We have grown accustomed to expect a great product launch by Apple every January. Few can argue that products like the iPod and iPhone have set milestones in the evolution of consumer electronics, and we all hope that the saga will continue uninterrupted. But that kind of expectation is simply unrealistic.

And since iPad could not fulfill that expectation Apple seems to be resorting to fanfare and big words to embellish the product and make it look like something it is not. The truth is that a lot of the hype was created by Apple fanatics and some ridiculous comments, but a serious company would have set the record straight.

The iPad is basically a modified iPhone or iTouch. The differences are: 

• Larger screen
• Longer-lasting battery
• Ability to change the background image
• No camera
• No phone 

So much for a "magical" and "revolutionary" device.

Steve Says

I watched the launch event online, and I was appalled by some of the statements made by Apple's CEO Steve Jobs. Here are some of them:

Just because netbooks do not fit Apple's brand and business model focused on expensive devices doesn't mean that netbooks aren't good at anything. Actually, "cheaper" is a great benefit for consumers and a good business model. I do agree with Jobs' point that netbooks aren't a new category of devices, but he could have saved the arrogance.

It is not, Steve!

I am shocked by this statement for two reasons. The first one is that the iPad's screen is only 1024x768 pixels, way smaller than a regular laptop. During the demo Jobs browsed the New York Times website while holding the iPad in portrait mode. Like the vast majority of websites today the NYTimes.com is almost 1,000 pixels wide, which means that it does not fit in the iPad's screen and needs to be expanded to be seen at normal size, and therefore requires vertical and horizontal scrolling to see the whole page.

The second reason is the lack of Flash support. On the same demo you could clearly see empty blocks in the web page where Flash animations normally stand. Whether we like it or not Flash is an important part of the web, and without it you are having a very constrained browsing experience.

Not to mention the fact that without a mouse you are missing a lot of interactivity from hovering the pointer over certain areas of the screen or simple drag & drop actions.

What is the iPad, and What is Not

Unlike what they have been telling us the iPad is not a revolutionary, do-it-all device. It is a very focused device that will probably do well in its niche market.

The iPad lacks several components that we find in laptops and other devices. There has been already a lot of criticism by some that were expecting certain pieces to be included. I believe that the reason for not including them is mainly because Apple does not intend on people using the iPad for everything. And of course, there is the engineering challenge of adding more features while keeping cost, battery life, performance, size and weight under control.

Again, it is not, Steve!

The iPad is not a computer. With no multitasking, no access to the file system, limited productivity applications, and uncomfortable typing don't expect to do a lot of work in an iPad.

It is not the ultimate e-reader: unlike the paper-like screen of the Amazon Kindle, the iPad screen is reflective and does not perform well in bright environments.

I also can't imagine the iPad been used to watch long videos, movies or TV: with no mechanism to make it stand by itself people will get tired of holding the iPad after some time. Additionally the screen has the old 4:3 form factor, so videos in widescreen format will have the ugly black bars at the top and bottom and will look small.

I see the iPad mostly as an e-viewer: a device that will be great for viewing photos and short videos, with occasional reading, browsing and emailing.