After the frenzy of coverage of the iPad launch last weekend, some may wonder if it will soon replace their faithful iPod as their listening device of choice.
Having toyed with one, I can honestly say iPads are fun to use for movie watching, reading and Web surfing, but there are at least five compelling reasons your iPod needn’t pack its things just yet.
1. Apple never intended the iPad as an iPod replacement. Case in point, despite its $500-$700 price, it doesn’t even come with earphones. The built-in speaker is beefier than the iPod’s, but the point of a portable device is listening privately. If you don’t want the world to know how much you love The Wiggles’ “Racing to the Rainbow,” you’ll need to buy another set of ‘buds.
2. Incompatibility with iPhone/iPad docks. Remember the $300 you dropped on a Bose SoundDock for your iPhone? Prepare your wallet for another hit. To be fair, the iPad will still plug into most speakers using a 1/8-inch cable, but it probably won’t charge, and it won’t look as chic.
3. Portability, or lack thereof. With roughly the same dimensions as a comic book, the iPad is hardly enormous, but do your pants have a pocket it will fit in? Unless your middle and last names are “the Clown,” the answer is probably no.