An Apple a day
Technology shy I am not. There is nothing I like more than a new gadget, gizmo or thingamajig. Put me in a store filled with cutting-edge consumer electronics and I am in heaven. Wonder then, why the recent release of Apple's new toy, the iPad, has me wholly underwhelmed - and vowing to end my wasteful ways.
First, a caveat: I have nothing against Apple's products; they are stylishly designed and technically impeccable. For flexibility, though, my computer of choice is a PC. This is despite the first computer I ever had an affair with being an Apple II, way back in the dawn of the personal computer age in 1979. Regardless, I have various devices branded i-something littering my home.
Herein lies the problem - they are quite literally littering. The audio and video iPods are no longer being used and are on shelves gathering dust. They still function, but Apple's clever marketing means they have been superseded. Each new upgrade nudges them further into the rubbish bin of obsolescence.
Apple is by no means the only company that does this, of course. Every electronics firm brings out models on a regular basis to keep profits up. They rarely innovate, instead tweaking and adding little bells and whistles to entice a sale. The mobile phone industry has got this down pat, but the people at Apple are the masters of the game.
The iPad, just like the iPhone and iPod, does not break technological ground. There are other products already available that do exactly what it does. Most do what it does better. What they don't have is the hype.
No one hypes a new product like Apple. The company builds media buzz years before the gala launch date, keeping the tightest of lids on secrecy and relying on intentional leaks and rumours to push interest. Apple's feverishly loyal fan base makes this easy. Media speculation quickly abounds as to what the gadget will be called, what it will look like and what it will do. The result is that everyone wants one. Overnight, it becomes the industry standard. The names of competitors are forgotten. Previously purchased similar items are confined to shelves as hands eagerly tear open boxes containing Apple-branded replacements.