Skip down to the long horizontal line to start reading my “justification” the first part is just puff and BS about my Apple buying habits and not really crucial / important to the overall post. Seriously, skip it.
Apple introduced a new device category. The last two “new” products introduced by the consumer electronics company were the AppleTV in January of 2006 and the iPhone a year later in January 2007. Since then, Apple hasn’t done anything too revolutionary. I guess the MacBook Air in 2008 was an evolutionary step for their notebook line but it wasn’t any reason to divide the pie chart of product categories and the iPod Touch is lumped into the iPhone OS devices. It’s safe to say the iPad is an iPhone OS device and will be calculated in with sales of iPhones and iPods but it is a brand new way to consume media and is just as important as the iPhone was when released in 2007.
I think everyone agrees that the iPad is something that will evolve and improve just as the original iPhone did. On the other hand, it could fall the way of the AppleTV and see incremental software and storage capacity updates over time and eventually be laid out to pasture like Apple’s XServe and XServe RAID. It’s really too early to tell. Apple CAN do wrong and they’re not too big or too popular to fail and a new product category is extremely risky and their stock price shows that. Investors are very cautious on their outlook and conservative estimates place 2010 iPad sales at 1-5 million. By comparison, Apple sold 42 million iPhones in 2009. Basically, analysts feel the iPad might be able to do 10% of the sales iPhone did in 2009 and at the low end, it would be somewhere around 2%. Analysts are usually wrong but I just wanted to put it in perspective just how unconvinced everyone is about the real-world potential of this new device. When Apple released the iPhone 3GS, there were hundreds of articles asking the question, “if you’re an iPhone 3G user, should you upgrade?” It’s the same this time around except there are 10 times the amount of articles and the authors eventually say to users, “if you have a notebook and an iPhone, don’t buy an iPad. Just wait.” I disagree.
It’s interesting that people flooded my inbox and twitter stream with queries asking if I was going to buy the device. I hadn’t even planned on writing a blog post because most of the important stuff had already been covered by the professional journalists. What happened in the past year was my buying patters set me apart as an Apple consumer or simply as a tech consumer.
What happened was I mastered the apple resale equation. I’m okay with admitting that now. Looking at my bank and paypal statements on purchases made to Apple Computer in 2009 totaled $16,500+. There were a few more numbers in there but it was more than most people pay a year in mortgage payments. OMFG! Yes, but I maintained eBay PowerSeller status all year. Why? Because, I sold $18,000+ of goods on eBay. All of those were technology hardware which means I made a profit of $1,500 last year selling the Apple hardware I bought. How? I’ve been selling computers and iPods on eBay since 2003. I’ve sold almost 200 items on eBay on 7 years. That’s not very much but that’s 200 items that get $100-$4,000 which I turn around and use to buy the latest gadget. This obsessive disorder toward the latest computer hardware is a problem I admit that but until it starts costing me money, I have no reason to stop my buying trends. If I could guarantee you a new car every 6 months and you’d make money as well, would you do it? Of course you would. This is all I’m doing so the haters tell me I’m wasting my money and I’m really not.
The situation I’m in now is that people actually think my opinion on Apple hardware matters simply given that I have used every new Apple hardware in the past 5-7 years. Okay, fair enough but I’m not an expert reviewer, just someone who has found a way to beat the system. Without further ado, here is my justification for an Apple iPad.
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The iPad is a transition product sitting awkwardly between iPhone / iPod touch and Apple’s portable / desktop computers. It’s much too beefy to even be called a Kindle Killer (which it is) and much too big to cannibalize non iPhone OS devices (nano, shuffle, classic). The iPad will be most suited (aka, a no brainer) to families, moms, dads, little sisters, grandparents who only need the basics (web, email, media, books) and don’t need to get into the maintenance, software costs, complicated operating systems that regular notebooks / netbooks provide.
Basically, your grandmother doesn’t want the hassle of applying security updates and booting up her netbook just to check Yahoo! Mail. An iPad with wireless internet in her home on a DSL Lite connection is perfect for seeing photos you’ve emailed her and watching ABC News Video content or buying a new book. She’ll use it less than 30 minutes a day and be extremely happy with it and the phone calls to you on Sunday morning when it doesn’t boot will cease because the device is too simple to fail (almost) unlike the Windows XP you bought her that has a tiny ass screen with blue screens of death once a week.
