An interesting excerpt from Daniel Eran Dilger’s in-depth review of the iPad 2, and how Apple never thought of the iPad as a replacement PC but instead a post-PC device. Put simply, Apple believes the iPad is a device which will likely define both the form-factor and overall user experience of all other devices that follow after the success of what we know as the “PC”.

While certainly a personal computer, iPad is so different from what we expect of a PC that it actually makes sense to call it a “post-PC” device. This is the computer for people who want to use technology, not manage meta-technology. While there are lots of new competitors trying to deliver a tablet that can compete with iPad, they all seem to be trying to do this by being more like PCs, rather than actually following Apple’s lead in delivering something that solves new problems and discards old legacy baggage.

_{- Sponsors -}

As long as you approach iPad as a post-PC device rather than expecting it to be a drop in replacement for a PC (whether a notebook or netbook or Slate PC-like device), few of the iPad’s limitations will irk you. The ones that remain will be related to Apple’s iOS development (meaning they should be addressed quickly, given the company’s record-setting turnaround on both completing and delivering prompt updates) or the company’s design decisions.

You can’t, for example, opt for a fancy camera on the iPad, because Apple thinks its tablet is best suited for capturing decent quality video rather than snapping the very good photos iPhone 4 can capture. On the other hand, you can use your own camera of choice and upload photos via the iPad Camera Connector adapter. Apple has similarly opted to provide VGA and HDMI output via external connectors rather than sacrificing the iPad’s thin design, something you can’t bypass after purchase. Fortunately, Apple’s design decisions/limitations are smart enough to be hard to argue against, particularly given the iPad’s low price compared to all of its would-be competitors.

As with Apple’s other products, when you buy an iPad you’re partly paying for integration, which means that its various components work well together, but also that you can’t pick and choose which details you’d like to be different. Over the last decade, the market in general has voted with its dollars for Apple’s integrated approach in post-PC devices like the iPod, iPhone and iPad, with each of those having no single competitor that can attempt to rival its popularity.

[via AppleInsider]