During the last couple of class periods, I have enjoyed using the iPad, but I still see it as mainly a large iPhone... Of course the screen is bigger, making it easier to read e-mails as well as type, but I've never actually had the desire to purchase an iPad. I'm perfectly content with my iPhone, iPod, and laptop. Who needs one more thing to carry around? I can see it being useful for schools... since having all of your text books and documents at one touch is pretty impressive, but I'm still attached to books and the "old-fashioned" way of writing notes in a notebook. I think it's the physicality of being able to hold a book and write notes. Plus, typing is mindless to me. I think when I hand-write, I pay more attention to what is being said by the professor or what I am reading.
For the "techy" I can see the appeal. I must admit, the iPad is cool; it's fun to use and personalize, and easy to carry around. The design asthetics are wonderful, and for any Apple fan it's most likely a must have. If one can afford it and is interested, why not purchase one? I, on the other hand, tend to be one of the cheapest people I know; spending money kills me. I scoff at a t-shirt marked down to $5.. who needs to spend that much on a simple t-shirt? So, spending $300 on a piece of technology I don't even consider necessary is a "no can do" situation for me. Most of my technology I have received as a gift or out of necessity for college. I had to put my foot down for Christmas though when my father said he was thinking of buying us all iPads... nobody needs to spend $300 to make me happy - I'd rather just have pfeffernusse cookies. I wonder if the need for an iPad or desire to own one deals with both, of course, the interest and fascination with the newest technology, but also with income. I know Steve Jobs wanted Apple products to be for the everyday man, but I can tell you, the "everyday man" cannot afford Apple products... or at least the newest ones. This country is built off of branding and consumers, but I wonder if the middle and lower classes are getting left behind - especially in technology. We all know much of the upper class, or more specifically, conservatives in general, do not really understand the plight of a middle and lower class family - so maybe the disconnecct in consumerism is coming from a gap in social economic status. I can honestly say, I do not know many middle and lower clas people who own iPads.
The iPad is definitely marketed toward the high middle to upper class but I think it's more a testament to the iPad's functionality than the socioeconomic gap. Job's did strive to develop a product for the everyday man but I think he failed at creating a product that revolutionized our standards of living (which was clearly his goal). The fact is the iPad didn't become a product that the everyday man 'needed' because it simply doesn't do that much. Instead the iPad was relegated to being a fun tech toy for people that have a couple hundred dollars to burn. In contrast, cell phones are valued in our society because of their utility and can be found in most american's homes despite their expense. I'm not trying to distract from the fact that Apple's products are too expensive for a portion of the population that Job's claimed to be reaching, but I think that Apple also failed to develop a product that is useful and innovative in a way that the everyday man finds himself needing their product.
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