I understand why it may be annoying for iPad enthusiasts to constantly read about the lack of a flash player being the main complaint on this forum, but that is the idea of this thread, correct? I just looked at the voting poll and it appears that more than 50% of the users on this forum believe the lack of a flash player to be the most frustrating. I hate to annoy you guys even more, but I must agree with this frustration. It may not matter to most of the iPad users whether there is adobe flash player or not on the iPad, but it still matters to a significant percentage of its consumers.
The reason it matters to me, for example, is b/c ALL of my college courses REQUIRE it for ppt slides. The main reason I got the iPad was to be able to take it to school and be able to take notes on my ppt slides while in class. This can be done with a traditional laptop or pen and paper, but both of these options tend to be very bulky. My laptop is not light or small in size and tends to be very very annoying to tote around campus. Taking notes by pen and paper is also very bulky and very WASTEFUL, especially when taking 5 to 6 classes a semester. For those of you who would advise me to use my laptop or android device b/c the iPad is not a computer, please don't. I do not agree with that advice and I find it very bothersome that so many people are okay with accepting that. In my opinion, I should not have to choose b/w computer and iPad, especially how much of a breakthrough this tablet is supposed to be and the manner in which it has been advertised to potential consumers. And it's on its second edition!
I partially understand why Apple does not want adobe flash on their iPad system, if it is for the reason they say it is, but somehow I feel that is not their only reason for not integrating it. Apple is the creator and what they say goes, but doesn't the satisfaction of a number of their customers matter to them? Or are they such a successful company that the almost 300 people who voted no flash player on this forum alone, not matter? Or is it b/c consumers will buy this product anyway? I know it was stated that this is not an Apple forum, it is private, but I am just expressing my thoughts on the matter, if that's okay. I just spent hours reading this entire thread so I wanted to say my part.
I did do my research before buying the iPad and looked on many private forums like this as well as looked on Apple's website and spoke to Apple specialists over the phone and through chat. The reason I went ahead and bought the iPad (2) was b/c I was informed of the many amazing apps Apple offers to be able to deal with the lack of adobe and MS Office. One of it's features is education on it's site and it seemed to be a great tool for my science classes. The problem is I have literally tried all of these apps, free and paid, everyone has mentioned and they all lack something. One app I have been doing research on all day has been iAnnotate and it seems to be the most promising based on the many positive comments and reviews. It is $9.99 so I am waiting to see if there are free upgrades for any of the other apps I already Installed and purchased before spending more money. I am finished with school for the summer so I have about 2 months to figure something out. Also, a program as simple and widely used as Microsoft Office should be available on the iPad or at least an EQUIVALENT alternative. This too I have spent many many hours on. I have paid for the Quick Office app, but again, there are many differences. I cannot view a lot of my formulas and data in excel, which is very important for my business classes. These are formulas that are not even available in Quick Book and I will have to spend considerable time figuring out how to input these very complicated formulas. I am not saying Apple should follow everything that computers are doing, but it should be a much easier and smoother transition and if it cannot be, then this product should not be advertised for business professionals or students enrolled in a higher level of education.
To sum this entire post up, I must say that the most frustrating part of the iPad for me is the fact that you have to download an app for pretty much anything that is usually simple on a regular laptop or pc, and when you do download an app, it is pretty much an experimental game. A lot of these apps you pay for as well. Even though it is only a few bucks for each, it still matters. I just wish I did not have to spend so much time and energy figuring out apps, when I bought the iPad to make my life easier. I have seriously spent 20 hours or more of my time researching just the adobe issue alone. Apple should be advanced enough to offer only reliable apps, not cheap/glitchy solutions. I mean don't they do a lot of research on these apps before releasing them? Or are the customers their research? I understand there will be glitches here and there, but come on. I paid close to $900 for this thing, and I would pay more, just as long as I was satisfied with everything. For those who say this is not a computer and mostly for fun and convenience, guess what? Adobe flash player is widely used for fun (movies, games), so Apple should already have an equivalence to it. I also read where someone stated that a lot of websites are changing from Adobe, so it does not matter to them. Why should so many other places change to suit Apple, when all Apple has to do is allow it to be available for those who need it? Those who do not want it, do not have to download it (or am I wrong for thinking this is the way Adobe and MS Office works)? For my pc and my laptop, I had to download and install it in order for it to be accessible, so if I did not want it, I did not have to download it. It was up to me, not the manufacturer of the device I was using.
I apologize for rambling on about this never-ending subject, but I have spent so much of my time and energy doing initial research and post research, and it is all b/c i am either not receiving the proper info or the proper info is just not available. Very frustrating especially for a device that seems to have so much confidence (or pride) in itself.
I do like the iPad for it's other features, but unfortunately I miscalculated the uses I would have for it in school. If anyone knows of any equivalent solutions to adobe or MS Office, I would be most grateful. If not, then thank you for at least having this forum for me to vent, b/c it seems that is all I can do at this point.
