ipadApple to much hype, released announced the iPad computing tablet.

*yawn*

You can’t buy the Apple iPad yet.

And when you can, what will you use it for?  Web surfing on the toilet, reading in bed?  As IT executives would/should say “where’s the use case?”  What are people going to use it for?

tc1100I thought back to the HP TC1100 tablet, which was the best of the Tablet PCs.  It died because of a lack of a need for it.  Oh sure, there were some vertical markets for it.  I know of several hospitals where it was used for bedside care.  But I got to thinking, the Apple iPad was announced 5 years after the TC1100, so it’s got to that much better, right?

Lets look at some selective specs:

  Apple iPad HP TC1100
USB No Yes x 2
Keyboard via keyboard dock via keyboard dock or USB
Audio out Yes Yes
WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n 802.11b
Linux capable No Yes
Weight 1.5 pounds 3.1 pounds
Screen size 9.7 inch, 1024×768 10.4 inch, 1024×768
Memory 16GB+ 2GB
Cost $499 (16GB model) $2,299

So is the Apple iPad 5 years better?  No.

Does it matter?  No.

It won’t matter because it’s made by Apple, it’s fairly cheap, and light enough to carry around.  Sure there are going to be flaws.  The biggest one for me would be, being locked into the iTunes “must buy applications from Apple” store monopoly.

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