COMMENT: So, the third generation iPad - oddly titled 'the new iPad' - has finally arrived to much fanfare. There is no doubt it's going to be a huge commercial success, but iOS tablets aren't all they are cracked up to be.
Don't get me wrong, the new iPad is shaping up to be a very impressive piece of kit likely to fulfil the needs of a casual user. The inclusion of the Retina display on the 9.7in screen is an engineering feat that the late Steve Jobs would have been proud of, especially when many thought Apple would have to reduce the screen size to accommodate the technology.
When you factor in the improved performance the A5X chipset will bring, LTE connectivity (in the US at least) and a 5-megapixel rear camera with enhanced optics, it's easy to see why fanboys and girls have been whipped up into a frenzy. That's even before you get to the vast selection of high quality apps on offer.
However, there are a two reasons why I won't be splashing out 399 on the latest iPad or any other iOS device for the foreseeable future.
My biggest bug bear is the lack of Adobe Flash support. Many people, like myself, primarily use their tablet to browse the web on the move and even at home. Those who use an iPad regularly will know more often than not when you click 'play' on a web-based video, you will be greeted with the message that you need to download the latest version of Flash something which is not possible.
Yes, we all know that Adobe has stopped developing the software for mobile devices, so even future Android devices are likely to have the same problem - but we're talking about the present. Apple claims HTML5 is the future and, although it is right, this is still a work in progress and the majority of the videos on the web are powered by Flash.
Jobs made it really clear Flash would never make it to iOS device, ever. The former Apple chief executive (CEO) labelled Flash as unreliable, insecure, a hindrance to web development and drain on the battery life.
