Once a week I’m asked the same question about the iPad and why I don’t have one yet. Sure, friends, family and coworkers ask slightly different variations of the question like:
- Why don’t you have an iPad yet?
- When are you getting an iPad?
- Why haven’t you written a review of your iPad on your blog?
The answer is 2 parts.
A) Why I didn’t buy the iPad when it launched.
B) Why I will not buy it… yet.
Why I didn’t buy the iPad at launch.
I already had an iPhone, an iMac and a brand spankin new MacBook Pro. Plus, I was planning on (and purchased) the iPhone 4 on launch day. The iPad didn’t seem to fit with my other Apple devices. I thought the iPad was cool, but I couldn’t imagine how I would use it or what the iPad could do that my other Apple products couldn’t. And I wasn’t going to spend $500+ and try to figure out where it would fit in, how, where & when I would use it.
The biggest factor to NOT buy the iPad was my iPhone. I had the iPhone for 3 years when the iPad launched. The touch screen, apps, email & internet on the iPhone were groundbreaking. That’s why the iPad didn’t pull me in, I’d been using a smaller version for 3 years. Seeing a bigger screen on a similar device (that you can make calls with) was not a “wow” moment for me.
If I didn’t have an iPhone, then I’d probably have an iPad now. Why? The interface – ie the software.
Yes, Apple products are shiny, electronic devices (2 things I love), and they’re beautiful. And I mean the physical products, the materials… they look good even when the power is off. However, that’s not why I prefer Apple. The reason I own 2 Macs & an iPhone is the software. Apple makes the easiest, most powerful and user friendly software on the planet. But that’s a blog post for another time…
Why I won’t buy an iPad… Until…
I’m glad I didn’t buy an iPad. Why? The iPhone 4. (I know, the iPhone really IS the reason I don’t have an iPad). The iPhone 4 high resolution screen aka Retina Display is the single best feature of the phone. It makes everything look better – photos, videos, razor sharp text. It’s incredible. It’s so good, I’m sure the Retina Display will be included in MacBooks, iMacs, Cinema Displays and … yep, the iPad!
I’m so impressed with the Retina Display, on July 25th I said on Twitter:
“When the retina display makes it to iPad, I’m buying the iPad.”
The truth is, I will never, ever own an iPad – unless it has a retina display. PERIOD. There’s no sense in buying the iPad without it because it’s a technological step backwards. Could you go back to VHS or cassettes? No, you couldn’t because it would be painful knowing something infinitely better exists – and that my friends, is the retina display.
When the iPad gets the retina display upgrade, I’ll consider buying it. Until then, absolutely not.
This post was written by...
Tony Stocco is a total Apple fanboy - addicted to his iPad, iPhone, iMac, MacBook Pro, Hackintosh and iPod Shuffle... And anxiously waiting to see the new iPhone 5.