iThink iWant an iPad

Well, it happened. Earlier this week, Apple unveiled the second-generation iPad. When I first watched the presentation of the original iPad a year ago, I thought I'd like to have one, but that the best move for me would be to hold off and wait for the next one. Although I love technology, I'm not always an early adopter when it comes to buying it. Most game consoles I've bought have been purchased a couple years after it was released. And yes, I did get my iPhone only a couple weeks after it was available, but that was technically the second model of the device (although to be fair, I think I would have bought the first one right away had it been made available in Canada. I've never been as blown away by any product presentation as when the iPhone was announced).

So now the iPad 2 is soon to be released and I can finally allow myself to buy one. And I must say that after having a chance to play around with my mom's iPad back in December it's been more difficult for me to wait, but I held on. Just like with my new iMac, if I'm certain that waiting a little longer will mean getting a better product for the same price I have no problem with waiting. I knew there would be some manner of upgrades to the next model, but I was planning on buying it no matter how large or small the changes might have been.

But what I find amazing is what a large amount of people there are (at least on a couple web sites I frequent, anyway) who are really upset about the changes. It's thinner and lighter, is a lot faster and has video cameras. That's pretty much what I expected. However, people are complaining about things like it not getting a bump in storage space, no USB ports or SD card slots (no Apple devices outside their desktop or laptop computers have those, so why is it a surprise?) or no significant increase in the display's resolution. And combine these with the people who compare the specs (well, those specs that Apple has seen fit to release—until it's physically released and someone tears it down, we won't really know how much RAM it contains, for example) to other tablets that are out there and insist that the others are better, and it makes for a lot of noise out there on the Internet.

But those people are forgetting two important points. First of all, Apple doesn't necessarily design products for übergeeks like them; rather they're for regular everyday people—everyone from preschoolers to grandparents, regardless of their computer know-how or lack thereof. Secondly, Apple isn't selling hardware specs; they're selling an experience. Their advertising for the first iPad talked about how “magical” a device it was, after all. Apple has a proven track record in providing a great user experience, and that's actually what a majority of their customers are looking for. In my mind, it's really no different than comparing a BMW sedan and a Dodge Ram truck. Even though from looking are pure specs one could probably argue that the truck is a better vehicle, a lot of people would take the BMW if they were able to, myself included. Not for the specs, but for the experience. And I'm sure that for every person who is refusing to buy an iPad 2 there are a couple thousand people, or more, who would love to get their hands on one.

And get my hands on one, I most certainly will. The tough choice now is how to go about doing it. The Canadian release is on the 25th, so the thought did cross my mind to take the day off work to make a trip to Vancouver to visit the Apple store. It could be fun to participate in the whole “Buy an Apple product on release day from an Apple store” experience, but I'm worried that I would be too late and the one I want is sold out. Plus, the round trip from Abbotsford would cost at least $25, not to mention the potentially long wait in a lineup and the nervousness about getting mugged for it on the train ride back. Or, I can order online the moment I learn that I can and, true, I would get it later, but I'd not only save the money on gas, parking and bus/train fare, but not potentially waste hours of my day and come home empty handed. But who knows. That's still two weeks away though, and a lot can change by then. Maybe I'll get lucky and win one or something. Hey, you never know...