Seriously considering returning the iPad...

[wombat888]

As table stakes, can you name a Windows virus that installs with no user action?

Watching a video and viewing a photo are counted as user action.

 

[michaelgbarrett]

In reality, I will likely still be keeping my iPad, because I really do like it, but I am just not satisfied for the $600 I paid.

For the first time in history, I walked in an Apple store dead set on purchasing an Apple product and left without purchasing it. I watched the iPad keynote 3x and the other videos and it all looked so great but when I picked one up and started using it, I was very disappointed. I think Apple rushed this a bit. I simply have no clue why it doesn't have a front facing camera so people can video chat? Apple's little spat with Adobe and the lack of Flash is childish and greatly limits your browsing options. I have 7 mac computers for my business, iPhones, iPods, AppleTVs, Airport Extremes, Time Capsules...almost everything Apple makes and Apple stock. I must say, I will wait until generation 2 for the iPad.

 

[nStyle]

Ok screw you iPad!! I just went to my community college website and they have a video on their main page. It won't play on the iPad. I tried it 50 times. It's a YouTube video that appears in the standard iPhone OS YT player, but it plays for about 10 seconds then freezes. Same spot every time.

Try it on my MBP, and guess what? Worked. With flash.

Wow... just wow.

See what Apple gets for avoiding flash?

Oh, and I could care less about flash, as long as this stupid thing worked.

 

[OGDaniel]

I didn't read every post, so I don't know what everyone is arguing about currently, but in response to the original post I'll say this.

I'm pretty amazed with my iPad so far, but if all it did was what it's doing now my amazement would stop pretty soon. I know that soon Apple will make some kind of breakthrough with the iPad to make the device truly revolutionary.

As with the iPhone. I mean, what the f**k was the iPhone without any apps? Just kind of another phone. Pre-app store, the iPhone was kind of a piece of crap. That piece of crap did pave the way for the current greatness of the iPhone though.

Return your iPad and then feel like an idiot later after the first iPad breakthrough. Apple Computers play a big part in my life, and I love the company so I am a little biased, but the thing with Apple is that they know what we need before we do(as fanboyish as that sounds). I don't know what's gonna make the iPad exponentially better than any other device, but Apple does. When that first breakthrough comes, the current iPad and its functions will seem almost obsolete and stupid, and the iPad will become something that you can't live without.

 

[Scottsdale]

I don't want to. But I used the iPad all day yesterday and didn't touch the MBP...

I am now on the MBP. Everything is so much smoother and faster. And comfortable, surprisingly.

Browsing is faster (I tested). I can scroll much faster on the MBP. I can navigate between pages faster, use a swipe of finger to go from a page I'm on to a previous page very fast.

About the comfort issue, I just find the iPad awkward. It seems like accessories are a must have with this (like the case for typing). Once you start buying accessories for it, that make it more laptop-esque, you mise well just buy a laptop.

I don't WANT to return it. I know I will miss it. I love what it is so far, but it needs so much more.

The ONLY thing the iPad does better, imo, than a laptop, is games. I'm having a blast with some of the iPad games. It def is probably the best portable gaming experience. But $600 to play games that could of been made in the 90's?

All I know is I was extremely excited and THRILLED out of my mind when I got my MBP, and started using it. I knew from that moment on I would always have a MBP, whether I still kept my Windows machine or not.

In reality, I will likely still be keeping my iPad, because I really do like it, but I am just not satisfied for the $600 I paid.

I completely agree with you, OP. I was very disappointed with my iPad initially also. I had grand ideas about its future, and I still do, but for right now the iPad is inferior to a Mac in every way... which brings me to the iPad buyer, one that wants to use an extremely portable device primarily for observation or viewing of content rather than creation of content. The iPad isn't better than the Mac notebook at anything, and the Mac notebook does so many things the iPad cannot. However, as for portability, the iPad absolutely wins, but it comes at a huge cost to the user in capabilities. It even depends on the game as to whether the iPad is better than a computer or not.

In the long run, the iPad will be a hit and the Mac computer will become less and less important to Apple. Apple is quickly becoming a consumer electronics company rather than a computer company. Apple sees better dominance in the iPhone OS product market than it has in the computer market. Apple can make more in margins, have higher expansion of sales, and use innovation to quickly destroy competition with consumer devices like the iPod, iPad, and iPhone. All of the iPhone OS products have applications written by others and distributed in the App Store that have huge and instant market creation implications for the iPhone OS products. Meaning, the App Store drives demand quickly for others to buy more iPhone OS products. Apple didn't originally see the iPhone and iPod Touch as a gaming device, it was application development that drove the demand for iPhone OS products. Apple wins daily with the App Store and iTunes, but I believe it wins not by making 30% of the sales (which probably just cover costs) but by those external innovators creating apps that drive more sales of more iPhone OS products.

The iPad is a huge success in waiting. But just as with many Apple first version products, it does disappoint and has some major flaws in design and execution. I expect the first revision to be amazing and far more innovative and perfect in execution than the original iPad. I expect Apple will also make better native apps that improve the user experience. Right now, the iPad isn't excellent at anything other than making everything more convenient and portable than was available before. I expect everything to get better with the next version.

Eventually, years down the road, we will be using the iPad for creation and work just as much as we do now for observation of content.

 

[nStyle]

Plays fine for me on my iPad. Whole way through. The rasta band wasn't too bad.

Weird! Guess this 'pad will go back then. I've tried it multiple times. Not working. Always freezes.

Scottsdale, do you still have your iPad?

 

[MacVDS]

Plays fine for me on my iPad. Whole way through. The rasta band wasn't too bad.

Plays on mine too.

 

[master-ceo]

I had grand ideas about its future, and I still do, but for right now the iPad is inferior to a Mac in every way... which brings me to the iPad buyer, one that wants to use an extremely portable device primarily for observation or viewing of content rather than creation of content. The iPad isn't better than the Mac notebook at anything, and the Mac notebook does so many things the iPad cannot.

The one thing that Boils my blood on here is when People say the iPad is better than their MacBook.

Leads me to believe that (allot) of Mac Users aren't really computing. (from what I read on here) So for them to give an opinion on any device is null.