Even Grandpa Loves the iPad, What's Your Problem?
LOS ANGELES (CBS) Whether you are a techie or not, it was hard to avoid the buzz of Apple's latest invention, the iPad, which was released into the hands of consumers this past Saturday, April 3, selling an estimated 300,000 in just the first day, according to Apple.
The hype had been building the entire week as everyone from David Letterman to Stephen Colbert and Modern Family brought the new gadget on-air for envious eyes to see.
Lines began in New York City as early as April 1, while cities like San Francisco had 300 or so lining the block and Los Angeles stores were barely packed after the first hours of opening. Others eagerly waited at home for their iPad to be delivered.
The consensus from the experts and everyday folks alike seem to be the same- the iPad is simply awesome! Here are some great reviews from Engadget's Joshua Topolsky, CNET's Natali Del Conte, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington and the Huffington Post. Others like Fast Company's Gina Trapani advised on waiting for the next generation to come out. Of course, the iPad isn't for everyone out there and Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow made that pretty clear with his coverage titled: "Why I Won't Buy An iPad (and think you shouldn't either)".
I decided to hit up my local Apple store to document this much buzzed about day. As I interviewed people in line, I met all types of consumers. There were the industry types (writers, journalists, techies), the fanboys, teens, students, dads and even some savvy moms and grandfathers:
At first touch, the iPad is so sleek and elegant you forget that it's a piece of technology. You want to cradle it, name it and call it your own. The glass screen definitely can get a bit smudgy- cue iWipes invention please! Netflix streams beautifully on the screen, you can play games of all sorts, browse your favorite news websites and books with ease and magazines like Wired have developed groundbreaking experiences around it as well that might just stop you from hitting the newsstand again (if you haven't already stopped that routine).
While some see the hype coming from a small portion of early adopters who just need to have their hands on everything first, there's no doubt that just like Apple's other innovative and game-changing products, the iPad will also have its ripple effect into the mainstream sooner or later. So you might be wondering if I bought one too. Well my friends, I must admit that I have not. I will either wait for the 3G to be released around "late April" so I can access the Internet without needing Wi-Fi access or just ask a generous friend if I can babysit theirs for a night or maybe longer...
Will you do the iPad or not? Leave a comment!
Music courtesy of "5 is even" from musicalley by mevio