TECHcast: Listen to Donnie Jenkins’ podcast about the Apple iPad.
One of my favorite episodes of the original “Star Trek” series had Mr. Spock trying to confuse a pair of identical female robots by telling one that he loved her, but telling her identical twin that he hated her. The object was basically to make them both “blow a fuse” by the illogical nature of his statement, since they were both exactly the same.
The recent introduction of the Apple iPad tablet seems to have engendered a similar love-hate scenario. I have never seen any previous Apple product get such intense opposite reactions immediately upon its launch. Taking the role of Mr. Spock here, let me present both sides of this for you.
Apple iPad, I love you. My favorite aspect of the iPad is the introductory price of the low end model, only $499. This is truly remarkable for Apple, a company who rarely even tries to enter a market at the low end. The basic model has Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning you can go online with it at any so called “hot-spot” or wireless connection.
The iPad will run many of the current programs or “apps” designed for the Apple iPhone. This is great because there are so many applications already there to buy in the Apple app store, and the interface of the iPad will immediately be familiar to iPhone users.