Tuesday, March 01, 2011

The new iPad cometh...

I never met a geek story I didn't like - or that I didn't want to write about. So in advance of Apple's expected announcement Wednesday of its next-generation iPad (which some folks call iPad 2, but I'm betting they're wrong, but I digress) I wrote a piece for Yahoo! Canada Finance, and it published today:


My point? The iPad isn't successful because it's a lovely piece of engineering. It isn't about the hardware. The software/iTunes App Store ecosystem's the real reason no other tablet comes close.

So while everyone in San Francisco and beyond is swooning over the cool new features, lighter weight, thinner chassis and all the other things that make folks cool at parties, I'll be focusing on the less tangible reasons that explain why Apple rules the consumer electronics world. And I'll be alone in the corner, most likely.

I'm such a contrarian.

Your turn: Are you the kind of person to line up outside a store to be the first among your friends to own a given gadget? If you are, why? If you aren't, what do you think of those who do?

7 comments:

young-eclectic-encounters said...

Personally, I do not get the newest and latest as it comes out. I wait until I see what the bugs are going to be, if it really is an improvement worth the extra money, and I like to buy in that in between zone of price where it has started to drop but isn't dirt cheap because the next version is ready to come out. The only time I bought new right after it came out was my computer a few days after Windows 7 came out. I know a few tips and tricks but did not know enough to work around the bugs from Windows 7 and the problems it gave me with my programs and some of the web sites I belonged to that had not upgraded. It was very frustrating; if I can avoid it I'll never do it again :^S

Kalei's Best Friend said...

U know, I use to be one of those that would line up.. Now, I see, that all the hoopla is just what it is.. B.S. lol... I've now realized, the wait in line isn't what it was cracked up to be and really was it worth standing an hour in line just to get that product that may be over priced? when a lesser brand would work just as well? The businesses that have the product folks are willing to stand out for and pay for are getting what they obviously have set out for... I know some are die hards of certain products just because of the name... One could say the word 'generic' is lesser? There are generic medications, I wonder if the die hard Apple/Sony or whatever brand name people go for generic meds? I've taken generic meds and I've recovered from whatever has ailed me..

Dawn said...

Oh boy! I was just thinking about this the other day.
No.
No I wait for "the next best thing" to come along.
That way I never feel buyers remorse. Ever.
And then again....nor do I own any fancy gadgets but my cell phone and little notebook computer;)

Danny Bradbury said...

No - and it's precisely the ecosystem that stops me from buying Apple these days.

srp said...

My brother got my daughter one for Christmas. At first she said she was going to let me keep it as she has her MacBookPro for school and she didn't think she would use it very much. But, she took it with her and now she uses it all the time. She said it was handy to use on a daily basis in class and was less hassle to carry all day on campus... University of Nevada Reno campus is not laid out very well, at least for her graduate classes. Secretly, I really was hoping she would leave it here.... sigh.

Melissa A. Bartell said...

My husband boughtbme an (old) iPad for Valentine's day. While I'm as guilty as any geek about wanting whatever is new and shiny, I knew the ipad2 was coming when I bought this and I don't regret the purchase.

I don't need a camera on a tablet. I barely ever use the webcam built into my laptop or monitor. All my other toys have HDMA out already.

The pad I have is exactly what I needed.

Now, when iphone5 comes out this summer, that will be a different story.

Janie B said...

Not me...I usually can't afford the newest thing, so I wait until it's as cheap as it's gonna get, and then rarely get it at all. Oh well...