Thoughts on why iPad is missing features?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on why certain features are missing.



For me, I would have liked a camera, ability to watch anything on-line and multitasking, of course, Apple can't add a camera this time around but they can certainly keep their pulse to the ground and add features via software.



I also wonder, like those hackntosh groups, that since this is more of a computer then phone, if that community will develop programs? Which begs the question, why not release it from Apple if it's something the consumer wants and make a few dollars from Apple while doing it.



I think one has to play with it "as is" before making their final choice. It's just that I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews of what it could have been which then begs the other question, since it's a device that comes with 3G, will some community make it so they can get free wifi? ie, if you buy the wifi model and have a jailbroken phone, couldn't you teether the device?



I think there will be a lot of change for all computing now, within the next few years. Leaps and bounds. I think the majority of complaints will be addressed in due time. Some even as early as the first release, maybe.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    carniphagecarniphage Posts: 1,984member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Avidfcp View Post


    Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on why certain features are missing.



    For me, I would have liked a camera.



    I would not be surprised if Apple release the iPad without a camera.

    But I do think there is a tiny glimmer of hope that an iPad camera will appear.



    Here's three reasons why a camera might yet appear.



    1) A front-facing camera might be the main-unique-selling point for the next iPhone. For commercial reasons, Apple may prefer to announce the front-facing camera on the iPhone first. And then introduce it for the iPad.



    2) The iPad emulator includes camera support.





    3) The leaked iPad image included a custom-built security bezel to bolt it to the table.





    The bezel clearly has a cut-out for the home button. But there is also a differently-shaped second cut-out on the top edge. Now I guess this is not a proximity sensor. Or an earpiece.



    So what is it?



    C.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    kishankishan Posts: 732member
    I have been reading some interesting analysis that connects several points into a cogent argument that the announced iPad isn't "missing" anything, but is in fact exactly what Steve wanted to release as a 1.0 of the Tablet.
    Point 1: Tablet rumors have been around for years, even before release of iPhone 1.0. This suggests that consideration and development of such a device had also been going on for years.



    Point 2: iPhone required hardware at least an order of magnitude less powerful than iPad.



    Point 3: iPad appears to run (essentially) the same OS as iPhone.



    Point 4: Million of people are now familiar with iPhone OS through 3 years of iPhone sales and through great sales of iPod touch.
    What is the connection?
    Could it be that iPhone and iPod Touch were, in fact, side projects to the whole Tablet development process? Could it be that we are perceiving this whole thing backwards and that iPhone and iPod Touch are actually running the Tablet OS in miniature form rather than the Tablet running iPhone OS in gigantic form?



    There is an old saying that if you're one step ahead, you're a leader. If you're two steps ahead, you're a martyr. Apple is generally brilliant at gauging the right timing for the release of products. Let us assume, for a moment, that the Tablet really did come first. Let's assume that the software was in fact ready, albeit unpolished, four years ago. four years ago, there is no way Apple could have met the $499 price point with equivalent specs (I'm not sure that equivalent specs even existed four years ago). Moreover, the market for an ultraportable computing platform didn't really exist four years ago in the way it exists today. Steve, ever perspicacious, may have realized that if he wanted to sell a Tablet, he needed to do what Microsoft and PC makers had not done: he needed to create a market into which the Tablet could be sold.



    One can argue that the original iPhone and iPod touch were nothing more than scaled-down versions of the Tablet, complete with aluminum bodies. Apple may have realized that they needed to create a community of "normal" people (not just us Mac-Heads) who were okay with the idea of regarding a small handheld device with internet connectivity as a "real" computing platform. Who were okay with the idea of having no physical keyboard. Who were okay with the idea of a "Fisher-Price" style interface to a powerful OS intimately connected to the internet. Give the market some time to mature, develop, expand worldwide, all the while refining the mother-product (the Tablet). When the market was ready and Apple needed a second act to follow the iPhone, BOOM... release the Tablet into a market that was actually ready for it.



    I think this is a very very compelling argument. Perhaps the reason for the endless rumors of a chronically shelved Tablet. Apple has defined its competition as Sony, Samsung and Nokia. These are giants in mobile computing, but with their spread of offerings, Apple may have squeezed all competition out. iPhone starts at $99 and iPad ends around $900. From there, pick up a Macbook or Macbook Pro.
    So to come back to the OP's point, iPad may actually be missing nothing. Apple may be looking to establish its price points and will then subsequently add features while maintaining pricing (consistent with their M.O.). I know it sounds Machiavellian, but do we really believe that Steve Jobs is anything other than "The Prince"?
  • Reply 3 of 9
    carniphagecarniphage Posts: 1,984member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kishan View Post


    Could it be that iPhone and iPod Touch were, in fact, side projects to the whole Tablet development process?



    The iPhone, iPodTouch and iPad all emerged from an internal Apple project termed SafariPad.



    The iPhone was the first that made it out of the building - but all three of the devices are siblings.



    C.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    kishankishan Posts: 732member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Carniphage View Post


    The iPhone, iPodTouch and iPad all emerged from an internal Apple project termed SafariPad.



    The iPhone was the first that made it out of the building - but all three of the devices are siblings.



    C.



    I cannot argue that the devices are not siblings.



    I find the timing of the releases, in retrospect, to be sheer brilliance. However, there is an awful lot of hate out there for this device, much of it coming from people who have not held or played with one. They criticize this device for what it does not have. But, just as its siblings have gone through adolescence, I can imagine that iPad will mature (and quickly). We still don't know what will come with iPhone OS 4.0. We don't know what is in the works for rev 2 of the hardware. And we still don't know what changes in MobileMe (free?) or iTunes (integration of Lala?) are coming. I am looking forward to it all because the rampant speculation and anticipation are great fun!
  • Reply 5 of 9
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Avidfcp View Post


    Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on why certain features are missing.



    For me, I would have liked a camera, ability to watch anything on-line and multitasking, of course, Apple can't add a camera this time around but they can certainly keep their pulse to the ground and add features via software.



    I also wonder, like those hackntosh groups, that since this is more of a computer then phone, if that community will develop programs? Which begs the question, why not release it from Apple if it's something the consumer wants and make a few dollars from Apple while doing it.



    I think one has to play with it "as is" before making their final choice. It's just that I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews of what it could have been which then begs the other question, since it's a device that comes with 3G, will some community make it so they can get free wifi? ie, if you buy the wifi model and have a jailbroken phone, couldn't you teether the device?



    I think there will be a lot of change for all computing now, within the next few years. Leaps and bounds. I think the majority of complaints will be addressed in due time. Some even as early as the first release, maybe.



    Either

    a) the wanted to get a limited device out there to build for v.2

    or

    b) like the AppleTV they're just not in sync with what people wanted.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    sandausandau Posts: 1,230member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    Either

    a) the wanted to get a limited device out there to build for v.2

    or

    b) like the AppleTV they're just not in sync with what people wanted.



    it's a pretty nice package for a version 1. perhaps an iPad Pro is in the works?
  • Reply 7 of 9
    most of features are missing cos apple will introduce that in next version of the ipad.............
  • Reply 8 of 9
    stevegmustevegmu Posts: 539member
    Has everything I want. A camera on a devise that size is pretty much useless. If I need all the things the naysayers are griping about, I'll just use my MB Pro. I just want the aluminum case, which I feel will be absent in rev.2.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    Either

    a) the wanted to get a limited device out there to build for v.2

    or

    b) like the AppleTV they're just not in sync with what people wanted.



    c) its the naysayers that are out of touch with what people want.
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