Dave Burrows – Tech / iPhone Blog – Technical Evangelist

I like Sky News, and a lot of people do and that’s probably why it’s still news channel of the year but unfortunately I’m saddened to see that this is yet another story that Sky have completely managed to mess up.

Alistair Bunkall (Sky Reporter) said “Apple hasn’t created a new format just improved existing touch screen technology, rival products and there are many are playing catch up”, so if other rivals are playing catch up then it’s a new format surely? since when have you seen a thin slate like this with over 100,000 apps and games already available for purchase, surely this is a new format? Something that’s better than it’s rivals?

Alistair Bunkall (Sky Reporter) in an Apple Store said “but there’s a lot the iPad doesn’t have, it doesn’t have a camera in the back like an iPhone, it doesn’t have a USB port so you can’t connect it up to a printer for example, it also doesn’t have Microsoft Word so it is unlikely people will be getting an iPad to replace their old Laptop”. When did journalism only report on the negatives of a product? Sure a camera would be nice but it’s not essential, the iPad is deemed a couch computer by Apple and by it’s customers. You can’t connect it up to a printer? Really, well why are there a lot of Bluetooth Printer applications already available through iTunes? It’s not likely to replace your old laptop? Why would you want to? It’s not a laptop replacement. Really Sky, you can do better than this…!

Sky also completely missed the positives like, it’s the first proper thin slate of it’s kind, it has over 100,000 apps and games already available in the iTunes AppStore, it has a better touch screen than any other competing device on the market today, it has a staggering 10+ hours battery life! Oh and it’s sold over 1 million units already in the USA alone! Take a look at what would be Apple’s closest Tablet computer competitor, how many have they sold in their first month? Considerably less than this, not even 10%.

Alistair Bunkall (Sky Reporter) said “So the Apple iPad is really only a highly desirable device, that you really don’t need”. Really? Well nobody needs any device or technology, they purchase it because they WANT it not NEED it.

Mark Longhurst (Sky News Anchor) couldn’t operate the iPad, tried to rotate it by twisting it slightly left to right, didn’t understand he had to rotate it 90 degrees for the display to rotate. He then handed it to a Computer Weekly editor/reporter who likewise didn’t even try to operate the iPad and put down the iPad at every stretch ultimately handing it back to Mark Longhurst saying he doesn’t need one.

To top it off Mark Longhurst (Sky News Anchor) also ended the coverage spot of the iPad release trying to crack a joke by saying “Oh I better switch it off to save battery”, didn’t anyone tell Mark it has 10 hours battery? 3x times the length of the average laptop!

Mark, I love your Sunrise shows when Eamonn is off air on Sky News and love your reporting but clearly someone who should have been in the know at Sky has completely messed up the review of the iPad on Sky News and hasn’t done you or Alistair Bunkall any justice. If one didn’t look deep and see the mess up, they would have thought Sky was dead against Apple and Apple products.

I’m sorry Sky and Sky News, I love you to bits, but this is another news story you have completely messed up. I know Martin Stanford doesn’t usually do mornings but you would have been much better off asking Martin to stand in or at least pre-record something, he at least understands technology and would have reported the story factually correct rather than factually incorrect.

EDIT: I’m glad to see that Sky did do the right thing in the end and showed the iPad on Technology Unplugged in the evening with Martin Stanford and Sky did a complete 360 and redeemed themselves!

Thanks to Martin Stanford for reporting the real facts!