Raven Culture™ Blog

Overnight Apple released the anticipated iPad, a slate “pc” for people on the go. And at first glance it is everything we expect from an Apple product. Beautiful, functional an blindingly restrictive. Lets get the obvious stuff out of the way first.

1. No flash for web browsing – To be confirmed, however in the Apple keynote address Steve Jobs demonstrates the Wall Street Journal website, which shows a space for a Flash ad which contains the familiar (for iPhone users) missing plugin icon.

2. No iSight camera (web cam) accessory sold separately. Users of the iMac or MacBook will know that all apple devices come with a camera of some sort.

3. No multi-tasking, unlike your beloved laptop that can burn a CD, browse the internet, download your photos off your camera, and check your emails, you will find the iPad is like the iPhone, and can only think about one thing at a time. So you will be having to stop what you are doing and change back and forth to get the job done.

Now all that aside, it is a beautiful device. And its size and portability look great. I honestly am contemplating one, but for me, I can’t justify it until I can think of a use for it. And as a web developer the limitations of not having flash in web browsing makes it a very limiting platform for online content. The same goes for playing games in Facebook, sorry, you won’t be able to, they are 99% all built in flash.

It should be very interesting what happens in the coming weeks before the product is available for sale, we should get a good idea as to who will buy and who will not. I would see a device like this being of great benefit to existing iPhone business users, it would expand the capabilities of what they are used to, without the limits of a small iPhone screen. And the integration with iCal, Address Book, Mail, iTunes and iPhoto means that everything you need on the device, be it, personal or business is at the, literal, tips of your fingers.

Just look at the thing, Apple designers have an eye for simplicity and beauty. All of their products, are clean and minimalist. Even with its limits, this device looks to be something quite impressive. I find myself, more and more, everyday, turning to my iMac, instead of my PC. Why do I do this? I look at my XP desktop and feel like I am stuck back at the turn of the millennium again, before the berth of Facebook. Sitting in front of my iMac or Macbook Pro makes me feel cooler, and more special.

For good measure here are the technical specifications of the iPad.

• .7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• 6GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive
• 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
• Built-in 25 Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
• 3G (optional)

Read the full specifications of the iPad here.

We will have to wait and see if the iPad is iGood or an iDud. But until then we can just sit back and start saving for the day they are launched.

More information to come, in the mean time check it out and decide for yourself, the Apple iPad, iGood or iDud?