Another scenario is you 12-16 year old sister, daughter, son, niece, nephew doesn’t need their own computer yet because the family computer is adequate and spending $899 for a MacBook is out of the budget but they need a computer to take notes on and play with games. It’s cheap enough that you can justify it and large enough that it can be used as an “internet terminal” better than an iPod Touch. It’s great for teenagers who need something more functional than an iPod.
My mom and dad will be getting iPads from me for Christmas. Dad has long wanted a notebook computer but my recommendations put him at just under a thousand bucks and that’s for a windows PC and all he wants to do is search the web, watch videos and check emails. An iPad would be perfect because both Mom and Dad get angry and tired of dealing with their Windows PCs and I have to pay for LogMeIn access to offer tech support to them when they have issues. An iPad would be perfect for them and my sisters could use them as household devices when my parents weren’t using them.
For these three groups, the iPad is perfect. You, the reader, aren’t in this group. You’re a technological person, you own an iPod / iPhone and you have a notebook (PC or Mac). I know this because 5% of my readers are iPhone OS users, 50% are Macs and 40% are PCs. Less than 5% of the readers are Linux, Symbian, Blackberry and Windows Mobile. You don’t “need” an iPad. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you justify it because I want the iPad to be around for a while unlike the AppleTV because I bought one and Apple abandoned it. It makes me sad :(
Why I need one:
I own the following:
- iPhone 3GS (32GB)
- AppleTV (160GB)
- iMac 27″ Core i7
- MacBook Air 2.13Ghz w/ SSD
- iPod Nano (16GB w/ Video)
- Dell Quad-Core PC w/ tons of gaming components, TV-Tuner, 30″ Dell LCD
- XBox 360 w/ Bose 2.1 Speaker System
I have everything and more than most people need. I have a home theatre solution, portable solution, ultra-portable system, music player and work machine and then some. Yet, I’ve justified an iPad… So don’t worry, you’ll have no problem justifying it to your family and spouse after reading this.
When I leave the house, my Incase or Brenthaven backpack has the following contents:
- MacBook Air
- Protective sleeve
- AC Adapter
- AT&T 3G Card
- SD USB Reader
- Canon G11
- Extra Battery for Canon
- Flip Mino HD
- USB Cable for iPhone
- Mini Tripod
- Shure SE530 Earphones
- Knife
In summary, I have about 18 pounds of technology worth about $3800 in my bag at all times. That’s just a heads up to you crazy fuckers who follow me around looking to score some free tech goodies that are all brand new and in warranty.
Anyway, 5-7 pounds of my gear is the MacBook, adapters, cables, chargers and accessories that go with it. What do I actually use the air for? If I’m going to work, that’s a 17 minute walk and I don’t need it so mostly the air is for conferences, meetings and if I get the itch to stop at a coffee shop on the way home and write (like I am now). The MacBook is also with me on the weekends when I’m out with friends or taking photos. Occasionally an email will come in that would take too long to answer on my iPhone so I whip out the MBA w/ 3G card and get some work done no matter where I am in the city. This is also my setup when I go out to dinner, I have a smaller more thin bag and always have my laptop and 3G card on me because work could happen at any time and I don’t want to rely on my iPhone for big tasks that would take 10x as long on that tiny screen.
The times I actually needed my MacBook Air are at least once a day while I’m out all day but mostly it’s Email, word processing, spreadsheet work, wordpress work (safari / firefox) and other web based support tools for clients and maybe some work in Tweetie. That’s it. The iPad can do all of that.Days when I’m at my office, the MBA comes with me to meetings, lunch dates and conference room sit downs with my boss. I’m usually only taking notes and saving them to MobileMe for access on my iMac when I get back to my desk.
