Focus on the iPad

No single company invented the tablet computer. The tablet as a concept is as old as human history, and has had many implementations over time. As a kid in the 1950s, I remember having a drawing toy which looked like a gray legal pad, which came with a red, wooden stylus. There was a gray, glossy, thin plastic sheet, affixed at its top to a black, semi-sticky substrate. When you wrote or drew with the stylus, the plastic sheet would stick to the substrate at those points and a black line would be be produced. Briefly lifting the plastic sheet would erase your drawing. Later came the mechnical Etch-a-Sketch, and then when LCDs were developed, various electronic tablets were devised. The stark reality is that the electronic tablet was moribund until Apple produced the iPad.

So, what is the iPad?

The iPad is Apple's middle-ground between the laptop and the pocket device (iPhone, iPod touch), expanding upon the multi-touch technology they developed for their pocket devices to deliver a ground-breaking first tablet to market. Equipped with a high-performance processor and SD-RAM storage, response is rapid. The 9.7" 1024-by-768 resolution LED-backlit IPS color LCD display is vivid, with a wide viewing angle. Reviewers have found Apple's cited 10-hour battery life to be conserative, such that you can easily use the device all day on a single charge. (Battery endurance is highly important in commercial environments: health care and factory personnel can't depend upon a device which needs recharging every few hours, and thus businesses won't buy such devices.) Unlike a laptop, you don't have the perpetually awkward hinged display-keyboard thing to deal with, or fear of losing your Internet connection if you close the lid for a time; and there's no cabling snaking through a hinge to fail. At initial availability, the iPad runs version 3.2 of the iPhone OS, a revision beyond the 3.1 on the iPhone at that time.

A powerful, general purpose computer, the iPad is also a departure from single-purpose devices such as the Kindle and Game Boy, doing more than all such devices combined, at less than that combined price. The iPad is the device long sought for kicking back on the sofa or easy chair for reading articles or viewing Web information. As an excellent way to read magazines or newspapers, the iPad will likely renew the publishing industry, who will be developing exciting new dynamic content for the high-performance display on the device. (Magazine publishers and their advertisers have been rushing to get on the iPad bandwagon, so expect a lot in this area.) And then there is the new iBooks store, which can be expected to take off just like the music and apps stores. And if that availability of books were not enough, consider that Amazon is providing a Kindle reader app for the iPad, and that Stanza, B&N, and others will be supporting the iPad for book reading. Apple rightly applauded Amazon for pioneering book reading with the Kindle; but now it's time for the level of evolution represented in the iPad.

And then there are all the apps... As the iPad launches, there are about 140,000 apps which can be used immediately on the iPad. Written for the iPhone form factor, these serve as pixel-doublable transitionals until developers create apps specifically for the iPad — which is rapidly happening. Apple invented the app store concept, providing developers with an outstanding development environment and simple (and lucrative) distribution capabilities. Their App Store is dominant, with developers flocking to it rather than the far less satisfactory competition. I recently viewed an interview with a games company rep, and was amazed to hear him say that they have 900 (!) people working full-time on apps for Apple devices — the one platform that makes sense to devote company time to. The excellent Bento database app has been announced for iPad — and at a mere $5, is a bargain way to get a good database app. Needless to say, there's boundless entertainment in music, TV shows, movies, and YouTube.

Expect the iPad to be heavily adopted by the commercial sector. Perhaps its most obvious use would be to replace the clipboards which are ubiquitous in hospitals, where doctors and RNs can now instead carry a tablet and always have all needed patient information and medical knowledge in hand, for rapid response to needs and emergencies. (Indeed, that is the direction some hospitals are going.) The iPad is just the thing for education, with students eagerly looking forward to this means of lightening their backpack of books. Pennsylvania's Seton Hill University has announced plans to give every full-time student this fall an iPad.

"Big deal. Isn't the iPad just a big iPod touch?"

You've probably heard that a lot from industry pundits. In the popular press you'll find a lot of people for whom sarcastic witticism, superficial commentary, and uninformed criticism is habitual, pandering to a public which prefers shallow entertainment to substantive information. This is in contrast to knowledgeable industry analysts who have a broad view of products, technologies, and trends.

In a simplistic sense, the iPad is a big iPod touch — but it can hardly be dismissed as an iPod touch made larger. Size makes a difference that needs to be appreciated. The iPod touch should probably be considered a pocket-sized prototype for a larger version, once the underlying technology was available. To appreciate the role of the iPad you need to keep in mind the pictorial which was presented at the iPad announcement presentation, where it was emphasized as the intermediate between the laptop and the pocket device. The Mail and other apps which Apple includes with the iPad are themselves intermediate between the Mac and iPhone versions, offering capabilities and interface elements which are a blend of the two environments.

