The good is good but the bad is pretty bad and I don’t know if I would spend $499 on it but that is just me.

7. 

   Justin de la Chi(cago) April 13th, 2010 at 09:13

   First I must give kudos for the quote. Life is never as exciting as when you are nearest the falling, or in some cases, jumping off point.

   ‘Tis a shame about the tethering and the VGA. Perhaps the next Gen will have these modifications fixed and capable. I do not see the tethering as a fixed option, however. This goes against all big business and their “partnerships.” I am not sure who said it, but I remember a quote from a long time back, perhaps it was Twain, but the gist was that communication is an inalienable human right….it is what after all makes us higher creatures. Tethering just seems to be a stretch on that thought. I have tethered ever since I got my first smartphone back in 2006. It has always seemed an underground phenomenon.

   J

8. 

   Damon Ward April 13th, 2010 at 09:25

   It is for these reasons that I’m not very interested in purchasing one of these. I already have an iPhone, so I don’t see a use for a giant one that can’t make calls. I did see an article last week about an “iPad killer” that HP is coming out with later this year. It looked to be much more practical.

9. 

   Spencer Abrams April 13th, 2010 at 09:31

   As far as the price goes, I don’t blame them for charging what people will pay. If you noticed the long lines at the stores on the day of the launch, obviously generating demand hasn’t been an issue. You recommend lowering the price by 20%, but that would be a major cut to revenues when demand is still high.

10. 

    Josh Graves April 13th, 2010 at 09:47

    the price does not surprise me, average mark up on things like retail is usually 100%. as far as apple deciding what is available or not, thats just a big company for ya. be glad it is not the government deciding what is available for the electronics! fingerprints on the screen is just something that comes along with a TOUCHpad, lol! One thing that really impresses me with the ipad is the 10 hour battery life.

11. 

    Colleen Cahill April 13th, 2010 at 09:50

    Thank you Hank for outlining this for us! Biggest drawbacks for me are the wireless limitations which would bug me immensely. The iPad could catch on fast which would lower prices and increase the amount of apps… or it could not catch on and become less usable with other devices.

12. 

    Andrew Burke April 13th, 2010 at 09:55

    There are certainly some pretty big concerns in that list. From what I’ve heard from my friends who really want to run out and buy one, they think they can use it like they do their laptops now. With this list, however, they obviously need to reassess their opinions. Not being able to print or hook up a vga cable are real concerns for me, and I also agree that it’s a little overpriced. I’d like to know how it runs microsoft office programs (if at all) or what the pre-installed office programs are like as well. I’m probably not going to be an early-adopter, drop the price and show me some more apps then I’ll consider it.

13. 

    Zach Morgan April 13th, 2010 at 09:55

    It sounds to be a product that had great intentions, but was brought to the market a little too quickly. Though it is highly innovative, I think with more time being invested into the support and accessories to make the product even more compelling to purchase.

14. 

    Casey Piquette April 13th, 2010 at 10:02

    It has been really cool to see an account of the iPad first hand in class. I like the feedback you have given, but I still do not see the need for one of these as a student. I like having an actual laptop to work on, and having thunb drives and usb ports is very important to me. I am still weary of storing all of my documents online with the possibilities of hackers and stuff.

    I think it is a cool toy, but not something practical just yet. Maybe the next edition, but I don’t see any need for it while having a computer and a 3G phone.

15. 

    Craig Hasbargen April 13th, 2010 at 10:04

    This is some good insight into the iPad knowing that you own a few Apple products and a few Windows based products (non-biased). I am a little supprised they released the iPad before upgrading the OS to 4.0. It seems like they were itching to get this out and they did not think about the OS or the accessories.

16. 

    Kelly Plantz April 13th, 2010 at 10:04

    I understand that many people are upset that its linked with At&t, but I don’t see that much of a difference between At&t and Verizon. I’m also surprised that Apple failed to launch accessories on the release date.

17. 

    Jaideep Singh April 13th, 2010 at 10:15

    I like the concept of netbook better than the ipad. Benefits of netbooks: Can carry and work on it without worrying about smudges. Also its more sturdy and less slippery than ipad. And netbooks have sold more than these ebook readers.

