10 reasons why you should NOT buy an iPad

Apple has released the iPad two weeks ago in the USA, and all versions of the iPad will be released in the rest of the world in the next weeks/months. But is it worth buying an iPad?
Short answer... no! At least that what I think.

As always, the iPad is a huge hype and Apple's marketing department has done a great job, you gotta give them that. In every newspaper and on every tech and non-tech website, people are talking about the iPad. And as always, there are two types of people: those who hate the iPad, and those love it (and neither of both parties even have touched or seen the iPad). But the numbers speak for themselves: within the first week, over 500.000 iPad have been sold.

Should you buy an iPad? Is it really a useful device or just another over-priced gadget?
If you ask me, stay away from the iPad and spend your money on something else. Here is why:

1. Price: as always Apple products are over-priced, and the iPad is no difference. Despite this article, I'm sure the iPad has some nice features to offer, but for its feature set, is seriously overpriced! A correct price would be in the 300$-400$ range. But for 600+ bucks, you better buy a decent lightweight netbook with touchscreen (like the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ).
2. No USB port or card reader: the iPad does not have a card reader or USB port. So despite Apple claiming the iPad is the best way to experience photos and video, there is no way to put your pictures or movies on the damn device (other than transferring them over your network). Sure, Apple has some adapters (hey, let's spend some more money) to deal with this problem, but this device is marketed as ultra-portable.
3. Limited disk space: the entry level model only has 16GB disk space. The more expensive models are equipped with 32GB or 64GB capacity. Because there is no support for external media (flash card, USB stick, HDD), that's all you get. With photos, videos and applications getting larger, there is no need to tell even 64GB is not enough (every netbook is equipped with at least 160GB disk space).
4. Wifi-only: the only network support on the basic models is wifi. No 3G or other networking capabilities. Since wifi is not always available (public transport, public locations, ...), 3G is a must have for such a device. Apple charges you an additional 100$ for a 3G model. In addition, wifi is not stable on a lot of iPads and Apple refuses to acknowledge the problem.
   
5. No camera: once again, Apple claims the iPad is the best way to experience the web. Sure, in a world without video conferences and video chatting. No camera also means no photos. So taking a picture with your ultra-portable iPad and emailing it to your friends... not possible
6. No multitasking: the iPad is running the iPhone OS. So no support for multi-tasking. Steve Jobs already announced multi-tasking support in iPhone OS 4, but this is limited to few selected processes. So no 3rd party apps.
7. No kickstand: the iPad does not have a kickstand. So yo have to keep the iPad always in your hands, even when watching photos, movies, etc.
8. No flash support: like the iPhone, the iPad does not support flash. The entire Apple community keeps yelling that they don't need flash because flash is slow and not an open standard. They might be right, but the truth is that the web is full of flash websites and flash applications. So much for the 'best way to experience the web'.
9. Micro-SIM instead of regular SIM: the 3G models only support the micro SIM-format. Many operators still don't use the micro-SIM format, so you even might not be able to use 3G even if you pay for it due to the lack of micro-SIM not available in your country.
   
10. Questionable screen: with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels (4:3 aspect ratio), the screen of the iPad is not suited for 16:9 video content (once again, Apple states that the iPad is the best way to experience video). So in an era of 16:9 video content, the iPad lacks behind. Some say the 4:3 format is more natural for reading ebooks. Unfortunately, the iPad does not have an eInk screen like the Kindle does. Reading an e-book on the iPad is not very comfortable.

The Apple iPad clearly is not a netbook. Featuring the iPhone OS, you can hardly call it a computer. It lacks storage capacity, multi-tasking capabilities, support for external storage, and many other basic OS features.
Although the iPad runs on the iPhone OS, it's not a smartphone either. You can't make calls with the iPad.
So basically, the iPad is a very expensive ebook reader and crippled smartphone without phone capabilities. In my opinion, you're better of with a true netbook with touch screen like the all new Acer Aspire 1825PTZ. Or for the price of the iPad, you can buy a decent netbook AND smartphone.

No, the iPad is an over-hyped gadget that has no real use for 95% of it's buyers.