What Does The New Apple iPad Mean To The Non-Geeky Person
Posted: Friday, January 29, 2010
by Laura Trahan
By now if you are remotely friends with an Apple geek, then you know about the release of the new iPad. I am sure you have listened to endless drooling conversations about how great the new product is, how Steve Jobs should be worshipped, blah, blah, blah.
My husband is an Apple freak to the fullest extent. At least once a week, he can be seen in his "I visited the mothership" t-shirt. For those who do not know, that means he went to the Apple headquarters and stood outside with drool visibly dropping since Apple does not let tourists into the facility. Oh and he stopped at the store and bought that shirt to say he was there.
However, if you do not bleed Apple, what does this new product really mean to you? Here are some observations, I, the non-geek, have made about the product.
Passion
First off, I have to say that I respect the developers passion. I am a woman after all and i have to admit that the video at the Apple Store website almost brought me to tears. Seeing the guys who actually made the product talk about it and seeing how much passion they had for it was very moving. Sorry that I got sidetracked, but it was refreshing to see a group of men be so excited over something they created even if it was part of a "job." You would never know it was work watching that video. It looks like a lot of love and compassion went into the iPad. To watch the video, visit online at http://www.apple.com/ipad/#video
The Kid in All of us
I have to admit. I thought I would always be that person who just settled for the free phones. After all, why should you pay for a cell phone then pay to use it every month. Add to that the cost of a data plan and I was not sold on the new phones. Then I received the new iPhone for Christmas. Now we are paying $150 a month just for phone service.
Of course to get it back, you might have to pry it from my cold dead fingers. See there is this kid in all of us that loves the escape of games, cool applications, music and movies. To have that at your finger tips, is indescribable.
Where does that leave the iPad-imagine the iPhone on steroids. You have a longer battery life so your kids can watch movies in the back seat on long trips. You can even entertain them while you wait in line at the grocery store or in a waiting room of a doctor.
The games look like your game unit at home. The screen is much bigger but still the unit is small enough to carry around. I think it will solve so many issues even as a mom to be able to pull it out and show a movie while your kid is getting their shot or whatever.
Read a book
Ever have one of those instances where the kids are asleep and you find yourself the opportunity to read. However, you don't want to turn on all the lights and wake everyone up or you don't remember the last time you actually had a grown-up book to read. The bookshelf on the iPad is amazing. You can download books straight to it and read. The entertainment aspect of this alone is well worth it! I can imagine me sitting in bed and reading with not too much disturbance.
The keyboard
I have a little confession. My favorite part of having this iPhone is having instant access to email. Granted I do not get that much email, but I love being able to check it in line waiting to pick up my son from school. I also love Facebook. I love being able to read status and respond while sitting in the endless wait time that has become my day as the driver to and from everything. What i don't like is the tiny keyboard when I try to type. I can't tell you how many statuses I have messed up by hitting the wrong letter.
The great thing about the iPad is the keyboard is very close to normal size. Not only that, they have created a keyboard that it can plug into.
Oh and the pictures!!
I love how your albums just sit as stacks that you can just touch and enlarge. You can scroll through them so easily. Not only that you can just flip up and down and share! Pretty cool.
Throw away the planner
There is no more digging through your purse for a pen and planner. The calendar application looks just like a planner. As a mom, I live for my planner. It is now consolidated in this on product and I can input my obligations with my fingers! How cool is that?!?!?
I have to admit that even as a non Apple geek, I find myself coveting the iPad. I think for those of us moms and normal women out there, we could have a ton of fun with it! Of course, we really need it to help with taking care of our kids, right?!
This Article has been viewed 560 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Great non-technical overview, Laura. I can hardly wait to get my hands on one of these myself!Thanks Bruce for the compliment! Meant a lot!!
Thanks, Laura, for the review. ~mogama~Thanks Magama!
thanks for the article :)
viewpoint of a mum. nicely phrased article. well done
Great Article Laura,Apple Rocks!I love my MacBook Pro. I brought it for Grad School, it was my first laptop so I am super attached to it. Also, brought the warranty and just before the 3 years was up it went out on me. I took it in and they gave me a new one, not only that but by some goof they gave me a huge upgrade.They have great warranties, customer service, Public Relations, and marketing....They didn't get me on the cell phone yet though...I am still cell free!
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.