My iPad decision story.
I have suffered and also enjoyed greatly in being an Apple gadget geek who lives with EAS - early adopter syndrome. And it often means I routinely get the latest and greatest iPhad.
Case and points:
I bought a Rev. A G4 450 'Sawtooth' PowerMac with a very odd early spec DVD writeable drive that only wrote to DVD's inside a plastic case (Type II) when less than a year later better specs were available with a real superdrive that wrote to today's DVD-Rs.
I bought a Rev. A 5 GB iPod with the spinning wheel when less than a year later the 10 GB and 20 GB touch wheels came out at better price points.
I bought an Apple TV in April of 2007 though I didn't really need it but just wanted to get a new Apple product.
I bought an original iPhone in July of 2007 after swearing that I wouldn't get one right away, but then when I held it in my hands, I had to have it - only to have the price drop $200 within 2 months (yes I got a $100 Apple Store Credit Coupon).
I bought a Rev. A aluminum iMac 2.8 Ghz Extreme in August 2007 the day they were released, only to have to send it back for dead pixels and then suffer through a year plus of screen freezes before they replaced my HDD and motherboard.
I bought an iPhone 3G in July of 2008 after telling myself there was no reason to upgrade but then selling my original iPhone because of reasons I justified and can no longer remember.
I bought an aluminum MacBook in November of 2008 shortly after their release only to have Apple turn it in to the 13" MacBook Pro 6 months later, bring back FireWire, increase the RAM, and give it a longer battery and better screen, not to mention drop the price $200 - making it much harder to sell for a good price.
Except for the ire I feel over the MacBook, most of these have been very good Apple products to me and I have enjoyed them, used them, and felt that they filled various needs and uses. However, as I have been trying to decide which model iPad I would consider, and even thought to myself that it would make a great birthday present (in July) that I could buy with gift cards or what not from family, added to which that would give me time to play with it, hear feedback, problems, and see what WWDC 4.0 OS announcements might bring, I have decided that really I will wait until a fall revision (or certainly OS updates) if there is one, consider it next xmas, or even this time next year.
I have an iMac and an iPhone. I also have my MacBook which I thought about selling when I bought the iPad. But outside of the gotta have it, newest Apple gadget allure, there is no real reason for me to flex my EAS muscle and be the guinea pig for feedback and improvements on the iPad. I am sure once I see one in the store and play with it, I will have to do my best to resist the buy now urge. But truth is I can do everything I need to on my MacBook including webcam at the breakfast table (no this isn't an argument or hope that the iPad gets a webcam). And at the worst I will delay my spending and get a little bit more bang for, who knows, maybe a little less buck.
Don't get me wrong. I am not knocking the iPad or saying that people shouldn't buy one. This is just some of what is going into my decision making process.
I have suffered and also enjoyed greatly in being an Apple gadget geek who lives with EAS - early adopter syndrome. And it often means I routinely get the latest and greatest iPhad.
Case and points:
I bought a Rev. A G4 450 'Sawtooth' PowerMac with a very odd early spec DVD writeable drive that only wrote to DVD's inside a plastic case (Type II) when less than a year later better specs were available with a real superdrive that wrote to today's DVD-Rs.
I bought a Rev. A 5 GB iPod with the spinning wheel when less than a year later the 10 GB and 20 GB touch wheels came out at better price points.
I bought an Apple TV in April of 2007 though I didn't really need it but just wanted to get a new Apple product.
I bought an original iPhone in July of 2007 after swearing that I wouldn't get one right away, but then when I held it in my hands, I had to have it - only to have the price drop $200 within 2 months (yes I got a $100 Apple Store Credit Coupon).
I bought a Rev. A aluminum iMac 2.8 Ghz Extreme in August 2007 the day they were released, only to have to send it back for dead pixels and then suffer through a year plus of screen freezes before they replaced my HDD and motherboard.
I bought an iPhone 3G in July of 2008 after telling myself there was no reason to upgrade but then selling my original iPhone because of reasons I justified and can no longer remember.
I bought an aluminum MacBook in November of 2008 shortly after their release only to have Apple turn it in to the 13" MacBook Pro 6 months later, bring back FireWire, increase the RAM, and give it a longer battery and better screen, not to mention drop the price $200 - making it much harder to sell for a good price.
Except for the ire I feel over the MacBook, most of these have been very good Apple products to me and I have enjoyed them, used them, and felt that they filled various needs and uses. However, as I have been trying to decide which model iPad I would consider, and even thought to myself that it would make a great birthday present (in July) that I could buy with gift cards or what not from family, added to which that would give me time to play with it, hear feedback, problems, and see what WWDC 4.0 OS announcements might bring, I have decided that really I will wait until a fall revision (or certainly OS updates) if there is one, consider it next xmas, or even this time next year.
I have an iMac and an iPhone. I also have my MacBook which I thought about selling when I bought the iPad. But outside of the gotta have it, newest Apple gadget allure, there is no real reason for me to flex my EAS muscle and be the guinea pig for feedback and improvements on the iPad. I am sure once I see one in the store and play with it, I will have to do my best to resist the buy now urge. But truth is I can do everything I need to on my MacBook including webcam at the breakfast table (no this isn't an argument or hope that the iPad gets a webcam). And at the worst I will delay my spending and get a little bit more bang for, who knows, maybe a little less buck.
Don't get me wrong. I am not knocking the iPad or saying that people shouldn't buy one. This is just some of what is going into my decision making process.
Mike