The Apple iPad – Weighing Up the Pros and Cons

So then, the Apple iPad, the long awaited Apple tablet, has been unveiled. My first reaction, being the Apple fanatic that I am, was “I want one now!” However, as the smoke cleared and I started weighing up the pros and cons of the device, I think I’ll have to give it some more thought before I buy one. That’s not to say that I won’t do so, but I want to be sure. There are a number of factors both for and against the Apple iPad device, and here are a few thoughts to mull over, in no particular order:

Pro: The Apple iPad is a marvel of design, sleek and light and easy to carry. It looks great.

Con: It has no way of protecting the screen other than a pouch/sleeve that is separate to the device itself.

Pro: It has the same great touch-screen capabilities of the iPhone and iPod Touch and seems to be a wonderful thing to use.

Con: It runs the phone OS instead of a full OS, which limits what you can do with it.

Pro: The Apple iPad is great for watching movies, TV shows and podcasts and playing games along with surfing the web.

Con: It doesn’t support flash, which will limit the amount of use it is for surfing.

Pro: The Apple iPad is a superb way to stay online when on the go, easy to set up and very fast, and the variety of capacities means there’s one for everyone.

Con: While it’s fast, there are no USB ports and there’s no way of expanding the capacity. Plus, the larger sized drives are incredibly expensive.

Pro: The Apple iPad is superb for travelling and being online when relaxing thanks to the superb UI and the marvellous display.

Con: It doesn’t appear to be much good for doing any work on, which is what many people would want out of it if taking it when travelling.

Pro: It presents a fantastic new e-reader experience for books, magazines and websites to be enjoyed on.

Con: True, but you can say the same about the iPod Touch, the iPhone, the Kindle and the Sony e-reader, all of which are cheaper by a very long way.

Despite its drawbacks, I still want one as they look fun and very cool for casual surfing and entertainment. The lack of capabilities for using it as a work device is the thing that’s turning me off the device right now, but like many other people, I am fascinated by this pretty cool new gadget, and am eager to have a play and see exactly what the Apple iPad tablet can offer me.