I really like my ipad, but to be frank, I was initially quite surprised at what it can't do. The hype about ipad is that it's a tablet computer, but really it should be called a tablet entertainment device that also has a rather limited set of computing functions.
Some of the things I expected from Apple, but did not receive in the ipad:
- Easy transfer of photos from my camera. Really, one of the core functions of the ipad is the photo gallery (heck, it even looks like a digital picture frame), but the only built-in way to get photos from my camera to the ipad is through itunes. I have to first transfer photos from the camera to my computer, then import them into itunes, then plug the ipad into my computer and sync it with itunes. This is too complicated... there should be an SD memory card reader built into ipad, or a way to wirelessly transfer the photos since many cameras (but not mine) have wifi built in now.
- Document storage and viewing. There seems to be no built in way to put a document (such as a text file or pdf file) onto ipod and then view it later. I think there are apps to do this, but really it seems to me this should be a core operating system function, not something I have to go find and buy an app for.
- Flash support. Many websites use Flash, and ipad can't view them. I can't download any Flash driver from Adobe... I've heard this is because of some dispute between Apple and Adobe.
- Replaceable battery. Batteries die and need to be replaced. There's no user serviceable way to replace ipad's battery, or to replace it with a spare if you want more than the 8 hours of battery life that apple claims.
There's my list of gripes... I bet there are apps and/or accessories that can solve some of those problems, but the point is that I assumed they would be basic, built in features of the ipad.
