TechVirtuoso

Please, stop asking me if you should get an iPad…

June 23rd, 2010 at 10:44 PM  No Comments

…because the answer is still, and forever will be, NO! I am in and out of many businesses throughout my work week, and it seems that I’m asked this same question at least once or twice a week. People, please, stop falling for the …”but its pretty” or, “I saw this guy who had one and…” traps. Yes, it’s sleek, and yes, you saw someone else using one, but believe me, its beauty is only skin deep, and the person you saw using one, they now understand that previous statement all too well, and it’s killing them.

To put it bluntly, the iPad is a glorified e-reader. Nothing more. The list of things that you can’t do with it far outweighs the list of things that you can. Why would anyone opt for a device that costs a whopping $699, and doesn’t include mobile broadband connectivity (the same unit with a 3G radio costs $829), has no webcam, will likely never never have full flash support (thanks Steve /rolleyes), can’t connect to any USB device (no USB ports), and has a maximum capacity of 64GB? BUY A NETBOOK!

Did you get that last sentence? Buy a netbook already, seriously. If you need ultra-portability, and want to actually be able to use your device in a productive environment, then a netbook is most certainly more in line with what you need. And guess what? You can get an awesome netbook for much less than the cheapest 16GB iPad. But please, don’t take my word for it. A simple Google search will reveal that I’m not alone in my opinion of the iPad.

Research, inform yourself, take a look at reviews, such as CNET’s recent compilation, and then make the right decision based on what you actually want to achieve with the device. But please, if you’re a business user, stop asking your IT people what they think of the iPad, because we think it’s a toy, and that you should grow up, oh, and chill on the Axe, it reeks.