This is in response to a comment on Gizmodo’s post “8 things that suck about the iPad”:
@ridedali: you’re the first sane commenter on this Giz post. Thank you for acknowledging that the iPad is not anywhere near perfect, but at the same time has great potential.
Apple has introduced game-changing things in the past. Unfortunately, having set the bar high with both their original products and the subsequent evolution of those products, Apple is their own worst enemy. We expect something slicker and better than their previous innovations, even if things like the iPod have taken time to evolve.
So, I think people were hoping that the iPad would be a tablet/netbook/Kindle killer, and it’s not. Instead, it fills a gap somewhere between the iPod and the MacBook Air.
I will be watching to see how the iPad develops. (Unfortunately, until color e-ink is available, I don’t think any pad, netbook or slate will fill the entire digital entertainment gap.)
At the same time, there is room for someone to fill significant niches. As a creative web person, I would love something with the capabilities of iPad/JooJoo/Wacom all in one. Maybe others would like an iPod/iPhone/Kindle. I expect this to happen in time, but I no longer expect Apple to do this in one felling swoop.
P.S. I tried to leave this comment at Gizmodo directly, but since I’m using an iPhone, clicking the “Share” button did not show me the next screen where I could sign up. Rather than waste my typing, I copied it and posted it here. Ironic.