David Pogue weighs in on iPad, David Pogue weighs in on iPad
Pogue's tech-centric review (appropriate for those, he says, who meet the following standards: "Do you use BitTorrent? Do you run Linux? Do you have more e-mail addresses than pants?") reiterates the standard complaints -- no Flash, not enough storage, no ports, too pricey. Then the 'for the rest of us' review proceeds to dismiss those considerations. He calls it "a new category of gadget" and "a good goof-proof computer for the technophobes, the aged and the young" (that's a lot of people).
Pogue wraps with the following endorsement:
"[T]he techies are right about another thing: the iPad is not a laptop. It's not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it's infinitely more convenient for consuming it - books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience - and a deeply satisfying one.
"The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you'll love the machine.
"The only question is: Do you like the concept?"
Jetpacks, tablets - once we get those "meal in a pill" things, we'll know it's the future.