18. 

    Keegan Klauke April 13th, 2010 at 10:21

    I think the ipad is ugly personally. But I really like the quote at the end of the post. I think this will go into my personal favorites.

19. 

    Austin Collins April 13th, 2010 at 12:29

    This is the reason why I wait for the next generation of things to come out. Thier are many things that change within the next year that make a product so much better and usually for the same price. Apple likes to leave good things out of their products the first time on purpose so that they can come out with a thousand diffrent models to make more money.

20. 

    Thomas Gick April 13th, 2010 at 12:31

    I wish I could afford one, oh well guess i’ll just have to wait

21. 

    Loïc mazet April 13th, 2010 at 13:44

    The Ipad is an amazing device, but sooooo expansive!

22. 

    Andrew Huff April 13th, 2010 at 14:09

    I think the iPad is a good idea but it does have it’s flaws. But competitors will be able to use the iPad’s flaws to their advantage when creating their own products. I feel as though the iPad was rushed to market and was not finished much like Windows Vista. That being said I believe that Apple will be releasing some major updates for the iPad in the coming months/years. The least they can do is release an OS for the iPad that allows concurrency.

23. 

    Matt Kompara April 13th, 2010 at 14:27

    First of all I’m not an “apple guy”. I think some of “the bad” points are a little sketchy. People are buying the thing so the price is reflective of what consumers value the product at. This is irrelevant of the cost to build. Fingerprints on the screen seems like an easy fix; there are a multitude of screen covers on the market some of which are very good.

24. 

    Harsh Sanghvi April 13th, 2010 at 15:38

    After looking at the initial sales Ipad seems to be a fail . I would rather wait for the much better and cheaper tablets coming out soon.
    I have been following the notion ink adam since a while now and it has everything that the ipad lacks. Here is the link for the comparison between the Ipad and the Adam.http://gizmodo.com/5471559/notion-ink-adam-tablet-caught-on-video-specs-finalized

25. 

    Michael Tym April 13th, 2010 at 15:56

    It seems like when apple releases their products they can do so much more then they put into it, for example the first 2 iphone’s or whatever didnt take video when almost all camera phone’s that i know of could. They tend to just make a “new” one and add the features they already had the capabilities of adding they just waited so people will buy the first then the third then the fifth versions.

26. 

    Arpit Bawa April 13th, 2010 at 16:40

    I just LOVE the quote on the shirt. It makes a lot of sense in this era of technological revolution. As for the iPad my dad is planing to buy one, but as pointed out, he is a bit hesitant about the cost. We have decided to wait and watch for more reviews till we spend the dollars. Just being extra careful…

27. 

    Beck Warwick April 13th, 2010 at 16:55

    My favorite parts about the Ipad are the entertainment functions of online books, newspapers, and net flix. Hopefully popular magazines will catch on soon and set up a format that is compatible and interactive with the ipad, much like the wall street journal has done.

28. 

    Taylor Gelsosomo April 13th, 2010 at 17:50

    I’ve enjoyed being able to see what the iPad in class. It’s nice to hear someone’s personal experience with the device rather than reading all the generalized comments made about it. I still can’t believe that they didn’t come out with accessories at the same time as they launched the actual iPad!

29. 

    Keith Carlos April 13th, 2010 at 19:07

    I actually want to purchase the ipad but only when there is a word document on where i can type papers. Other that its a the perfect device for myself.

30. 

    Frank Hettlinger April 13th, 2010 at 19:22

    The ipad looks like a great device for anyone who doesn’t yet have a computer. It seems as though there’s not many pros to buying an ipad if you already have a smart phone. I do like the bigger screen for playing games and watching movies on, but to me another $500 is something that most people wouldn’t want to spend on something they can already get on their phone. Sorry Hank!

31. 

    Meiqi Zhao April 13th, 2010 at 19:43

    I really want to have an iPad,but I can not afford it. The battery life and apps really attract me. I do not think printing will be a problem for me. Because normally I will just print in lab. It is not a big deal for me.
    I hope the next generation can improve these weaknesses and become cheapter.

