Bill Gates: The iPad Isn't All That
Bill Gates gently shrugs off the iPad.
Brent Schlender over at Bnet had a quick discussion with Bill Gates about Apple's much hyped iPad, and Gates wasn't impressed.
There's no denying that Apple's trying to be market-maker when it comes to slate/tablet computers. Up until this point, pretty much all tablet computers that have come out have all been forgotten. No one even remembers the HP Slate that came out during CES. It was a big launch for HP, and then the day after, no one spoke of it again.
Bill Gates doesn't seem to be too fond of the iPad either, saying that there's nothing on the iPad that he wished Microsoft would have done. Despite that, he did give Apple credit for the iPhone.
The quote:
“You know, I’m a big believer in touch and digital reading, but I still think that some mixture of voice, the pen and a real keyboard - in other words a netbook - will be the mainstream on that,” he said. “So, it’s not like I sit there and feel the same way I did with iPhone where I say, ‘Oh my God, Microsoft didn’t aim high enough.’ It’s a nice reader, but there’s nothing on the iPad I look at and say, ‘Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it.’”
Read the rest of the post here.
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Well he may be responsible for creating Microshaft, but I never thought he was dumb (and his charitable work deserves the kind of credit that shames governments)
Apart from maybe the part where he destroys the earth by messing around with hurricanes
For once I agree with Gates. I fail to see any advantage the iPad (or any tablet) would have over a netbook that couldn't be rendered moot simply by a swivel lid mechanism that allows you to turn the screen 180 degrees and sit on top of the keyboard. The 2mm of extra thickness over a dedicated tablet would be more than compensated by actually having a functioning keyboard for times when it's necessary over a touchscreen one, as well as a way of protecting the screen when the device is not in use.
Malphas you mean like this:
http://www.thefizzbook.co.uk/fizzbook-spin.html
Ipad 0 - Fizzbook 1
Yeah, I know they already exist. Asus make one too.
Gates is a great guy, but I fail to agree with him on this one. Sure, the iPad isn't perfect, but it's a new kind of computing, a new kind of market, and a new type of tablet technology. Yeah, I know tablets have existed for a long, long time.
It isn't meant to replace your cell phone, or your laptop. I can imagine this being a perfect device for kids, and they won't have to click around random malware links on the internet.
Sure, it could have been better, and Apple was a douche not including a basic camera. Sigh..I thought Steve Jobs wanted to push the human race forward....
Well, I'll stick to my Macbook for now, and maybe buy my kids an iPad (that thing would rock for kids...imagine taking notes/ playing monopoly, playing video games/ reading books/ learning about the world/ watching videos/ listening to music on it!). But I don't see any business use for it yet.