Tech
10 things I hated about the iPad in 2010 ... are they still an issue now?
How far have the iPad and iOS come in a year?
A year ago I wrote a post called 10 things I hate about the iPad. A year on are the ten issues I raised still a problem?
Note: I'm still using the same iPad I was a year ago (I haven't upgraded to the iPad 2), but here I will look at the changes present in the updated model, as well as the new iOS 5 software.
#1 - Endless software updates
I still feel that the App Store update mechanism of having to update the entire app is wasteful in terms of both time and bandwidth but two changes that Apple have made have made the process a lot less painful.- One app can be downloading to the iPad while another is installing - this iOS 5 feature has significantly decreased the time it takes to update the apps on the iPad, especially when there are multiple apps that need updating.
- WiFi syncing with iTunes means that I can update the apps on the desktop and them squirt them to the iPad over the WiFi connection without having to tether my iPad. This is now my preferred method of updating apps.
#2 - Tinny speakers
The speakers on my first-generation iPad are still the same old crappy speakers they were a year ago, but the speakers on the iPad 2 are far superior. Sucks for folks clinging on tot he old iPad, but iPad 2 owners get a far better audio experience.#3 - Glossy screen
Same glossy screen on the iPad 2 as on the iPad 1. Still a great screen, until it gets obliterated with fingerprints or you're trying to use the iPad al fresco, when the sun (or any other light source) becomes a huge glare problem.#4 - Developers chiseling iPad owners for “HD” apps
Some developers are charging separately for apps for the iPhone and the iPad, but I really don’t understand why iPad apps command a premium price tag. A good example of his is Angry Birds. The iPhone app costs $0.99, but the iPad “HD” app with slightly better graphics is a whopping $4.99.Why?
#5 - No way to delete content directly from the iPad
I don't understand why there's no easy way to manage content on the iPad directly from the iPad without having to resort to iTunes.#6 - There are too many apps that still don’t support multitasking properly
Not a problem any more - most developers have this all sorted out now.#7 - No Flash support is a pain sometimes
I got to the point where Flash is no longer a bother for me. For some people it might be a deal-breaker, but as the web moves more and more towards HTML 5, Flash is increasingly becoming irrelevant to me.#8 - Keyboard needs to be customizable
The keyboard in iOS 5 is better than the earlier incarnation, but I'd still like to see keyboard functionality opened up to third-party developers.#9 - No password manager
The auto-fill feature in new Safari is better than nothing (and it works every well), but it's still a long way off from being a dedicated password manager. There are some decent third-party password managers available, but this is one feature that I'd like see built into the OS.#10 - Push notifications are a mess
Pretty much a non-issue in iOS 5 thanks to the new notifications pane. It's not perfect, but it's very, very good.Conclusion
So, how many of these issues were fixed? I'm going to say six out of the ten, which isn't too bad in my opinion. Things like the poor speaker on the first-gen iPad can only be fixed by buying new hardware (which I'n not inclined to do just yet), but as far as the software goes, Apple's made good progress during 2011.What would you like to see fixed in iOS or on your iDevice of choice?
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