Home > Gadgets, Review > Apple iPad evaluation from a Android user

Apple iPad evaluation from a Android user

March 3rd, 2011


I have a love and hate relationship with the Apple iPad now.
One year ago, right before the iPad is launched, I wrote about the iPad that it is just like a bigger iPhone but with no phone functions. (Like a huge iPod Touch).

Now that I had 2 weeks to review one, wonder if it changed my mind?
Read on.

iPad features that I liked most
1) Form factor

The iPad seems to be designed meticulously, and the specifications made it an attractive 10-inch tablet.

It is easy to hold, while being slim and brought a sea of accessories to fit.

With the iPad larger screen, it is easy to share viewing of the screen with others, thus also good for doing presentation.

2) Coolness

It’s the ‘Coolness’ of having one of those Apple products. I don’t know the reason. 🙂
Will it still be cool when everyone’s having one? Like the iPhone?

3) Nice apps

Apple App Store, is undeniably the key differentiating factor among smartphones manufacturers.
As of October 20, 2010, there are at least 300,000 third-party apps officially available on the App Store, and already had over 10 billion downloads.

There’s a wide range of apps for selection and the high quality of apps also made it so easy to find apps that you’ll like and keep them in your iPad.

Of course, there are instances where I crashed apps (especially games) but they’re software anyway, and I’m fine with it as long as they are not mission critical ones.

4) Ebook reader

Reading on the iPad is one of those top activities I have.

I’ve played with some ebook readers whose functions are primarily for ebook reading. While iPad is not primarily an ebook reader, but it can so easily be taken as one. Light-weight and the size of a book made it an easy reading companion.

5) Battery

Sure, I have qualms about iPhone or iPad not having removable batteries.
However, I’m just so awed by the performance of iPad’s batteries.
You can play and play and play whole day and it takes only a small percentage out of the entire charge.
I have left the music on for almost 12 hours and it only drained slightly more than 10%.
It’ll take more if WiFi and others are turned on, but nevertheless the batteries are powerful!

iPad features I don’t really liked much

1) Pricey
Of course pricey or not, this is very subjective.

At $499 to $829 or RM 1,549.00 to RM 2,599.00 for one, you can either get a smartphone or a very decent laptop.

However, it is good to know that Malaysia’s iPad retail price is said to be one of the cheapest in the world. It’s very close to the price sold in US after currency conversion, so it’s indeed a good news for Malaysians.

Being the tech guy I am, prices of gadgets are going to go down with time and the iPad is a premium gadget, which might be worth the money, but at a premium price.

And you know the iPad 2, 3, 4 and the rest are coming…

2) No back button, cursor (no scrolling), no Flash, no Java (not even applet in Safari)

So this is one comparison with the Android. Coming from the Android platform, it is difficult to return to the previous state after hopping from an app to a browser or anything else.
Sure you can have the double-tap home button now, but still nothing beats a hardware ‘Back‘ button.

I’m not a good virtual keyboard typists especially when auto correction comes into play. With no button to scroll the cursor, it is slightly difficult to move a cursor from a text to the place I want it to be.

Another long debate is the No Flash support dictated by Steve Jobs. I better not go into this one. 🙂

But not even Java?

Some other nuisances like popup notifications and the likes are well documented by Jack Lee. Read up his honest grouses here: Maxis 10 Review: Part 7: Apple iPad – The Flip Side

3) iTunes dependency

Like it or not, you must have iTunes to activate your iPad, tie a credit card to your account even if you’re only going to download free apps.

You cannot download mp3 with Safari directly.

You must use iTunes to get songs, ebooks, apps into your library and there’s no shortcuts. You can only view photos folder from your computer.

4) Sequential downloads

Even though the iOS now supports multi-tasking, I have no idea why after selecting a few apps to download, I still have to wait for the ‘Waiting…’ then ‘Loading…’ part to complete one app after the other.

Why can’t we have them downloaded concurrently?

5) Not a necessity yet

One thing that I found out is, the iPad is not a necessity to me yet.
The fact is I could do more on a laptop than on a tablet (not necessarily the iPad).
I can be more mobile and working on the move with a smartphone + laptop than a tablet.

It turns out that, my view over the iPad has not changed much yet after a year.

A particular video intrigued me recently, and it came from this quote.

“This world of over-consumption that we live in now successfully makes people want things that they don’t even need.” – Thirasak Tanapatanakul

Don’t worry, I have the same opinion that goes to Android tablets, just to prove I’m not totally against Apple. 🙂
* This opinion will change when prices of tablets go down, just like any other gadgets upon reaching their saturation point.

Yeah, you might find this contradictory from someone who looks for new gadgets and latest technology. But that’s just me. 🙂

Disclosure:
This post is in participation of Maxis10 Reviewers Programme, where 10 reviewers are given devices to use for a specific period of time to provide a fair and honest review to their readers.
Although it is my best effort to provide an honest review, the ultimate judgement is yours to make.

To follow the Maxis10 reviews and discussion:
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More Maxis WiFi Modem and Apple iPad Reviews
Maxis10 Review – Apple iPad and Wifi Modem E5832
Using the Maxis WiFi Modem E5832
Maxis WiFi Modem E5832 Broadband Manager
Maxis WiFi Modem E5832 Speed & Signal Strength
The top 5 things I do MORE of… now that I have the Maxis WiFi Modem
The top 5 things I do LESS of… now that I have the Maxis WiFi Modem
Apple iPad with Maxis WiFi Modem top usage
Apple iPad evaluation from a Android user
Apple iPad with Maxis WiFi Modem E5832 review – Conclusion

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Gadgets, Review

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    1. Jack Lee
      March 4th, 2011 at 12:16 | #1

      Hey Marvin,

      Thanks for cross-referencing to one of my posts!

    2. March 4th, 2011 at 17:32 | #2

      @Jack Lee
      Hehe no problem Jack.
      Your posts is very insightful – about the Flip Side. 🙂
      Cheers!

    1. March 4th, 2011 at 00:20 | #1