CIO — What's not to like about the Apple (AAPL) iPad? Plenty, says Aaron Vronko, CEO of Rapid Repair, an iPod and iPhone repair shop, and one of the first techies to take apart the iPhone 3GS and write a guide.

Vronko feels Apple made too many concessions with the iPad in order to hit a baseline price of $500, which puts the iPad in the same price category as popular netbooks.

"I think Apple tried to split in too many directions," Vronko says. "The iPad converges a lot of things but, unlike the iPhone, doesn't quite go the distance."

Here's four of the iPad's biggest whiffs, according to Vronko:

1. LCD Screen: An E-reader Handicap

Vronko didn't think the iPad would have a 10-inch touchscreen. He figured Apple would use AM OLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) rather than a conventional mobile LCD. After all, AM OLED uses far less battery life yet shines more brightly and vibrantly indoors than a power-draining, backlit LCD that's hard on the eyes.

The problem is that an AM OLED 10-inch display wouldn't be readily available until later this year. That's why Vronko predicted Apple would go with a 7-inch AM OLED screen. He was wrong.

For the iPad, Apple went with a 10-inch LCD display. To power it, Apple had to use a battery that's more than five times the capacity and size of the iPhone 3GS battery. Apple claims the iPad has a 10-hour battery life.

But the LCD screen alone consumes roughly 2 watts per hour, Vronko explains, and will drain the large battery in 12 hours by itself. This will hurt the iPad's chances in the critical e-reader market.

"The iPad has just a 10-hour battery life, although it might last slightly longer when used as an e-reader but not significantly longer," Vronko says. "Most serious e-readers offer anywhere from the mid-20s to 40 hours."

2. Where's the Camera?

The most obvious omission: the iPad is missing a camera. One of the reasons for its absence probably has to do with cost, says Vronko. Apple likely would have had a tough time hitting the $500 price point for a device that included a camera.

Sure, no one is going to hold up an iPad, which is the size of a TV dinner tray, point it at a someone, and say, "cheese"—but the iPad could've used a webcam for video chat. Imagine cradling the iPad, peering into its 10-inch screen, seeing your friend, and carrying on a conversation.

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