Twitter is buzzing with news about Apple’s new tablet, the iPad. And it’s not good.  I couldn’t agree more.  You won’t catch me shelling out 500 big ones for this device, and here’s why:

• Not built on OS X. Unlike other tablets, this is not a laptop replacement.  It’s an overgrown iPod that won’t fit in your pocket.
• Higher priced eBooks. You’ll probably pay more for books on the iPad, but it will be much less comfortable to read them (backlit screen, as opposed to digital ink on the Kindle and other devices).  Give us some color digital ink if you really want to be innovative, Apple!
• No Flash support. And what’s the Web without Flash?
• No USB ports.
• No multitasking.
• No voice or phone features.
• No camera features.
• Web prices are “good,” but AT&T’s network is not. It would be like paying 3x as much for below dial-up speed (where available).

Also, no big announcement about AT&T losing exclusivity with the iPhone… no iPhone OS 4 updates… no MacBook updates…  Big disappointments all around.  I’m glad I don’t own any Apple stock today.

For now, I’m just going to stick to my iPad mini (an iPhone). Thanks, but no thanks, Apple.  When you can turn my MacBook Pro into a gorgeous, stylus-driven tablet with FireWire and a quad-core processor, then give me a call.

[ht: @PastorJimDrake for the iYawn headline.]

Posted in: Cool Stuff, Technical Wizardry