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Cool factor or Pretentious factor?

iPad: Cool or Pretentious?

  • Cool

    Votes: 46 82.1%

  • Pretentious

    Votes: 10 17.9%
  • Total voters
    56
Simgar988

Simgar988

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 22, 2009
1,094
37
UYBAATC
Since the iPad isn't a necessity like a phone or laptop, people don't see it as a cool thing, but instead they kinda snicker at the person. Anyone else experience this?

I even thought the guy listening to music on his ipad that was under is arm looked goofy... get an iPod. (and I love the iPad).
 
It is only pretentious if you buy it out of materialism in an attempt to create envy from others.

Mobile phones are not a necessity, the majority of people using them don't even really need a mobile. It is just a mania.

The iPad is a godsend for people like me. I travel back and forth from Japan to Australia, Korea, Europe, and the US. I'd rather it and its OS, to any laptop with OSX or Windows, full of crap I don't need, use or want.

Cool factor? It's well priced, and mass produced. Hard to be cool when many people will have the same thing as you.
It isn't a $500 pair of Yves Saint Laurent jeans or something.
 
Well put. I think the same - it comes down to need and some people can really benefit from this device.

Did I need it? Maybe, maybe not. But what matters is that I don't regret my purchase and enjoy using it daily. There is something to be said for keeping up with the latest technology.
 
brn2ski00 said:
Well put. I think the same - it comes down to need and some people can really benefit from this device.

Did I need it? Maybe, maybe not. But what matters is that I don't regret my purchase and enjoy using it daily. There is something to be said for keeping up with the latest technology.
Click to expand...

May I ask what is to be said?
 
Pretentious is the wrong word - I don't think iPad users are trying to be something other than what they are. Conspicuous seems more accurate. it's a new product & new way of thinking about computers. Of course certain segments are going to be skeptical and disdainful. That's is human nature.

The iPad is a cool device that will be mainstream in a year or less but for now it's a curiosity & a little showy as most early adopter gadgets are. There are places like the bus/subway where one would look like a douche using an iPad. It the other price we pay for being early adopters.
 
I snicker at people in a public place talking on their phones, just a little louder than necessary - just to make sure people notice them. Sometimes I even wonder if they are really talking to anyone at all, but just pretending.

Of course, I use the same snicker for the iPod users wildly shaking their heads, just to be seen.

I'm all sad though, I have not been able to use my snicker on an iPad user yet :(
 
The correct answer is that it isn't the device that is pretentious or cool.

No, it's the user, and of course the perceiver's perceptions which may have nothing to do with the iPad itself.
 
I bought mine because the girls at my school will envy it. Maybe I'll get some. :rolleyes:
 
kresh said:
I snicker at people in a public place talking on their phones, just a little louder than necessary - just to make sure people notice them. Sometimes I even wonder if they are really talking to anyone at all, but just pretending.
Click to expand...

Weird. Where do you live that people still think a cellphone is a status symbol? That seems very early 90s.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Pretentious is the wrong word - I don't think iPad users are trying to be something other than what they are. Conspicuous seems more accurate. it's a new product & new way of thinking about computers. Of course certain segments are going to be skeptical and disdainful. That's is human nature.

The iPad is a cool device that will be mainstream in a year or less but for now it's a curiosity & a little showy as most early adopter gadgets are. There are places like the bus/subway where one would look like a douche using an iPad. It the other price we pay for being early adopters.
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about whether the owner of the iPad actually is or not, its whether people that see him with it think that. On my college campus its very much that way as of now.
 
This is not high school and I sure didn't spend $500+ to impress other adults. To me the iPad is an amazing technological device and I feel it is a blessing to me more than it is "cool".
 
kresh said:
Oh don't get me started :) I live in a small town in North Carolina and even in 2010 I occasionally see/hear someone shouting into their cool new prepaid "flip TRAC phone" *GASP* while looking around to see if they have been noticed.
Click to expand...

yea, cuz they're dealing drugs
 
Skateboarding is cool

Rock stars are cool

Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies is cool

Owning an ipad is not.

