love

kit

So, I'm typing this post on my Mum's brand new shiny iPad. "What?! Such extravagance and frippery!" I hear you say. Well, yes. HOWEVER, after much scoffing and huffing and puffing at the seemingly pointless frivolousness of iPads, I have actually warmed to them. I've been playing on Mum's for all of 45 minutes and already I'm pretty much sold. 

The thing is, most people (myself included until the last half hour) just see iPads as a fairly needless luxury. And, in a sense, they kind of are. BUT, I don't think it's until you've had a proper go with one (longer than 10 minutes in an Apple shop can afford) that you start to see their real potential. Basically, I've got this (very tentative) theory about a problem with the advertising we've seen for the iPad (not that I, a mere mortal, could ever really criticise Apple marketing which is, on the whole, perfection). 

My theory is that they tried too hard to make it seem a viable piece of technology for everyone, all at once. Their determination to demonstrate how universal it is has, I think, actually weakened their campaign. They've focused so much on how it can be used for gaming, photography, presentations, Internet, books - businessmen, artists, young families - that it's made it feel kind of confused. 

Instead of demonstrating how the iPad can be perfect for, say, a photographer in every aspect of their work, they tried to show how perfect it is for EVERYONE all at the same time. I reckon a series of adverts targeted at specific people (business people using them for presentations and easy transportation of files, artists using them as portfolios, commuters using them as libraries and games consoles, etc.) would help people better imagine how an iPad would slot seamlessly into their lives. Instead, I think the current adverts leave you thinking, "We-ell, I think I'd maybe use it for one of those things..." 

Anyway, just a thought. My experience using one this afternoon has left me thinking, "Ah yeah, it'd be really useful for this and that". Also, typing on it is surprisingly easy ;)