Both the New York Times as well the Wall Street Journal share the same opinion – that the arrival of the iPad in the personal computing segment does not mean its death knell for the laptop just yet. This, in spite of the iPad receiving good reviews initially, especially about its battery life and user friendly functions.
Additional reviews from both newspapers reveal that the iPad does not seem to fit well for those who use laptops for heavy duty routine task. Rather, the iPad is more of a mobile entertainment device that works great for internet browsing and is surely meant for media enthusiast working on videos and books.
Walt Mossberg from The Journal expressed his preference for the iPad as an e-reader over the famous Kindle.
On the other hand, David Pogue from the New York Times does not favor the iPad for reading due to its 1.5-pound weight, which seems to be heavier than Kindle that weighs just 10 ounces. The other complaint by David was that of poor ability to read in direct sunlight and inability to access books from the Apple bookstore on different devices like the iPhone or a Mac.
A common positive finding from both the reviewers was iPad’s superior battery life, which lasted more than what Apple claimed will last 10 hours between full charges. Both Pogue and Mossberg mentioned that the iPad had lasted for 12 hours in Pogue’s case and 11 hours and 28 minutes of continuous usage in case of Mossberg before it needed a recharge.
Regardless of the above, both of them are of the opinion that the iPad will be able to replace other notebooks of only a particular type.
Mossberg mentioned that this device is suited for you if you regularly browse the web, take notes, send emails, do social networking, and buy photos, e-books, newsletters, music and videos. He also mentioned that in certain activities like creating or modifying large spreadsheets or documents or arranging emails with algorithms, performing videoconferences, iPad might not be the best device to opt for.
Similarly Pogue also had written a review meant for tech savvy and general buyers and brought the deficiencies of the device out in front in comparison to laptops.
“Crux is that you would be able to easily find a cheap laptop with all the features including DVD drive, full keyboard, USB ports, camera, with card slot etc” but Mossberg did comment that despite being extraordinarily fast it has its own displeasing limitations.
Supporting his findings, he mentioned that email function does not support auto-sorting mails, sending group messages, and make local folders. Tabs are also absent from the browser and GPS is not present in the Wi-Fi only model.
Both the reviewers noted the iPad’s stand on support for widely accepted Flash video technology and are doubtful whether buyers will be willing to add an additional device apart from their phone and notebook. Despite the noteworthy features of speed and user-friendly features of iPad, it is unattractive if the buyers have to simply use iPad as an add on.
Pogue mentioned that barring the tech savvy buyers, for general users iPad is a entirely a new kind of device which is user friendly, quick and light with a very reactive and bright multi-touch screen and with a software that is surprisingly easy to navigate. He also mentions that the iPad is an excellent fault proof device and is ideal for the elderly and the young ones as well as those who are not exactly technophiles.
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With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
