Information Age

I have been writing quite a few articles about the Apple iPad in the past month. To sum up what I have said here:

1. I believe the Apple iPad is a game changing technology innovation.
2. I believe that it will wildly succeed on the order of the Apple iPhone.
3. I am lusting for one for myself.

I do, however, acknowledge that it is a version 1.0 offering and I can easily think of three features that are missing that I would really like to see for version 2.

• Stylus.  I am very thankful that Apple made the decision to have the iPad be touch and gesture based just like an iPhone.  I do wish, though, that it had also included a pen stylus.  It would be additional, not in place of the touch interface and also permit drawing, painting, and mouse movement.  I really like the ability to annotate documents and edit photos with a pen.  They are killer applications.  Even if a third party of Apple adds this, there won’t be a slot to store it in version 1.0.
• SD Card Slot.  I know that Apple will offer an external SD Card Reader for the iPad, but an internal card slot would have greatly simplified the ability to move data on and off the device as well as provided a way to expand its memory.  Don’t know why they didn’t and fully expect to see it added to a follow-on version.
• Free iPhone Tethering.  I do not relish the idea of paying $30 US additionally every month for iPad 3G access. I would have liked the ability to either tether to the iPhone for data access or turn the iPhone into a 3G to WiFi hot spot and then use the iPad’s WiFi for Internet Access.

What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have anything that you believe should have been added? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for March 10, 2010  by Scott Coughlin.

Image Credit: Ritz Camera