Ipad..why certain things are done...

[Onemorerun]

I really like my IPad, however at times i find it lacks a simple function that makes me wonder..why? There must be a strategic reason for it, or they would implement the function.

An example is email level passwords. I think a lot of people would like this. It would allow you to share your IPad easily without having something private accessible. This would be great in a family setting.

So, I am wondering if the reason they don't implement this and never will is that they just want people to buy more IPads? A family couldn't share an IPad, they would need to get one for the kids, husband wife etc..

What do you think?

 

[poloponies]

That's pretty much it. These are intended to be personal devices, much like cell phones. And I'd guess that probably 80% are used that way.

And while it increases the pain-in-the-butt factor a little, it takes moments to add/delete a new email account. Not as convenient as passwords, but not terribly cumbersome either.

 

[mKTank]

For me, the horrible sound quality is what I really ponder about at times. Apple sells the most popular mp3 player of all time. How could they be so bad at sound balance and EQ settings? The DACs they use are garbage and the EQ settings are pretty horrible and limited. Bass booster is clipping heaven and every other setting is really flat and crappy. Why couldn't they be like Samsung for one second and some attention into their internals and fit a Wolfson DAC? My Nexus S sounds a million times better than my iPad just for that DAC. Grr.

 

[Onemorerun]

Always reasons...

Im actually a pc user, but have always been fascinated by Apples upgrade strategies. And of course I love my IPad and IPhone.

They play their consumer base very well. The IPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4s (not the 5), the 5 probably in a year with just a little more.

The Ipad 3 at the end of this year possibly and maybe it will have better sound, maybe not.

I think they are really good at putting just what is needed in and saving other stuff for later upgrades.

It'll be interesting to see if they can do this so well without Jobs.

 

[jsh1120]

I really like my IPad, however at times i find it lacks a simple function that makes me wonder..why? There must be a strategic reason for it, or they would implement the function.

An example is email level passwords. I think a lot of people would like this. It would allow you to share your IPad easily without having something private accessible. This would be great in a family setting.

So, I am wondering if the reason they don't implement this and never will is that they just want people to buy more IPads? A family couldn't share an IPad, they would need to get one for the kids, husband wife etc..

What do you think?

As poloponies pointed out, there are certain design features for the iPad that assume it is a purely single user, personal device. While that's probably a reasonable assumption for the iPhone it makes very little sense for a device that families often share. Unfortunately, the shared iOS is the culprit.

As long as you're considering the problem of email passwords, consider a related problem. Why can't you set up separate "accounts" for the iPad with different apps available for different users. I share the my iPad with my 7 y/o daughter and the only workaround available to provide her with "her" apps is to place them all on a single screen. It works after a fashion except that there are apps that she and I both use (e.g. Angry Birds). But in addition not allowing multiple accounts (as we do on the family's computer), you cannot place the icon for an app on more than one UI "page."

All in all, your suspicion that Apple's "solution" is to purchase an individual iPad for every member of the family seems more and more likely.

 

[palpatine]

Hahaha. My list of complaints are nearly endless.

There isn't a perfect device out there, and I think even Apple enthusiasts would have to agree that Apple generally isn't very invested in providing users with more and more functionality (feature bloat to some, customization to others). The recent final cut kerfuffle is a case in point.

But, the iPad does a lot of things really well, and that is why I keep buying it. I don't share my phone, and I don't want to share my iPad, so I think that is probably a feature that wouldn't hurt (of course), but also doesn't seem terribly necessary.

The music thing is similar. It is good enough for most people, so I think Apple figures that they shouldn't spend their time and money on the features that will see little use.

We can try and guess why certain things are done, but in the end, I think (judging from my experience with apple over the years), that they generally try to remove functionality whenever they can and focus on the stuff they want consumers to use and evaluate their product with.

 

[jsh1120]

...
We can try and guess why certain things are done, but in the end, I think (judging from my experience with apple over the years), that they generally try to remove functionality whenever they can and focus on the stuff they want consumers to use and evaluate their product with.

At this point I'd be satisfied if they'd "remove" the worthless Apple version of Publishers Clearing House (Newsstand.)

 

[palpatine]

At this point I'd be satisfied if they'd "remove" the worthless Apple version of Publishers Clearing House (Newsstand.)

LOL. That would be nice. I don't know what I did (synced my iPad with iTunes?) but the Newsstand somehow escaped from its folder (stuffed in there using the timing "hack") and ended up on my home screen.

AGGGGHHHH!!!!