Compare the Apple tablet with what has hitherto been available for your real-life needs... Would you keep an iPod touch or a laptop at hand in your family room for reading or checking TV listings? Unlikely, because the former is too small and the latter too cumbersome. An iPad, however, is of the perfect size and form factor as the grab device to reside on your coffee table or end table, always ready with its long standby life. Or, put it into a dock to keep it charged and at the same time serve as a dynamic picture frame for your photos. And there must be an accessory developer out there busy creating a big, refrigerator magnet holder for the iPad, for family messages.

It's also important to appreciate that the iPad is an appliance type of device. It is intended to make life simple and more productive for everyone from grandparents to technologists. Like the iPhone, the iPad is a paradigm shift in the way we use computers. While the Macintosh windowing interface largely hid the details of a file system, the iPad eliminates any awareness of a file system. This is an implementation of the modern view that file systems are an archaic way of dealing with the underlying disk structure: people should not have to adapt to the computer, it should meet our needs. Instead, there should be a minor database for tracking objects (text files, photos, movies, etc.) which are associated with and selectable from the applications which process them.

Critics fail to understand what the iPad is, always comparing it to a laptop. As an appliance computer, its user is unencumbered from the traditional computing paradigms. You don't need a shelf of manuals to use it. You aren't a de facto system administrator by virtue of buying it. You don't have to maintain a file system. You don't have to remember to click Save every few minutes. You don't have to worry about backups (automatic by virtue of syncing.) There's no keyboard or mouse to get filthy or wonky. It's the kind of futuristic device we imagined when we watched Star Trek in 1969. And we're buying it because it's just so right in so many ways.

"But you can't replace the battery or upgrade the memory!"

This is familiar lament from people whose familiarity is with cheapo devices sold with the cheapest batteries their manufacturer could find, and with minimal memory in order to low-ball the entry level price (counting on the consumers to fool themselves into buying minimal then spending more later to upgrade — a tactic which was common on mobile phones and netbooks). Apple has stopped making laptops with battery compartments because there is no compelling reason to remove a battery any more: they use the most advanced battery technology available, which makes the battery as stable and long-lived as any other component in the device, with no more reason to remove it than the processor. Further, providing real estate for such a compartment detracts from space that can be used for more battery capacity; and a battery compartment reduces the rigidity of the device case and perpetually annoys your hand. As for memory: In ordinary usage of an iPod touch or iPhone, in storing music and rotationally holding TV shows and movies, one is unlikely to approach the consumption of 8 GB; and the lowest capacity iPad offering is 16 GB, with further choice of 32 or 64 GB.

"Sheesh — it doesn't do multitasking!"

The reality is that it initially doesn't do multitasking. This is a difficult area to do really well, the way it should best be done, and Apple has been working on the best way to do it on their mobile devices in general (just as they delayed cut-copy-paste on the iPhone until they had it fully right). Those who jump to criticize the absence of multitasking overlook that the OS used by the iPad is a variant of what is called The iPhone OS, which more generally is Apple's mobile device operating system (also on the iPod touch). That has a development cycle where new versions appear in mid to late Spring, ahead of the mid-Summer introduction of the next version of the iPhone. Multitasking was announced to be coming to both the iPhone and iPad, with the iPad to get it in Fall of 2010. (Watch the 04/08/10 presentation of iPhone OS 4.0 here) (As testament to the difficulty of implementing proper multitasking on a confined device: Microsoft has stated that their Windows Phone 7 Series operating system, due out at the end of 2010, will not have multitasking.)

Why isn't it bigger? Why isn't the aspect ratio 16 x 9??

In overall usage, there are optimum sizes for things. A smartphone should fit in your hand and your pocket. A 15" laptop is just the right size. A tablet has to be relatively lightweight and not be cumbersome in size as it performs all its roles, in portrait and landscape orientations. With increased size comes increased weight, and too much weight makes a tablet a burden which belies its intent. Made too large, it becomes as awkward as carrying a length of lumber, as well as looking ridiculous for a general-purpose device.

Yes, there are a few 16 x 9 tablet designs out there; and, hey, isn't that just great for watching movies? Yes — and that's about all. Go to use them in portrait orientation for book reading or letters or photos, and they're all wrong: a nuisance that will grate on you. The aspect ratio for a multi-function tablet requires balance. The designers of the iPad fully considered all uses when choosing an aspect ratio, and the iPad's is just right.

Where's Flash?

Steve Jobs has a thing against Flash. I can't blame him. Flash is a highly consumptive, sometimes unreliable, proprietary hold-over from the early days of the World Wide Web, when there were no good video animation alternatives. There comes a time to recognize when a technology's time has come and gone, and it should get out of the way and stop pretending that it's still relevant. Adobe's dedication to Flash is very reminiscent of the smartphone makers' predilection for loading the face of the smartphone with buttons: it made less and less sense over time, but they could not break out of the entrenched design habit.

