Apple’s iPad Launched

Is the latest Apple device really the best way to experience the web?

Under the usual sparkle and hype that we have become accustomed with an Apple product launch, the iPad did not disappoint in LA today.

A masterpiece of simplicity in its sleek and elegant design lines, the iPad is the latest device from the company that bought us the Mac computer, iPod music devices  and the iPhone mobile telephone are now bridging the gap between a laptop and an inteligent phone.

The device is described by Apple on its website as:

The best way to experience the web, email, photos and video. Hands Down’.

No doubt that if Apple designed it, we will be wowed by its touch screen and ease of use with the added advantage of the many thousands of applications that it can already run from the Apple iTune’s store.

However, “The best way to experience the web“, that is a statement already under fire from technology critics who have reported, there’s something important missing from Apple’s approach to connecting consumers to content.

It looks like Apple is continuing to impose restrictions on their devices that limit both content publishers and consumers. Unlike many other ebook readers using the ePub file format, consumers will not be able to access ePub content with Apple’s DRM technology on devices made by other manufacturers.

And without Flash support, iPad users will not be able to access the full range of web content, including over 70% of games and 75% of video on the web.

If you want to use the iPad to connect to Disney, Nike, Miniclip, or Honda not to mention the millions of other sites on the web, you will be out of luck.

Even parts of the BBCwebsite such as the popular homepage analogue clock will not be viewable on the iPad.

Without the ability to view websites designed with Adobe Flash, many critics are questioning if the Apple PR company had actually seen and tried out the device prior to releasing their strap line statement.

To put this in a simple perspective, if you were viewing this page with the Apple iPad, you would see everything as we designed and intended you to see it, because we have not used Flash. However, if you tried to view our clients website www.avacs.co.uk you would not be able to see the animation made using Adobe Flash at the top of that page.

Until the first sales figures come in, it is impossible to tell if the iPad will be a success for Apple as the iPhone has been with over 30 million devices sold to date.