Eagerly awaited, the first touchpad Apple unveiled Wednesday by Steve Jobs, not convincing at all levels. Overview of reactions in the press and on blogs.
No more rumors, up to criticism. Wednesday night, Steve Jobs introduced in San Francisco, the first touchpad awaited Apple. On the Internet, reactions were quickly flooded. Inspired by the iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad seems undeniable qualities, but the copy delivered by Apple is not perfect. Here are the qualities and defects most frequently exposed.
Forces iPad:
• The color touch screen. no keyboard, the iPad comes down to the touchscreen of 9.7 inches (24.6 centimeters). Anyone who approached emphasize the high quality rendering. "The screen is very responsive," Judge a reporter for the Associated Press . Amazon's Kindle, which uses electronic ink technology in black and white, less tiring to the eyes, seem very dull side."It's like comparing a computer and a typewriter," writes TechCrunch .
• The speed. 's iPad is powered by the first processor designed in-house by Apple A4, 1GHz. According to initial tests, the menu navigation of the tablet and the animations are very fluid. "The Internet pages load so fast that it is hard to believe," writes blogger John Gruber , Apple specialist. The first 3D games presented show significant potential. Low power consumption, the chip achieves a theoretical range of ten hours, at least twice as much as most laptops.
• A derivative of the iPhone. The iPad uses the same operating system as the iPhone. The applications designed to 140,000 one therefore operate on the other. To take full advantage of the screen of the new device, wider than the phone, developers will still need to make some changes to their software.In the meantime, it is possible to artificially increase their size.
• The price. This is the surprise of the evening. While a rate of $ 1,000 had been raised, the iPad will be sold from $ 499 for the WiFi version of basic and $ 629 with 3G. "The price is very aggressive, positioning it well for mass adoption," said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Broadpoint Amtech.
Weaknesses of the iPad:
• The design. Apple products are often praised for their design. The iPad is an exception. The broad outline of the screen is designed so that the fingers do not touch accidentally touch screen was far too wide by Gizmodo . The main button, Identical to the iPhone, if not ideally placed. The screen closest to the 4/3 format as 16/9, also surprised. The correspondent of the Guardian also concerned that the unit is too fragile to be used in school. PCWorld find it a bit heavy to be held in one hand.
• The same boundaries as iPhone. iPad any more than the iPhone, allows you to play videos and Flash animations on the Internet, sorry Fred Cavazza. It is also possible to run multiple applications simultaneously. In fact, the iPad marks the triumph of the Apple ecosystem, where everything goes through very simple applications to access, but closed, sorry Mashable . Thus, to fulfill its iPad music, in books, photos and videos, you must go through iTunes on your computer.
The iPad can be connected to an external keyboard. Photo credits: AFP
• The keyboard. During his presentation in 2007, the iPhone's touch keyboard had raised some doubts. Three years later, the iPad has the right to the same criticism. Walt Mossberg, a journalist at the Wall Street Journal , the virtual keyboard is too wide. Blog Kotaku finds the typos are more important than on the iPhone. For those who plan to enter a lot of text, Apple has provided a traditional external keyboard that connects to the tablet.
• No webcam, no USB or SD card or HDMI.many thought Apple would include the iPad camera and video conferencing software. This will eventually be for the second version. As usual with Apple, specifications are limited to regret the editors CrunchGear . Those who want to connect their tablet to a TV or unload their photos will have to buy adapters developed by Apple.
• The name. In the United States, the name chosen by Apple for its touch pad is very difficult to pass, citing sanitary napkins. On Twitter, the term "iTampon" became, in derision, the second most discussed topic on Wednesday night. Seriously questioned on the subject, Steve Jobs said that the iPod name in his time, had also been subject to criticism.
