Only 23 Flickr Fans Use The iPad 2's Camera On A Daily Basis
by Joe White
May 14, 2011
Apple's iPhone 4 might be incredibly popular among Flickr users, but the iPad 2 sure isn't. In fact, Apple's second generation tablet, which boasts a rather pathetic 0.7 megapixel camera, is only used by 23 Flickr fans on a daily basis.
The news comes from Mashable, who recently drew our attention to some interesting Flickr data. As you can see in the above screenshot (which lists the Apple cameras used by the Flickr community), Apple's iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 are all very popular devices - with the iPhone 4 boasting 4,402 active daily users.
However, things aren't looking so good for the iPad 2, which was unveiled back in March and hit Apple Stores soon after. In fact, the iPad 2 only has 23 active daily users in the Flickr community - a minute figure when compared with that of the iPhone 4.
Obviously, this is down to two things. The first is the quality of the iPad's camera: At less than a megapixel, it hardly produces beautiful images - anything you shoot with the iPad's camera probably doesn't look all that good, so why would you want to upload it to Flickr?
The second thing is the fact that shooting pictures with the iPad 2 is incredibly impractical - kind of like taking pictures with a clipboard. Because the iPad is relatively big (and it has to be, to support that pretty 9.7 inch screen), owners aren't going to treat it as a portable camera.
It's very easy to criticize the iPad 2's camera simply because of its poor quality - I mean, it wouldn't have killed Apple to throw in a half decent camera. But, would an improved camera push more Flickr fans towards using the iPad 2?
The answer, of course, is no. Essentially, as we've mentioned, the iPad isn't a portable device; you're not going to have it immediately at hand when you're walking in the Alps, when you're at your father's birthday party, or even when your child takes his first steps. Because, while the iPad sometimes might be close at hand, the iPhone's always going to be closer - that is, in your pocket.
For this reason, it's safe to say that most of us aren't all that bothered about the iPad's camera. I know I'm not - though I probably did moan about it, back when the pathetic 0.7 megapixel quality of the thing first hit the Web. A front facing camera for FaceTime is awesome, and I love that. But like I said: Most probably aren't too fussed about the quality of the iPad's camera, simply because you're not going to take all that many photographs with a camera the size of a clipboard.
And that's why on Flickr, the iPad 2 only has 23 active daily users.
What do you think about the iPad 2's camera? Do you use it on a daily basis? Let me know in the comments.