Come to think of it, the MacBook Air is a full featured notebook but it lacks the capabilities (multi-media capabilities) that my MacBook Pro used to have. The reason why is my Dell PC at home and iMac at work (both owned by me) are fast enough and accessible enough that if something is CPU intensive (audio, video, gaming), I just walk 10 minutes to the office or wait until I’m home to do it. All and the weight I saved by downgrading to a MacBook Air has been phenomenal but the MBA is still overkill for what I do when out and about.
My MacBook Air is really used for just those basic tasks. I’m looking at my MBA dock right now.
- Tweetie
- Firefox
- NetNewsWire
- iCal
- Things (to-do mangement)
Tweetie, NetNewsWire and Things are all available for the iPhone and sync back to my iMac. Mail & Firefox & iCal are already on the iPad. This is all I use on the MacBook Air and it only gets 2.5 hours of battery life when I turn the brightness up. To top it all off, I pay $65 a month for an AT&T 3G Card that’s bulky, cumbersome, requires a USB extension cable (because the card won’t fit in the MBA USB slot). Then I have the MBA power adapter and SD card reader adapter (cause I like to upload photos on the go when I’m riding the bus back to my house after a long day of photo walking.
Finally, I’ve been holding off buying a Kindle since it was introduced. I kept waiting for Apple to compete. I buy books on the kindle app via iPhone but it’s too small to read. So I’ll be using the iPad for reading books as well so that will factor in a savings of around $259
Let’s run the numbers:
- iPad 32GB Model w/ 3G – $729 + $30 a month for unlimited AT&T 3G = $1089 for 12 months of use
- Minus the cost savings of $259 since I won’t be buying a Kindle this year (side-note)
- MacBook Air 2.13Ghz Model –$1899 + $65 a month for AT&T 3g + $125 for AT&T Card (retail) = $2804 for 12 months of use.
After owning a MacBook Air for 6 months, it’s clear that I’m spending nearly 3 times as much and carrying 4 times as much weight in my bag for a device that does the same tasks as an iPad. Let’s not mention the AC adapter, cables, adapters and 3G DataCard I have to carry around with me EVERYWHERE if I want to work effectively when work is required.
By using the iPad,
- I go from 5-7 pounds of gear to 1.5 pounds of gear
- If I’m robbed, it’s a $729 loss and not a $2,000 loss
- My battery life goes from 2.5 hours to 10 hours (Apple’s iPad claim)
- The experience is seamless with less maintenance, repair costs and other “expenses” inherited by owning a notebook computer
In Summary:
An iPad doesn’t fit my lifestyle completely but compared to the MacBook Air, it will compliment my iMac and Dell PC at home perfectly fitting right between the iPhone and iMac as a replacement to my laptop. I used to be under the impression that faster, bigger, better is the way to go. Now, I realize that lighter and more portable wins even if you lose a bit of the functionality.
However, I don’t think I’ll be selling my MacBook Air. I like it a lot. it’s a great computer and I’m not always in the office. Some days, I’ll spend all day at a cafe working on some heavy duty stuff or simply not leave my bed until noon working on my laptop and a “lap tablet computer” is simply not ergonomic enough to work on for 10+ hours without being in extreme pain and discomfort or having the feeling of wanting “more”.
I think it’ll play out like it did when I purchased the MacBook Air. I wasn’t sure how powerful the MBA would be and how well it would fit in my life. so I bought one but kept my 17″ MacBook Pro. It took a month for me to realize that the MacBook Air is the only notebook I needed. I sold the 17″ and got the iMac 27″ instead. Now the MBA is my only portable computer (aside from the iPhone).
My plan is to buy the iPad, try it for a month and if I notice that I’m rarely using the MacBook Air (like less than 30 minutes a day), i’ll scrap it and be iPad only but I need to make sure it really truly fits into my life as a justifiable productivity tool. If I still find myself grabbing the MacBook Air instead of the iPad, I’ll sell the iPad.
I think the device can do what I need, 10x faster than the iPhone but probably 2x slower than my MacBook Air but the portability and convenience of the iPad and investment if lost or stolen is much more valuable despite the slight drop in productivity.
For your non-techie family and friends, it’s perfect. They should get one ASAP. For us techies, it’s not so easy to justify. I hope you enjoyed this 2400 word justification :P
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