Break for space saving.
I'll admit that it is nice to have that extra screen real estate when browsing the web or using an app that makes proper use of it. However, the things I like to have that much screen for, like multitasking and window management, are not implemented on the iPad.
The OS is stale at this point. If you look at how far we've come since the release of the iPhone you begin to see that it hasn't really gone anywhere. It's still the same screen with a grid of icons and a dock of standalone icons, It still focuses on one app at a time, it still has the same crap notifications, and it's still fragmented in the control scheme.
Going from Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, or webOS to my iPod touch is almost physically painful. To have to look for the way back to the screen I was just on. To have to find the app I'm looking for on the home screen. To have to open an app all over again to check up on facebook, the weather, or my appointments can be so frustrating when you've just been using a modern OS with widgets, live app previews, or otherwise intuitive home screens.
The big screen can also be a hindrance. I was playing a game (the title escapes me at the moment), and the control scheme involved touching different areas of the screen for different commands. It was damn near impossible with the massive area I had to cover. Doing just one thing at a time when I have that much room to spare makes me feel anxious in a way, too.
I am used to having a browser window open, my IM window up, and a clear shot at my desktop gadgets when using my laptop. On my mobile device, I don't mind devoting all of the tiny screen to one task. However, the iPad goes in this awkward space between that didn't need to be filled. At the very least I should be able to dock one task on an area of the screen, like IM or a music playlist, while I focus on the active work.
The iPad is, far as I've been able to determine, useless. I get it; the big screen is good for viewing rich web content, reading books, watching movies, and getting some minor work done. It's more portable because it's just a screen. I'm not saying it doesn't have it's uses, but as far as being a "magical" device that is going to change my life? No. Never once had I thought any of the following:
"Man, I really want to check out that website, but using a mouse and keyboard is so overrated. I could use my phone, but... nah."
"Reading books is so 20th century. I suppose I could get an eReader, but using something with technology developed specifically for reading books in the most natural way possible just seems so... logical."
"I really wanna see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind right now, but watching it on my TV is just too damn comfortable."
"Shoot, I forgot to write up that assignment for school. I could use something with a physical keyboard so I could get it done faster, but that's not trendy enough."
I can use my laptop while I'm in bed. I can lay it on my belly and have a perfect view of the screen. Handsfree! It's not cumbersome to carry it around when I know I'm gonna need it, and I can leave it elsewhere when I don't. I can get minor tasks out of the way using my phone.
I also hate that you know they're gonna release a new one next year. Planning purchases is a major ordeal for some, including myself. Not being able to buy something because you know that it's using last year's chips, and there's gonna be a new one in 11 months with this year's chips, sucks. It should never happen. Especially given that in some cases the "upgrades" are completely for marketing.
"The new iProduct 7. Now in plaid!"
Fucking ridiculous.
Bring the hate storm, but I stand by it. I don't see myself ever buying a tablet. They didn't appeal to me before Apple got around to them, and they don't now that Apple has made them into what they are now.
And yes, I do hate Apple. A lot. I'm not going to go into it now because that would be an entirely different post.
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