Everyone has looked at the price sheet by this point and knows that there are WiFi iPad models at $499, $599 and $699 with 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB storage respectively. Well, that non-volatile storage is Flash memory, the same stuff you can buy in any store in the form of Compact Flash (CF), or SD cards, etc.

Right now, the incremental price Apple is charging for the extra Flash storage is more or less in line with the prices of Flash memory on the open market. The problem is there is no upgrade path. The iPad is completely lacking a card slot for expanding its storage. So, if you buy, say, the 32 GB model, and decide later that you need more storage, the only way to get more is to buy another whole iPad! This is even though, by the time you need it, the extra 32 GB will probably be very inexpensive. Unacceptable.

In fact, the only digital connector on the iPad is Apple’s proprietary dock connector. This lack of expandability is not only a marketing ploy, but also part of the overall lock-down of the iPad as a platform. The iPad is burdened right out of the box with the curse of DRM. Users of the iPad will be stuck accessing only the content Apple wants them to access, using the applications Apple wants them to use. This is a totally closed platform, and users should beware of giving up their open, general purpose laptop for this closed environment. Here, Apple has either submitted to, or totally joined forces with the RIAA and other copyright holders to impose their will on the users of any device which may be used to view anything which might be copyrighted.

Apple has moved away from DRM under public pressure before. They removed DRM from songs on the iTunes music library. To help pressure Apple to remove DRM from the iPad, please see the Defective by Design web page.

-Jamie