Ther Are No Plans For An Apple Tablet

And yet, today, they announced the iPad. This usually happens when Apple vehemently denies any new product rumor.

I just finished watching the iPad video. THIS. THING. IS. COOL! It's basically an iPhone on steroids (without actually being able to make a call - give it time). It's the closest thing to a Star Trek data pad I've ever seen and I want one. Except...

Let's start with the pricing. These babies start at $499, which ain't too bad. Apple has notoriously priced themselves out of many people's hands in the past. Except...

$499 gets you 16GB of solid-state storage. That ain't much when you really think about it. I have a 16GB ZuneHD and, while it has most of the media I want on it, it's almost full and I had to make some decisions about what I wasn't going to put on it. The iPad handles ebooks, music, apps, images and email. I can see 16GB filling up fast. It is also available in 32GB ($599) and 64GB ($699 - I like the logical pricing model). I suppose I could do much of what I wanted/could with the 64GB model. Except...

It uses apple's "store" concept (music/app/book store). Artists have complained about the music store and kept their music off of it. Developers hate that Apple plays gatekeeper on the app store. I'm sure we'll hear complaints about the book store. My mantra with media is what I want, where I want, when I want and it bothers me that Apple tries to govern what I see/hear, where I see/hear it and how I see/hear it.

So now I'm stuck. Here's this beautiful dream device tainted by a controlling personality (let's face it. The restrictive policies are Steve's fault.) I am sure someone will come up with a competitive product but they just won't have that beauty and form and lightness that only Apple can bring. Pity, that.

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p.s. If you would like to contribute to the Uncle Bubby iPad fund or if you would like to donate an iPad, drop me an email and I'll tell you where to send your contribution. :)