It has been banished again to my "Apple bloatware" screen (the last one I never visit).

 

[bjett92]

The Ipad 3 at the end of this year possibly and maybe it will have better sound, maybe not.

No... iPhone, iPod, and iPad are set for the holiday season.

 

[poloponies]

All in all, your suspicion that Apple's "solution" is to purchase an individual iPad for every member of the family seems more and more likely.

There's no "suspicion" necessary, it is a product intended for personal use. Whether you like Apple's products or not they tend to approach each design with a narrative, "who's this being made for?", "how will they likely use it?" rather than a "let's make it all things to all users" approach. That does often end up with narrowly-focused products but they are very well conceived for their intended use.

There is no question that Apple wants families to buy an iPad for each member who wants one rather than marketing it as a "family computer." But that's what corporations do.

 

[donnaw]

Actually I think some of the 'single devise' issues based on keeping the OS sleek. I've been in those types of discussions. First you list the 'must haves', then you list the 'like to haves'. The 'like to haves' never make it into the first iteration. The next time you work on an update you do the same exercise. Time, OS bloat, and complications always interfer with the 'like to haves'. Creating separate accounts adds to the complication of the OS. It almost doubles the test cycle because you have to run tests under at least two users, etc. As a result your OS is larger, your development cycle is longer, your test cycle is longer, etc. While some of the items may be left out in order to encourage people to upgrade (and this is probably true) there are also reasons to do this due to the software development cycle.

 

[FloatingBones]

So, I am wondering if the reason they don't implement this and never will is that they just want people to buy more IPads? A family couldn't share an IPad, they would need to get one for the kids, husband wife etc..

AFAICT, the primary issue is ease of use. If there's a single account with a device, it's quite easy to manage. Complexity will creep in with multiple accounts.

If the only thing to keep private/separate was e-mail, you could probably find some third-party software that would do that. That's the beauty of the App Store: if some fraction of the market has a need for this, some dev will provide a solution.

 

[jsh1120]

LOL. That would be nice. I don't know what I did (synced my iPad with iTunes?) but the Newsstand somehow escaped from its folder (stuffed in there using the timing "hack") and ended up on my home screen.

AGGGGHHHH!!!!


It has been banished again to my "Apple bloatware" screen (the last one I never visit).

It's like Dracula. You need to drive a stake through its heart.

 

[Onemorerun]

Time, OS bloat, and complications always interfer with the 'like to haves'.

Definitly don't want bloat ware. And don't think it should be everything. However, the extra password to email would be very convenient for many and to me obvious and I see it on message boards a lot.

Now as I think about it more, maybe it would be a lot harder than I think to implement as it would need to be implmented in the settings. Then you would have to put extra security on the settings, thus it would be an endless slippery slope of changes.

 

[jsh1120]

There's no "suspicion" necessary, it is a product intended for personal use. Whether you like Apple's products or not they tend to approach each design with a narrative, "who's this being made for?", "how will they likely use it?" rather than a "let's make it all things to all users" approach. That does often end up with narrowly-focused products but they are very well conceived for their intended use.

There is no question that Apple wants families to buy an iPad for each member who wants one rather than marketing it as a "family computer." But that's what corporations do.

I'm not hypothesizing a conspiracy. Just pointing out that the iPad is not a gigantic iPhone. To assume that it will be used in the same way as a phone is, at best, a failure to understand the differences in the devices. As it happened, I purchased the iPad in large part because of the range of apps available for children. I would not have purchased it, however, solely for my 7 year old.

On one hand Apple markets the iPad as a device even children can use and enjoy. Fair enough. It certainly meets that requirement. But I suspect that few consumers purchase iPads solely for their first graders. Failing to take into account the mismatch between the iPad's features and its use profile is very simply a failure to understand "who's this being made for?"

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Definitly don't want bloat ware. And don't think it should be everything. However, the extra password to email would be very convenient for many and to me obvious and I see it on message boards a lot.

Now as I think about it more, maybe it would be a lot harder than I think to implement as it would need to be implemented in the settings. Then you would have to put extra security on the settings, thus it would be an endless slippery slope of changes.

Actually, not difficult at all. Currently, setting up an email account requires a password. Simply enabling the creation of an email account where the email password would have to be entered in the email app to open the account is a simple programming feature.

 

[Onemorerun]

Actually, not difficult at all. Currently, setting up an email account requires a password. Simply enabling the creation of an email account where the email password would have to be entered in the email app to open the account is a simple programming feature.

