I haven’t seen anything hyped this much only be such a disappointment on release since Crystal Pepsi. That’s what the iPad is, the Crystal Pepsi of computing (no John Scully jokes, I promise).
We were all hoping for something to lead us into the next generation of mobile computing, but what we got was a giant iPhone with a couple new features – the kind of features that should be in iPhone OS 4.0 anyway. Steve Jobs opened up the media event by saying, “…netbooks aren’t better at anything,” but I can’t help but be glad that I bought a netbook and put Ubuntu Linux on it last month instead of saving up for the iPad, and here’s why:

My netbook has a faster processor

Most netbooks run on a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor, while iPad runs an A4 1Ghz processor. To put that into perspective, the iPhone 3GS runs an 833Mhz processor, so this is not anywhere near a huge jump up in processing for a device four times the size of its predecessor. The A4 processor gives the iPad about 10 hours of battery life, which is impressive, but you’re not going to be able to do the level of processing available in most netbooks.

My netbook has a camera

This is a WTF non-feature for me. Apple had a chance to make the iPad the premier Augmented Reality device of 2010, but instead they’ve left every AR developer scratching their head. It’s not as if there isn’t enough room to put two cameras, one facing each way, in the device. How many more iPads would Apple sell if you could use Skype with it?

My netbook runs Flash

Apple’s continued cognitive dissonance when it comes to Flash on their mobile devices is getting rather annoying to me, and not just because I develop on the platform. Flash pretty much runs the interactive web nowadays, and it’s exclusion makes the iPad a “web-lite” device, unable to run Vimeo, Hulu, and any media embeds on social networking sites and blogs other than YouTube.
Apple has a good reason for not allowing Flash, which, believe it or not, is actually ready for the device – it will hurt AppStore profits significantly. Yet, when 90% of apps in the store are complete crap, who cares if their developers move to Flash. The real moneymaking apps will still be iPad and iPhone native.

My netbook runs a full OS

I have full install of Ubuntu 9.10 running on my Acer Aspire 1, giving my netbook the full functionality of a normal laptop. I can multitask on multiple, switchable workspaces, using fully functional applications, and I can engineer and compile new applications. I can browse through folders and files. I can do full network administration on a device that is taller than the iPad, but smaller in width and height.
I can do everything on my netbook that is capable with the iPad and then some, minus the slick user interface. To be fair, one of my favorite things about Apple products are the interfaces, but my MacBook and iMac back up the beautiful interface with tons of under the hood functionality. The iPad offers less than I can already do between my MacBook and iPhone.

My netbook cost half the price of the cheapest iPad

I bought my netbook at Fry’s Electronics for $250. It has a 160Gb hard drive, while the most expensive iPad model only has 64Gb for $829. The cheapest iPad only has 16Gb, or half of the storage of my iPhone 3GS, and costs $499. This is unacceptable for a ten inch device when you can get a 16Gb Micro SD card on Amazon for less than $50. Also, my netbook has two SD card slots on it, allowing me to expand it’s storage capabilities.

What Improvements would get me to buy the iPad

I have hope for future generations of the iPad if Apple integrates the following:

• Front and back facing cameras
• An OS that is less like the iPhone and more like OSX
• Allow Flash 10.1 on the device
• Make a slightly thicker version with a full hard drive and USB and SD ports
• Swap out the A4 processor with an Intel chip
• Stop hyping the current model like its something more than a big iPhone

I don’t expect these changes anytime soon, making this the biggest opportunity for Microsoft and Google to outdo Apple in years. A Windows, Android, or other Linux kernel iPad clone that has all the features serious computer people are looking for would deal a huge blow to the folks in Cupertino.