Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

The iPad 2 is coming, the iPad 2 is coming and it is the greatest thing ever (NOT) – this is what the Steve Jobs hype factory is blowing up our rears, and it is sad to see how many suckers are falling for it. Is the iPad 2 better than the original iPad? Sure it is, it has a better processor, better graphics and ooooooo it now has cameras on it (pretty poor cameras, but if Apple tells us that having the cameras makes it so much better then we must obey and jump up and down with joy ).

The truth is, most of the enhancements are things that most normal people will never notice the difference, nor are the added features ones that people will use more than as a novelty. The performance of the original iPad was pretty good when it came to browsing the limited Web that Steve Jobs allows us to view, and most apps ran pretty good on it. The difference in performance will be noticed by the uber-geek crowd, but not by many others. The cameras are a total joke – the pictures they take look grainy at best, not even high enough quality to post to facebook without people feeling sorry for you for having such a poor camera, and the video capabilities are nothing more than a novelty for most. Sure you can use the ‘cool’ photo software which Steve makes money off of, but do you really want to spend money on an app to edit a crappy looking picture?

The real sad part is the people who are all rushing out so they can have the latest and greatest Apple hype toy are going to be out another wad of cash when the iPad 3 comes out later this year (believe me, the Apple hype machine will start ramping that up as soon as the sales of the iPad 2 level off in a few weeks). If you held off buying an iPad  because you were waiting for an iPad 2, you would be much better off waiting until the iPad 3 or better and best, waiting for the new crop of Android tablets which will spank the iPad in so many ways. Steve and Apple may be running way ahead right now, but they are running with their shoes untied and they are headed for a nasty trip and fall!

Then of course is the fact that the iPad 2 still doesn’t support Flash. Steve Jobs is up so high on his high horse that he cannot afford to backtrack and allow Flash on his precious devices, and sorry to tell you Steve, Flash isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Sure, a number of video sites have added the capability for other formats so that you can see limited videos on the iPad, but still a large number of the web’s videos are Flash, as are a huge number of websites. I personally think that it sucks big time that you spend so much money on a device to view the web, and you go to a website and all you see is a box because some company president cannot produce a high priced piece of technology that a cheap $250 walmart special PC can run, or perhaps they can produce such a thing, but his ego is too big to allow it because ‘he’ doesn’t like it. Apple is all about control, controlling everything you do with the product that you bought but they still consider to be theirs.

While the Android devices are still in their infancy, they show promise and I will put my money on them because at least they offer me something that Apple never will – a choice to have things my way! Android phones have already surpassed iPhones and Apple will never regain that lead, and the tablet market is poised to have the same thing happen. Sure, Apple and the iPad have a huge lead, but once again, Apple is offering you a very limited choice (it’s their way or no way), while the Android device market is all about having as much choice as possible. Developers for iPad apps are rapidly jumping ship to Android because they see that there is more potential, and they are not subjected to the huge Apple tax that is imposed upon them.

So go out, get the iPad 2 and look cool to everyone – for at least a few months until the iPad 3 comes out, and the new crop of Android tablets comes out, at which point you are then stuck with yesterday’s cast off which means you aren’t cool any longer (at least in Apple’s eye’s).

Just a note to the fanbois – I own an iPad, and for what it is capable of, it is a great device  – not worth the price really, but it does run pretty smoothly. I also own a few Android devices, which while not as smooth are much more versatile in what I can do with them (and they allow me to view everything on the web). The new Xoom tablet has a lot of potential, and at least it has good cameras, the ability to run Flash, and easily allows me to swap files between my computer and it and use these files in any way I want. I can also tether my Xoom easily to my Android phone with bluetooth or wifi hot spot which makes it even more affordable.