For a device that hasn’t yet even been released there was yet another critical article about the iPad by ZDNet. Despite all the iPad’s supposed flaws apparently it generates more web page traffic to do another iPad critique and it worked since I checked to see if there was anything original or enlightening. Unfortunately it was the same old hauling out of all the same oldworld computing specification items:
Obviously some manufacturer needs to come out with a computer with this wish list so the market can decide how desirable or essential these features really are. The biggest problem with the ZDNet article coverage is that they present these items as if there are no tradeoffs or alternatives and actually most of these items are either offered in the JooJoo or by nobody because it is an unsolved industry problem or simply a bad idea.
Don’t want the iPad software integration and want Flash and a USB port, Buy a JooJoo
DRM
Why aren’t there a bunch of DRM free alternatives? For the simple reason that companies want to make money and they haven’t yet figured out how to do this without clumsy protection. It’s no bargain for a supplier to offer stuff for free without any business model because then they will eventually go out of business and their customers are worse off. I am not a fan of DRM but it is reasonable for companies to try to figure out the best alternative rather than just rely on blind faith. Until there are alternatives that someone is offering, Apple is no worse than anyone else and may be a bit better as they have at least managed to evolve music to a better place.
Lock-in
This topic could use more enlightening analysis as well. Sure Apple is known for its controlled approach but what some people call lock-in other people call integration, quality control, and design simplicity. Would you rather have an open browser based operating system with no apps and very loose design guidelines? If the apps are very generic and cross platfom are they as good as apps optimized for a specific design? What is needed are real world alternatives so people can decide which choices are most appealing to them. As appealing as the theory of openness is for allowing more players the opportunity to add value, what is the result if there are many cooks in the kitchen without some kind of coordination rules?
Flash
Apple has made a choice and unless market forces give them a reason to change their mind there isn’t going to be Flash support on their mobile devices. JooJoo supports Flash so get a JooJoo if Flash is important to you.
Removable Storage
The JooJoo doesn’t have removable storage either and maybe that is because this isn’t that good of an idea. Do you really want to transfer information between mobile computer devices by inserting and removing memory or storage devices? This sounds old world to me and also a source for contamination/breakage that could make the appliance less reliable. I would rather use wifi/cellular syncing that is done simply and maybe even automatically.
USB Support
Apple has its own multi-purpose connector. If you want to use the USB standard you can get it on the JooJoo.
Built-in Battery
This is another item that needs to be explained in terms of tradeoffs. Would you rather have a a more expensive and less powerful battery that you can be replaced? or an integrated battery with greater capacity? Apparently Apple did studies and although theoretically people find it appealing to be able to change the battery, in practice this option was rarely used by most people. JooJoo made the integrated battery choice too but it has half the capacity and greater weight.
Promote your better alternative
The iPad is not perfect and clearly there are some enhanced features that haven’t yet been implemented that are opportunities for competitors. What is needed is for some credible competitors to emerge to offer the missing features that analysts are complaining about. Maybe then they could write a positive review about how well the JooJoo or other alternative will do. Let the market decide but whatever choices are made there are going to be tradeoffs.
I wouldn’t exactly call JooJoo a better alternative. Up until now, even after the shipping delay by one month, we still do not know the processor specs this device uses. At least I do not see it on the spec page (https://thejoojoo.com/sites/specification).
TechCrunch litigation is still imminent, pre-ordering now is way too risky.
Although JooJoo is using Linux-based O/S, in the end its O/S is still a proprietary one, so it is still a lock-in process, and it is not clear at this point whether we are allowed to install our own free/open source Linux distro of choice.
As old world as the idea seems, I still would rather have enough spaces to save my downloads, rather than being confined with limited space (4GB).
Disclaimer: I only skimmed through your article, so if I misunderstood your points then just disregard this comment. Peace… 🙂
Yes JooJoo probably doesn’t qualify as a credible competitor and that is the problem. As much as people are criticizing the iPad there isn’t anything better out there as an alternative yet. Even if there was a competitor that had the features critics are suggesting they may not be as popular as Apple’s choices.