Apple owns some of the finest brands on the planet. And I’m an Apple loyalist and brand ambassador. I bought the green iMac when it first arrived in Malaysia. Even though there wasn’t any software to run on it and because it wasn’t compatible with anything else it required multiple peripherals. And even though it spent more time being fixed than it did on my desk and despite the fact that the keyboard was awkward and the mouse hopeless, I loved it and I’ve never had anything else since.
I now have macs in my home and at the office. Every morning when I walk into the office I catch my breath as I look at the sleek lines and brilliant screen of my top of the line iMac.
Every member of my family has an iPod and my two older kids have macbooks. I even convinced my luddite wife to switch from PCs to macs and her company now has 10 of them. Baes on my recommendations, at least one friend bought macs for his event management firm.
I’ve seen the stock I once owned soar over 5,000% from the price I sold it at.
And even though I know that Apple is making margins of over 40% on some of the products I own, I buy them because they are cutting edge in terms of design and functionality, are easy to use and have great features. And because the experience I have with my sales agent is brilliant and he’ll come to my house at nine o’clock at night to help me troubleshoot. At every touchpoint, it’s a great brand.
So you’ll never hear me say a bad word about a mac product. But I think the iPad is a mistake. And here are 8 reasons why:
1) It doesn’t have a camera or a webcam. If the iPod can have a camera, why can’t the iPad? A webcam would also have made sense.
2) The touch screen on the iPod is temperamental so if it’s the same with the iPad, users will need an external keyboard. Reading through the information, users will have to buy a separate keyboard that costs US$75 and can’t use any of their existing Apple keyboards.
3) The iPad doesn’t have any USB ports or card slots so I’m not sure how users are supposed to transfer documents from other devices. There is an iPod connector feature that means users will have to buy another adapter.
4) The iPad doesn’t have Adobe flash which means that any web pages that have applications, videos or advertisements on them will have large blank areas. You read that correctly, users can’t watch video on websites. If true, what are the implications for the travel industry?
5) The iPad doesn’t allow more than one programme to run at a time. So users can’t be working on a document in word and have a video downloading on youtube at the same time.
6) The iPad is not HD ready so watching movies will not be the experience it should be.
7) It can’t be used as a phone.
8) Apple will be able to remotely disable applications.
Before the launch of the iPad The Wall Street Journal wrote: ‘The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.’ Apple leapt on that and included it in there marketing collateral at the launch.
Personally, whilst it won’t affect Apple’s position as one of the finest brands on the planet, I don’t think the iPad will fly. Only time will tell if I am right. What do you think?
brandconsultantasia.com 
Re point 5: Particularly telling when Steve Jobs was sitting in his comfy armchair giving the demo (see the video on the Apple site)…. extoling the virtues of the iPad to view the New York Times.. “The whole page, just like the newspaper…. isn’t it amazing?!”
But did anyone notice the big white square in the left column of the NYT? Yup it was a broken flash icon!
Like you I’ve been a Macaholic (with the 512k model in 1986) but all you say above is true.
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Hello Stuart
That was a bit cocky thinking nobody would pick up on it.
In those days all you needed was 512k because there was nothing to run on it!
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I want the iPad to fail, quite the opposite but this product, like the laptop that fits in the envelope, will not appeal to anyone but blindly loyal mac fans. So, I’ve ordered mine, when you getting yours?!!
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there actually was some nervous laughter from the audience. and I’m sure Jobs looked a little miffed at that point, but he just ignored the thing altogether.
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Indeed. Have a look at Stuart’s comment below re the blank areas on tablet during Jobs presentation.
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blindly loyal mac fans should talk with their wallet and invest that money in something worthwhile…like oh I don’t know…feeding the hungry, helping the homeless. Continuing to give away your money on overpriced gadgetry just continues to drive less innovation.
The innovation in the ipad is that its a device built to nickle and dime its users while making them believe that they can’t live without it. Check your wallet next time you have to buy that New York times content or that app you just spent money on is remotely disabled by apple for not conforming to their idealistic standards.
Don’t get me wrong. Steve Jobs is an immaculate salesman…and his devices have caused very innovative change in the computer industry, but in this case..don’t be that eskimo who’s getting the ice sold to him.
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Hi Brian
Thanks for dropping by and for your comments.
I’m a loyal mac fan and although I’m yet to play with the iPad, I really can’t see how it will enhance my life and therefore doubt I’ll buy one.
And whilst I think the brand is iconic and yes Jobs is a good salesman, the iPad will be a failure just like the MacBook Air.
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your eighth point looks very cool ;).
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LOL, thanks for the comment and yes, talk about manipulation!
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Some good points here and I brought up some of these at the Boston store yesterday when I was covering the event for a local tech site (you can read my piece on http://bostinnovation.com). I was assured by the retail specialist that these were all teething problems that would be sorted with the next generation of iPads and that the intention was that this “only the first step”.
So basically all the people who queued up to get their hands on the iPad are really just buying a piece of hardware that even the sales staff (who uniformly believe all their product is awesome) may be flawed.
It must be great to know that loyal Apple fans will just buy something as long as it is endorsed by Steve Jobs.
And I agree with Brian, the money could be spent on something else.
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Thanks David
Only Apple store staff could get away with a comment like that!
I agree with you and Brian. I’ll save my money and upgrade my laptop or desktop.
IPad? No, iPass.
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But all the predictions gone wrong buddy.
iPad is selling like hot buns…
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It’s doing well in the states but we need to wait and see how it does in the rest of the world before Jobs can start doing back flips around the office!
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Overseas is doing well too!
Who knew many people could get by with a device that allowed them to do 90% of the tasks they did on a PC?
Actually, this has been well defined with the popularity of smart phones. Most of your concerns related to most smart phones, yet people still buy them even though they have a tiny screen.
Most people got it wrong as well.
Who knew laptop sellers had been selling overkill functionality to the majority to buyers?
Who ever said every device had to be perfect?
If you don’t have an iPad pad yet, you are missing out on a truly mobile device. Instant on, long lasting battery, huge screen, multitouch interface that even a baby can pickup and use and the thousands of apps makes this a truly useable device for the whole family.
I don’t even bother dragging my laptop offsite anymore. The remote control apps have improve the efficiency and speed in which I get many tasks done.
While not perfect (I had to Jailbreak to get some deficiencies addressed), it has fit perfectly into our household and my work life. I wait the improvement that Apple will make to future iPad devices. I also anticipate the silly omissions and content control freak antics that will come with this devices as well.
But the reality is this, I will enjoy this device until a better one is created by Apple or by any other competent competitor that can make something better.
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