Tonight I’ve read about 1,000 different iPad related posts.  The most succinct of which was from Gizmodo where they list “8 Things That Suck About the iPad” (which was actually the 11 things once all was said and done). 

I agree with the article.  Most of the things they list really do suck (As I said earlier, I’m not exactly thrilled with the product).  But I think there’s value in looking at why a company does something and to understand the strategy behind it.  To make that point I’d like to go through the list and point out why Apple might be acting in the way they are.

No Cameras

Touch Keyboard

No HDMI Out

Adapters, Adapters, Adapters

Let’s be realistic here: Apple is going to release a new version of the iPad some time in the future.  Given that it makes sense for them to leave off features.

I know this sounds like I’m an Apple apologist but that’s not the case.  I just realize the same reality that Apple does which is that enthusiasts will buy the lousy V1.0 and then turn around and buy the improved V2.0 a year later.  So Apple makes a lot more money if they don’t put in every feature up front.

Think about the original iPhone for a second.  No 3g, lousy camera, kind of slow, no GPS, and so on.  All things they remedied by the 3GS and all reasons I personally bought the 3GS even though I already had an iPhone.  That makes 2 sales for Apple simply by leaving stuff out.

No Multitasking

I hate the lack of multi-tasking as much as the next guy but as someone who actually interacts with users I see why Apple did it.  I can’t tell you how many times my department gets a complaint that someone’s computer is slow only to find they have 10 programs open at once.  Users abuse multitasking and blame the device when that abuse slows their system down. 

I do wish Apple would make a few special exceptions (audio programs mainly) but all in all I think lack of multitasking is a plus for them not a minus.

A Closed App Ecosystem

The problem with this complaint is that it has no real impact in the end.  Right now Apple is #1 by far in Smartphone Applications.  Should that change, or even begin to change, they could always throw the doors open and let everyone in.  So it really doesn’t have a negative impact on the company.

More importantly, no one on the consumer end seems to care.  Even the developers who have been rejected generally admit that (a) they still love their iPhone and (b) they still plan to develop for it.  That’s why it’s a big story every time a notable iPhone developer walks away from the platform.   Because it happens so rarely.

No Flash

This is the one that hurts me the most but it’s also the most strategically important point.  Apple wants to control all digital media.  They make no denials on that point.  But in order to do that they have to disrupt Adobe because Flash is still top of the hill when it comes to streaming video.

Apple’s advantage here is that upper income families tend to love their products and they’ve priced the iPad at a point where families making $100,000+ a year can write it off as an incidental purchase.  If Apple can get a significant chunk of that market they can accomplish a very important goal: They can deprive Flash based sites like Hulu of the viewers they value the most

Remember these Flash based sites make their money off of Advertising.  So by depriving them of high income viewers they weaken those sites and by weakening those sites they weaken every company that makes money from them…companies like Adobe.  Which means Apple has created a Win-Win for themselves.  Either sites like Hulu start supporting Quicktime (and paying Apple for the privilege)  or they get weaker allowing Apple to come in as a competitor down the line and kill them off completely. 

In the end, whichever way it goes, the Flash ecosystem is substantially damaged.

Conclusion

Again, I don’t like these “sucky things” any more than the folks at Gizmodo do.  But I see why Apple did them and I have to admit they’re right.  Because I’m going to buy an iPad now and a year or two from now when they add some of the features above I’m probably going to buy that one too.  So if you have to blame anyone don’t blame Apple, blame me.

Tad DeHaven of the Cato institute is my hero for today.  Throughout the Cato Institutes live blog of the State of the Union he was pulling quotes from previous SOTU addresses by George W. Bush in which Bush had said the exact same things.  I’ve always said the irony of liberals hating Bush and Conservatives hating Obama is that both basically pursued the exact same policies and this offers some proof of that.

So for those who have commented or e-mailed claiming I hate Real Time Media I post this to show I’m not against it (I’m just against those who think it’s a news source)

P.S.  For the record my favorite quote of the night came from Katherine Mangu-Ward of Reason.com who said…

I think they might be cheering for "pass[ing] the problem on to another generation of Americans"

(It’s funny because the timing of the applause made it seem like that was exactly what they were cheering for)

I think Apple’s reputation is working against them at this point.   I mean, we all knew the iPad (a.k.a. Apple Tablet) was over hyped.   So a little disappointment was inevitable.  But even with that in mind I feel let down.

Not because it’s a bad product.  At $499 for the base model it’s a phenomenal product.  Both for what it can do (run iPhone Apps) and what it has the potential to do.  I’d encourage everyone to check out gdgt.com’s live coverage of the event and go down to where iWork is shown.  The amount of polish is incredible and it shows that a tablet could replace a notebook/netbook for many people. 

But in the end this devices is still just a big ol’ iPod Touch.  No camera,  or facial recognition, or Flash, or new gestures, or revolutionary e-book platform, or really anything beyond a bigger screen.  Worse it makes some of the iPhone’s shortcoming’s worse (Not being able to view Hulu on the iPad is a real let down).

Don’t get me wrong, I still fully intend to buy one.  I just won’t be too excited for it (which might be a good thing given that it won’t be out for 90 days)

(On a side note, anyone who pre-ordered the JooJoo has to feel pretty stupid right about now)