Excited though I was by the launch of the iPad last week, after a lot of thought I’ve decided that it really isn’t for me, at least in its prototype, beta version 1.0. The one thing that doesn’t bother me about the whole gadget is its name, since not once last week did I think it sounded like a modern, personalised sanitary towel… If that were the case, then I would have had a mind full of sanitary towels over the years (notepad – like a sanitary towel crossed with a Post-It…. launch pad – like a sanitary towel from which rockets are launched…. pad thai – a sort of noodle dish made out of sanitary towels…. Paddington Bear – a sort of Dington Bear made out of sanitary towels…) and I haven’t, so it’s a ridiculous snigger conclusion drawn by many. I don’t think that’s a purely male perspective, a close female friend DM-ed me on Twitter to say she found the whole name issue rather childish and schoolground titterish, and I agree.
No, the problem with the iPad for me is not with the name, but with what it does, and what it doesn’t do. I already own an iPhone and that suits me fine – do I really need a huge iPhone that doesn’t make calls, and with a screen that’s begging to shatter… an iPhone that it takes two hands to hold (therefore making it tricky to use on the go)…. an iPhone that needs a flat surface in order to type (my eyesight and RSI are already bad enough, thanks), and then probably wobbles due to a slightly curved back surface… an iPhone promising the ‘best browsing experience ever’ but doesn’t feature Flash… an iPhone that makes all my apps much bigger (ooh!)? To be honest, I don’t think I do. Read the rest of this entry »
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