What’s Missing in the iPad? Tweet

First version of tablet omits features that could have made it a must-have product.

The initial version of the iPad lacks some key features that could have established it as a must-have product for consumers and businesses, making it likely that Apple Inc. will enhance the device in future revisions, according to iSuppli Corp.

For instance, the iPad does not support Adobe Flash Player games, video conferencing, and video still/picture capabilities in social networking applications such as Facebook. With these features, Apple could have positioned the iPad the new standard for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). Without them, many potential buyers may view the iPad as a non-essential purchase.

However, iSuppli believes that the iPad platform is sound enough such that Apple could add these features in future generations or iterations of the product. In fact, if Apple added just some of these features, the iPad’s role could expand beyond its place in the tablet and MID markets, threatening other product segments as well.

A Non-Pocket-Sided iPod
Internet wags already have pegged the iPad as a larger version of Apple’s iPod touch.

iSuppli agrees with this assessment.

The iPad’s feature set is all too similar to that of its smaller cousin. While the consumer experience will be grander because of the iPad’s larger form factor, the product is not groundbreaking enough for the device to be put into its own category. It remains a PMP—an enhanced PMP, perhaps—but a PMP nonetheless.

Like the iPod touch, the iPad at its core is a media/content-consumption platform, rather than a media/content-creation device. Lacking even a camera, the iPad’s only content-creation capability is its email feature.

Don’t Count it Out
These omissions are likely to slow initial adoption of the iPad and limit its appeal. Nevertheless, the impact of the iPad—even before the first one has shipped—already can be felt in certain verticals such as the eBook segment. The eBook aspect of the device alone is impacting Amazon, prompting the company to reassess the current pricing for its Kindle eBook along with the company’s content relationships with book publishers.

If Apple follows the same strategy it employed with the iPhone—incorporating high-demand hardware and software enhancements in subsequent generations of the device—iSuppli believes the iPad could become the de facto standard for MIDs. But as it currently stands, Apple will have to take a few steps to get there.

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