…But Do I NEED One?

I bought Aaron an iPhone for Christmas 2008. I bought one for myself shortly thereafter.

We used to have ridiculously cheap Nokia cellphones, with Tracfone pay-as-you-go plans. Our friends used to joke with us that it was so bizarre how we were cell phone luddites, while still having the latest and greatest in other techie gadgetry and entertainment technology. (Truth be told, we aren’t early adopters, and neither do we have the fanciest and newest stuff. We just have a really big HDTV.)

Our iPhones vaulted us into the 21st century, mobilely speaking. Not only do we text each other (and, on occasion, our friends), but we read the news, check Twitter, search on Google and Wikipedia, and get ourselves unlost in the car (and in foreign countries) with our iPhones.

Did we need our iPhones? Hell, no. But they sure make life easier.

Now, there’s this iPad. In its current state, it basically looks like a really big iPod Touch, or maybe like a Kindle and an iPhone had a baby. This fills in a gap that Apple seems to have invented, or at least exploited:

cellphone > smartphone > tablet > netbook > notebook > laptop > desktop

Aaron and I bought an old Dell laptop at a garage sale a couple of summers ago. We bought a new power supply and battery, got a network card and a DVD player, some more memory, and now we’re golden. The last time our laptop got any use was when Aaron was using it as a portable DVD player while doing some indoor stationary biking. Before that, we took it on vacation with us, to blog and surf from our hotel room.

For me to be interested in purchasing the iPad in its next iteration (because, really, only Mac fanboys buy 1st gen Apple products), Apple is going to have to convince me that there is a need in my life for this product. With the iPhone, the basic need it served was that of communication. Instant, and in multiple mediums. Phone, text, e-mail, web. And it fits in my pocket or purse. But this? I don’t think I’m their target audience. I’m not a Mac fangirl, or a student, or a young executive who prides herself on having the latest and greatest.

That’s not to say that I won’t play with the iPad when I see it in the next Apple Store I happen across. But I’m as likely to buy an iPad as I am to buy a MacBook Air, despite the major price difference between the two.

Prove me wrong, Apple…

One thought on “…But Do I NEED One?

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  1. While I am intrigued by ebook readers and would love to have a color one for digital comics… I think I’ll be holding off for the time being. My iPad Mini still serves me just fine. 🙂