- There’s no USB port
This is one of those no-excuse lacks that makes the iPad2 infinitely frustrating. Getting data onto the iPad is tedious, at best. If you want to load the iPad up with movies or PDF files, you have to go through any number of convoluted approaches, including using the horrid iTunes interface or uploading files to Dropbox and then downloading them again.
- You still have to use iTunes
- There’s no way to wirelessly synchronize your bookmarks
I know this is a nit compared to many of the iPad’s other shortcomings, but it goes to proving how limited the machine is for production use.
It is actually quite pleasant to sit on the couch and browse the Web on an iPad. But if you’re a writer like me, and you find a Web site you want to save for later, you can’t easily bookmark it and have that bookmark show up on your other machines.
- More readers are less expensive
If you want to use the iPad as an ebook reader, you may want to consider a Kindle or a color Nook. Kindles can be had for as little as $139 and the color for $249. Compare this to the iPad, which starts at $499 and goes all the way up to $829.
- WiFi is still unreliable
For some reason, Apple can’t seem to get WiFi working reliably with the iPad, even in its latest updates.
This is unfortunate, since the iPad is pretty much useless without WiFi. Some users (myself included) find that the iPad’s WiFi implementation is notoriously unreliable, so much so as to render the device almost useless.
- You can only run software approved by Apple
Apple is notoriously capricious about what applications it approves and doesn’t approve, often denying publishing rights to software that’s otherwise excellent — except for the mere fact of competing with Apple’s mediocre equivalent applications.
You should have the freedom to run whatever software you want, and developers should have the freedom to sell or give you the software they make. But in the case of the iPad you’re locked in, so much so that members of the GPL community are considering pulling applications because of Apple’s restrictive policies.
- No removable storage
The rumor mongers ran amok over the past few weeks with the theory that the iPad 2 would have an SD slot. This, of course, violates Apple’s basic Gestapo approach to hardware design, and was unlikely to be part of the iPad 2.
Now, the rumoristas are reporting that there won’t be an SD card slot, removing any practical, non-camera advantage of the iPad 2 over the original iPad.
- It can’t be used as a standalone computer
The iPad almost seems like the perfect parents or in-laws machine, a true Internet appliance that would allow less technologically facile family members to have access to the Internet, email, and social networking capabilities without needing to know much about computers, operating systems, software installation, viruses, or any of the other nightmares of daily computing life.
- The iPad 3 is coming
Yes, last time I said not to buy an iPad because the iPad 2 was on the horizon. Now, I’m telling you not to buy an iPad 2 because the iPad 3 is on the way. There’s a reason.Apparently, Apple couldn’t get the Retina display ready in time for a spring launch, so they’re just going ahead with a paen to the masses, and launching the iPad 2.