It's also interesting to see, at least I haven't found any, email client apps on the app store.

I've always appreciated Steve Jobs belief on educating people on what his vision was on how a product should be used. Obviously, he was very succesful at it.

However, there is sort of a more sour note if it was more like, "I am making this product in such a way, that has less to do with design/use philosophy, but really everything to do with finding ways to make you spend as much money as possible."

I guess, that's business. And really I do love my IPAD. I ignore the fact that they cost as much as a desktop computer : ) .

 

[takeshi74]

What do you think?

Development resources are always finite. Consider that you're not the only person with an arbitrary list of features that are desired. These products are designed for the majority of the average consumers out there.

 

[donnaw]

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[/COLOR]

Actually, not difficult at all. Currently, setting up an email account requires a password. Simply enabling the creation of an email account where the email password would have to be entered in the email app to open the account is a simple programming feature.[/QUOTE]

You're right, it probably is a simple feature (can't know for sure since we don't have the code). Of course what looks to be simple still involves changes in screen design, database tables, QC/testing cycles, etc.

I've been in too many of these meetings. When you first design your OS/program you list everything you want it to do. Then you start weight-rating them based on importance. Is it necessary for the OS/program to work? If not, how important is the feature on a weighted basis, usually on a scale of 1-3 or 1-5. Once you have you first iteration down and implemented correctly you can move to 'phase 2' which involves re-weighing each idea. Of course, in the meantime other great ideas come up (like iCloud, Siri for example) that might take away from your time to implement. So you are back to what is the 'weight' of the feature. If you wait until you have everything implemented one of two things will happen. 1) you NEVER roll anything out or 2) you roll out a buggy piece of software.

I'm sure if enough users clamor for the capability to enable password protected email accounts Apple will implement it. That's where feedback comes in.

 

[vitzr]

Once one becomes aware of how Apple operates, then their choices & methods are not as surprising. While I don't always agree with some of the very obvious omissions of little technical complexity, Apple does leave out random features that are common in the competitions products.

For example. When the original iPhone was first introduced, every other smartphone had 3G except the iPhone. Even with this glaring shortcoming which had a dramatic effect on the phones performance, Apple did the same thing they always do. They hyped the phone as though it was so advanced that no other phone could possibly compete.

That's just Apple. They love making wild claims and questionable statements.

Steve Jobs possessed such powers of persuasion that he could convince nearly anyone to believe anything. Especially the massive cult like following he created. They will now work extra hard to "spread the word" in his absence. It's why the 4S is a huge success.

Now that he's gone, I don't know of anyone that can ever pull off what he did.

 

[SteveAbootman]

Priorities in software development are always a moving target. Instead of separate user accounts, which would likely discourage individuals from purchasing their own iPads, I'd love to see Apple implement a 'guest' mode.

When someone swipes to unlock, they can either enter the password (this gives them unfettered access to the device and all it's stored data/user accounts/etc. If they don't know the password, they can choose 'Guest'. This opens directly to an instance of Safari isolated from the regular users bookmarks, history, and cookies.

I find most of the time that people who want to use my iPad just want to look up something on the net. They don't necessarily care about my pictures, twitter, facebook, or dropbox account. But... if there there... who's to say someone doesn't open one out of curiosity.

Just my .02 cents.

 

[vitzr]

Instead of separate user accounts, which would likely discourage individuals from purchasing their own iPads, I'd love to see Apple implement a 'guest' mode.

Just my .02 cents.

I really like this idea. It makes a lot of sense and I think it would be wildly popular due to the nature of usage patterns with an iPad.

Knowing that Apple and others monitor this forum, it would be great if Apple would give this consideration and implement it in the near future.

 

[master-ceo]

They need to make a iPad Pro for the true music/producer/electronic/hacker/geeks like myself.

I need a Pro version of this migical device. Let the little guys have fun and play with the regular one and let the Big Boys be extra productive with the Pro one.

 

[iAmYou]

Im actually a pc user, but have always been fascinated by Apples upgrade strategies. And of course I love my IPad and IPhone.

They play their consumer base very well. The IPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4s (not the 5), the 5 probably in a year with just a little more.

The Ipad 3 at the end of this year possibly and maybe it will have better sound, maybe not.

I think they are really good at putting just what is needed in and saving other stuff for later upgrades.

It'll be interesting to see if they can do this so well without Jobs.

The numbers change with a design change.
Just like Mac OS and iOS add features with 10.? and 5.?
So i am expecting to see a iPad 2S next year, as this design is great I don't think it will change just yet.