Sunday, November 6, 2011

The Magical iPad

Picture this: a student is given a choice to sample either an iPad or a Kindle.

Who wins? The iPad of course. After all, Steve Jobs did say it was “magical” in his original three minute pitch of the product in 2010.

Initially, I was intrigued by its screen and the myriad of applications already present. I admired its sleek design, curious as to how it was made—as if it were some previously obscured work of art.

After the initial glow wore off, I ventured to iTunes to listen to my favorite songs like a true Apple consumer. Promptly turning up the volume, I sampled some songs and sang along, but it didn’t take long for me to migrate towards books. Afterwards, I listened to actress Ruby Dee read one of my favorite novels, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. This eventually led to the download of a sample which was nicely placed on my virtual bookshelf. From there, I continued to read an updated intro to the work by well known Haitian writer, Edwidge Dandicat. In a matter of minutes, a legendary book was made immediately accessible.

Despite my curiosity, a question was forming in my mind: how is this different from Amazon’s Kindle? Or the Nook from B&N?

Attempting to find the source of the iPad’s selling points, I ventured to that online resource which is currently taking up 82% of the market share—you know, Google. Surprisingly (or maybe not), I found that the key phrase “what is the iPad good for” showed up as a typed, as if many, perhaps even hundreds had wondered the very same thing. At the beginning of the page, a link to an article on Techcrunch.com appeared to answer my questions. (Techcrunch is a reputable source because 350,550 people “like” it according to Facebook—and we know that Facebook never lies!) The list of plusses and minuses were written by John Biggs who suggests that iPad is good for reading, photography, games, and movies. That’s fine, I rationalized, but so are physical books, printed photos and the TV.

So, back to the iPad I went.

I read news stories, watched an animated storytelling adventure, and investigated personalized settings, but as I did this another question found its way to the surface. Is the iPad simply an expensive way to pass the time?  I wonder if this iPad craze is just that—a craze. People have been known to want whatever anyone else has. Does all of this go back to the mention of that well known hypothetical family called “The Joneses” who inspire a continuous upgrade in lifestyle some people feel the need to achieve? With technological progress, comes the need to either maintain or pass it. It seems as if every other person I know owns an iPad, plans to, or received it as a gift. What promotes this feeling in us? Is it that sense of inclusion we want to feel? Do we like shiny new products? Do we want to purchase things simply because we can? Or could it be that the iPad legitimately brings a little technological magic into our lives?


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