Is the iPad a laptop killer?

I am sitting here making this post on my iPad. However, I am typing on a regular keyboard. I have the logitech/Zagg bluetouth keyboard and iPad case (www.zagg.com). I can pretty much do everything on here I can do on a laptop, but with the added convenience of a touchscreen.

If tablets kill the laptop category, it would be detrimental to Apple and everyone else in the laptop business.

When I say an IPad can “pretty much” do what a laptop can do, there are some key features Apple has left out to make this not quite work as well as a laptop. I do believe Apple is withholding some of these critical software upgrades so customers will still feel compelled to buy a laptop.

I especially think the college market would love this setup (the Ipad/keyboard combo) because of the long battery life, touchscreen and super light weight.

So, what has Apple done to constrict features on this machine.? For one, the file system makes it really inconvenient or impossible to send emails with attachments. Secondly, only 200 emails can be stored on the machine. This was really inconvenient for me today when I was down at the beach attempting to search for an older email while I was out of cell range to search on the server. Third, printing from the Ipad is insanely stupid. I bought a $10 print application, but Apple won’t let it interface directly with the Apple Mail application, so printing out an email is a multistep process involving going into another application. Also, web pages can’t be printed directly either, unless there is really new printer around that the IPad can work with.

So, given the above limitations on the iPad, it cannot yet fully replace a laptop. However, this just creates a fabulous opportunity for other manufactures to create a better tablet.

Eventually, Apple will either have to evolve or risk becoming the next Microsoft, where they don’t innovate in step with the market and their stock just drifts downward for a decade.