Before all you Apple lovers scold me for my comments, I love my iPad2. I think it is an excellent device that doubles productivity and is very easy to use once you get the hang of the iOS. I use it daily to “stay connected”, read my mail, browse the web, remotely connect to my servers and support our clients through apps like team viewer.
But…
Before you spend your hard earned cash, below are some careful considerations I would make before purchasing the next upgrade:
1. No Removable storage
No USB, No SD slot, so no easy way to get data on or off device. No Uploading of photo’s, transferring of documents, movies or music. Only way to get data on and off device is through iTunes, app store and some or other 3rdparty “app trick”.
2. Software Limitations
No file system / directory structure – Documents are saved in within the applications and not to a physical directory on the flash memory. No easy way to manage YOUR files
Flash – 100 000’s of sites use Flash to enrich a users online experience. These include videos, animations, charts, games and apps of which none of the content will display on the “market leading” tablet.
App for everything (OS limitation) – Feels like you need a different app for everything you do. You even need a “photo loader” app to upload photo’s to your facebook!! �
3. Disappointing camera
With a front facing camera that is perfect for facetime and Skype(VGA only), it is disappointing to compare iPad’s back camera’s with those found in common phones today.
iPad Back camera: Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; 1 Megapixel still camera with 5x digital zoom.
iPhone4 back camera: Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; 8-megapixel camera
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE: 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus, LED flash.
Conclusion
Although there are drawbacks to the iPad2, browsing the web without flash and not being able to transfer files over a network is a small price to pay for a tablet with style, class and that delivers on productivity time after time. Do your homework properly, ask technical questions, best you find out all the let downs before you purchase your device!