32. 

    Michael Eargle April 13th, 2010 at 19:51

    I really wish i had thye expenses to get an ipad. At the end of the day its just another invention branched off the iphones and all the other aplle inventions. i would prefer to wait a while because i pretty sure they will come out with a better invented one.

33. 

    Justin Riley April 13th, 2010 at 20:57

    I know most people want an iPad, but I am still not really interested or wanting to buy one. Yeah I see it can do many things and all, but I just do not feel like I would like it. I will just stick with my laptop, iPod Touch, and my Droid when I get it and I think I will be fine. haha

34. 

    Angeline Tran April 13th, 2010 at 23:43

    I’ll think about getting one once they implement a webcam/video camera and get a better wifi solution. otherwise I am uninterested. One step forward and and a couple steps back for apple.

35. 

    Molly Longest April 14th, 2010 at 00:51

    It looks like there are more negative critiques to the iPad than positive attributes. I’m sure though apple will work out many of these kinks in newer models. I’m anxious to see how they will upgrade the iPad. I’m thinking of investing in one myself.

36. 

    Nwokedi Idika April 14th, 2010 at 15:19

    Since Apple does this for a living, I’m pretty sure they are aware of the devices shortcomings. And I’m certain they’re saving improvements for later versions.

37. 

    Curtis Brackett April 14th, 2010 at 19:51

    Sounds like a so-so product right now. I feel that it was rushed to market so quickly that the technicians didn’t quite get out all of the kinks or develop all of the possible accessories. I’m sure that as newer models come out and time passes these glitches will be worked out and the reviews will go way up.

38. 

    Courtney M. Cronk April 14th, 2010 at 20:29

    It is just an enlarged iphone with no camera. aka. an itouch ipod. i am impressed by the connecting time (as fast as you can tap) but i dont think that outwieghs everything else. they have touch screen computers, which in my opinion would be better. (except those arent portable), especially if the wifi is sketchy.

39. 

    Joseph Mecca April 15th, 2010 at 07:15

    The ipad is a pretty sweet toy, but for the price it’s lacking in some of the basic feature I’d expect. I’m not convinced it’s any different from my iphone other than size obviously.

40. 

    Blake Bronowicki April 15th, 2010 at 09:34

    I really do hope to see Apple expand its market and get out to providers such as Verizon Wireless. I currently have a Verizon Wireless family package and I always wanted an iPhone personally. I just hope to see Verizon team up with Apple and take over the market. With the Ipad though, I think there will be plenty of little glitchs and bugs to fix it, but when it all comes together, it will be better than ever.

41. 

    Jeff Olen April 15th, 2010 at 16:27

    No matter what people say about the iPad, millions of people will still buy it. In my opinion, nothing in the world is perfect, but the iPad does a lot of things for us that is really cool. The long battery life can really help with bringing it places, but having it only available to AT&T and charging money per month is a pretty big turn off to the iPad. I personally will probably never get one just because I think that having a MacBook as a college student is good enough for me. But I really do like it Hank and I hope you bring it in to class more to show us some more stuff on it!!

42. 

    Tyler Collingbourne April 18th, 2010 at 12:33

    the printing is an issue…i jus cant see myself spending that much money on something that yea, does have alot of cool new ideas incorporated in it, but it also lacks a lot of things that should be part of this, especially for the price

43. 

    Mahmood Alrawi April 19th, 2010 at 20:26

    give the ipad some time…they did this so google or someone else would come out with their own, then apple would demolish anything that stands when they revile the new ipad.

44. 

    Kamran Malhance April 26th, 2010 at 00:24

    Like anything else that comes out there are going to be flaws. I feel Apple has a tendency to leave things out on purpose so Im going to wait for the second generation and see how it is!

45. 

    Letteer Lewis April 26th, 2010 at 20:43

    The Ugly:
    It is ugly, come on Apple we know you have it in you come up with a better design!

46. 

    Brad Kalina December 7th, 2011 at 23:29

    the ipad has its pros and cons jsut like every product. Nothing is perfect but the ipad is very good and one of the most selling product ever