Some are annoyed that the iPad does not support Flash. The reality is that still, as of May 2010, Adobe has been unable to provide a fully capable version of Flash for any mobile device. Rather than be annoyed at Apple for the lack of Flash, people should be annoyed at the over-dependence and over-use of Flash by sites in general.

Apple currently has a Web page "honor roll" of companies which have adopted Web standards rather than using the proprietary Flash for their pages.

What about waiting for one of those Windows 7 tablets, later this year?

Wait if you want to, but keep in mind that there is no Windows touch operating system. Unlike Apple, Microsoft has no Windows OS available for touch devices: the closest thing they have is the Windows Phone 7 Series operating system, intended only for phones, at the end of 2010. Vendors will attempt to lure consumers to a tablet which "runs Windows 7"; but any touch interface on top of that is going to be an applique, not a real touch OS, so expect lots of irregularities and inconsistencies with such an amalgam. (And, given Apple patents, it likely won't be a multi-touch OS.) I would not expect stellar battery life from such a combination, either, particularly given the consumptive nature of Windows applications. Be an educated consumer to be fully aware of what you may be getting into.

HP has been working on a slate concept for some years now, deriving from an ereader they started with. The HP slate (there is no formal product name assigned to the device as yet) made a splash at the January 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), as Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer waved it around in a press presentation to promote the future of Windows. But there was no presentation of the device itself. And there has been no substantive demo since: there have been only superficial teaser videos. Its specs were telling, though, with a battery life of only half that of the iPad. This can be attributed to HP's goal of running Windows 7 underneath the GUI. The introduction of the iPad as a real production product, in the hands of at least a million people as of the end of April 2010, set a standard of usability, performance, design, weight, and battery life for other manufacturers to compare their prospective devices against.

As of April 30th, it is being reported that HP is going back to the drawing board with their tablet. Why? A geek site named Conecti.ca got their hands on the HP tablet and found its usability and performance lacking: not an iPad killer. This can be attributed to trying to use Windows as the basis, in addition to its processor being an Intel Atom. In their view, the HP slate was a netbook with an attempt to add a touch interface in place of a keyboard and trackpad. HP's direction at this point can be perceived in their April 28th announcement that they will purchase Palm (for $1.2B): it is almost certain the HP themselves realized that, despite working with Microsoft to try to make Windows 7 a viable platform for a tablet, it just wouldn't work; so HP will likely use Palm's WebOS — the compelling reason to buy Palm. Given the hiatus, HP may also change the processor in their slate. This would mean that HP would abandon Windows to instead use Linux (which is the kernel under WebOS). This may be seen as a measure of desperation on HP's part, suddenly rushing to spend over a billion dollars to try to save their project. Microsoft may try to get HP to base their slate upon the in-development Windows Phone 7 OS, but that's unproven and risky, and there are no apps for it. This retreat means that their 4Q 2010 goal for a tablet is unattainable.

It was also reported at the end of April 2010 that Microsoft would not take their Courier tablet design concept any further. This leaves Apple as the only maker of a viable tablet computer, for now, and perhaps a year ahead of its competitors.

Should I get the WiFi or 3G version?

Most people will likely use the iPad within a home or office environment, serviced by WiFi (802.11b/g/n), where the extra cost of the 3G innards would be pointless. Realize also that adding 3G components adds slightly to the weight of the iPad, as well as changing top part of the case somewhat. It's not widely appreciated, but the WiFi+3G version comes with GPS, whereas the WiFi-only version does not. Again, this may not matter in the way in which you use the device. (The GPS is "Assisted GPS", aka A-GPS — which the uninformed sometimes tout as being some kind of fake GPS, whereas in fact it is GPS supplemented by locational information from other sources, such as cell tower triangulation.)

What's missing?

Conspicuously absent is Voice Memos, which is part of iPhone OS 3.0. Hey, the iPad does have a built-in microphone, after all. In its absence, you have to adopt some app to do this — at least until Apple finally provides it. If you do go into the App Store for an alternative, watch out for sleazies... The like-named Voice Memos for iPad from KendiTech lets you similarly record memos — but if you want to transfer your recordings via email, then you have to pay an in-app fee of $0.99!

USB? Well, there's no USB port on the side, but USB can be performed. The connector that you plug your iPad into isn't just for charging: it carries USB, audio, and video, as well as power. If you want to connect your USB device to the iPad, you just need an adapter. You can get one from Apple, it being their Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit, which provides one adapter for SD memory cards, and one for USB. See comments on usage in the reviews at the Apple Store website.

Online help

Apple provides an excellent online help facility for the iPad. In Safari on your iPad, go to: help.apple.com/mobile/interface.

iPad Deployments

ZDnet started a compilation of known iPad deployments in schools and industry, which can be found here. You can also see deployment profiles on Apple's sites http://www.apple.com/business/ and http://www.apple.com/education/.

Making the most of the battery

Obviously, the fewer facilities you use on your device, the longer your battery will last — both in terms of current charge level and overall lifetime. For details, see Apple's iPad battery page.