Perfect Renders
As I said in a previous post, I recently acquired a 16GB Apple iPad 3rd Gen with the help of a friend and his HSBC credit line. Not an Apple enthusiast myself, though I decided to give it a go anyway since I’ll get to know more about their side of the industry. But as I got to explore the Apple world and how they go about their business- software and hardware wise, the more I got frustrated in using the damn thing. Most people would consider this as a temporary culture shock coming from a Windows user, and they’re probably right, but I’ll blow off steam anyway. Microsoft loyalists who are still in the dark may be able to find refuge in this.
1.) Everything is in the hands of iTunes. This is what pissed me right off the bat. That all must pass through iTunes, meaning you can’t use your Apple gadgets like any other USB storage device. You can open and copy files from the “DCIM” folder with your PC, but that’s it. You sure as hell can’t put files in it. If you’re not importing music or movies via iTunes with the selected formats the gadget can read, you have to either convert them or buy/install an App that can open them.
2.) File management is so not cute. After having to deal with frustration number one, I found out there’s more. That the files you want to open with a certain app must be put inside that app’s location. For example, there’s Paulo Coelho’s e-book I want to read using ‘Good Reader’, so I put that file under the said app in iTunes. Now if I have another reader app like ‘Stanza’ and I want to read the same e-book with it, I won’t be able to since Paulo Coelho’s e-book is located in the Good Reader folder, and Stanza would not be able to access it. You have to put one copy in each app of you want to open them in both apps, doubling space intake.
3.) The Bluetooth feature is only limited to fellow Apple gadgets. Meaning, our iMac, iPhone, iPad or iWhatever cannot detect and link with other Bluetooth-capable devices if they’re not Apple e.g. Android phones or Windows computers. So I won’t be able to enjoy my iPad completely if my other gadgets are not 100% Apple? Thank God my phone is Android so I had to JailBreak my iPad and buy the Cydia App AirBlue Sharing for $4.99 to let me do so! @_@
4.) Invisible root directory is invisible. I have to admit the GUI (Graphical User Inferface) is neat and tidy, but it’s just too much! I guess this is a plus for the average users who don’t give a damn, but not to techie people. Why? All you’ll be able to see and access in your screen are the installed apps inside the user interface. You can’t access the gadget’s root folder, including the individual files and folders comprising the iOS and installed apps, nor can you create custom folders for your personal files. Then again, you can Jailbreak your stuff and buy the Cydia App iFile for $4.99 to let you do so.
5.) Too many orifices for you? The iPad has only two I/O openings: earphones and the USB dock, within the latter being almost wholly limited within iTunes jurisdiction. Unlike the iPad’s Android tablet counterparts, it doesn’t have a USB input (where it can read USB devices just like a computer) and video output (you have to buy an VGA or HDMI converter at around 100$+). This just makes things harder and more expensive if you really want to utilize the gadget to its full extent.
6.) Less space is more? 16GB certainly won’t cut it. After installing the necessary apps I needed, I was left with less than 5GB for my personal files- music, photos, videos, etc., which isn’t much since I was planning on putting whole anime seasons in this thing for marathons. I guess now that’s only a distant dream. And the 32GB/64GB versions of the iPad has prices that are way out of my league, not to mention if they came with 3G functions. If this was an Android tablet, I’d be able to expand memory space via a 64GB SD card and with 3G at that. No sweat.
7.) Spend on one, spend on them all. After buying the 24k PHP iPad, I was forced to buy the branded sleeve for 2k PHP, then the branded screen protector for 1.3k PHP. Then as I explored the AppStore, most of the really useful apps were around $1-17 a pop. After doing the math, I’d spend to around $80-100 more for the full versions of the apps I got. I also needed the HDMI video output converter- I saw its price spike to more than $100 online. Again, if this was an Android tablet, it’d have a built-in HDMI output already.
If you look at other hate posts regarding Apple products on the net, there’s a ton more reasons we can discuss, some more unreasonable than others, but these five are what ticked me off the most. Without JailBreaking the thing, I don’t know how I would’ve survived using it, both financially and systematically-wise.
But this is just me talking after experiencing Apple for the first time after all those Windows-influenced years. I believe that pretty soon, I’ll get over it and everything will fall into place. I have yet to explore the video editing world of Apple- Final Cut Pro and Motion.
Anyway, I hope this info proved somewhat useful to you guys- whether you’re someone’s who’s thinking of buying his own Apple mobile gadget for the first time, an consumer with problems of his own, or just someone who’s thinking of switching sides.
Got problems of your own? Share yours in the comments below!
August 19, 2012 at 11:28 pm
i will never buy an apple product in this lifetime. or the next. i have windows 8 consumer preview on one of my desktops and am loving it. i cannot wait for windows 8 for the arm processor so i can install it in my android tablet. all other computers – 2 other desktops, a laptop and a netbook – are on windows 7.