I want one, because im a geek, and its a nice new gadget, but I definatly dont think i'm cool.
 
I'm not sure where I stand on it. I played around with it at an apple store, and I admit it's a pretty cool device, but I just can't think of a single use I have for it.
 
Some people do lame things. Buy a nice outfit for your girl, and show her off. Personally, I dont want nobody touching my device, so I wil not be showing mine off.
 
Simgar988 said:
I'm not talking about whether the owner of the iPad actually is or not, its whether people that see him with it think that. On my college campus its very much that way as of now.
Click to expand...

Same thing though. Only others can deem another pretentious. It's not something most people aspire to be, they just don't realize they are. Paris Hilton in a pair of $2,000 shoes is normal. A girl in your psych call who is on student aid wearing $500 shoes is "wannabe."

Pretentious means being seen as trying to be someone you are not. Conspicuous is showing off what you have. Conspicuous people can be pretentious, but it's not a prerequiste. Paris Hilton is conspicuous about her wealth but I don't think you could argue that she is pretentious about it -- she actually is wealthy.

Gadget geeks have an iPad because they think it's cool, not because they are trying to appear as such. If they go to the the center of the quad and start playing w/ it as-if they are trying to show it off they are being conspicuous about their ownership, not pretentious. Some might interpret it as you saying "hey look what I have."

master-ceo said:
Some people do lame things. Buy a nice outfit for your girl, and show her off. Personally, I dont want nobody touching my device, so I wil not be showing mine off.
Click to expand...

Ha. When I was flying yesterday I so wanted to play w/ my iPad but didn't feel like having to explain it to the guy next to me or risking him asking to play with it. I can't wait for these to go mainstream like the iPhone so its no big deal.
 
I didn't get mine to be prententious, I got it cause I want one. That said I still do feel kinda funny taking it out in class to take notes on. Mostly cause every one is always like "OMG!!! IS THAT AN IPAD?!?!?!?". Its like come on guys, I'm trying to be descrete and take notes.
 
ukyo229 said:
It is only pretentious if you buy it out of materialism in an attempt to create envy from others.

Mobile phones are not a necessity, the majority of people using them don't even really need a mobile. It is just a mania.

The iPad is a godsend for people like me. I travel back and forth from Japan to Australia, Korea, Europe, and the US. I'd rather it and its OS, to any laptop with OSX or Windows, full of crap I don't need, use or want.

Cool factor? It's well priced, and mass produced. Hard to be cool when many people will have the same thing as you.
It isn't a $500 pair of Yves Saint Laurent jeans or something.
Click to expand...


It isn't a $500 pair of Yves Saint Laurent jeans or something.
You must be in your 50's lol
 
You left off the "Who gives a rat's ass!" option. I stopped giving any mind to what other people thought when I was still in my teens. Now, at age 53, I know what I like and know what I believe and I couldn't care less what other people think about my hobbies, interests or preferences.

Concerns over issues like this are only for the immature and petty mind.

Mark
 
Simgar988 said:
May I ask what is to be said?
Click to expand...

Technology wouldn't be able to progress if people (early adopters) didn't use it. Regardless of price or coolness, people still need and will use the newest gadgets - this only leads to a forward movement and progression.
 
I can't be pretentious sitting at home using my iPad. I think it's only those people who seem to plant themselves in the Starbucks or restaurant in the middle of everyone so people can see them "computating." :D
 
Mark Booth said:
You left off the "Who gives a rat's ass!" option. I stopped giving any mind to what other people thought when I was still in my teens. Now, at age 53, I know what I like and know what I believe and I couldn't care less what other people think about my hobbies, interests or preferences.
Click to expand...

This.

I swear to god, I never realized how awesome just leaving my 20s behind was going to be.
 
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