I Need It....I Need It Not....

Finally, I stopped by at the Apple store last weekend. For the past few months everytime I passed the store, I used to make a mental resolve to enter the store the next time I was in the vicinity. And today when I finally did, I was overwhelmed. Not with the multitude of gadgets mind you but the number of youngsters in the store. I felt OLD! All the store associates looked like school kids, probably half my age at best – wait, did I just say that aloud? Darn! So anyway, “So what?, I asked myself  “ I don't mentally feel that old nor do I look it,  so who cares?.” But the truth was I did feel out of place. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing and here I was moving from one gadget to the next, without a purpose.

I was in the store to look at the iPad. I thought I really needed it. Trust Apple, to come up with new gadgets every few months that look so cool, that everyone thinks he/she “needs” it or their lives are doomed. I can testify to this as one of the more gullible customers – why else would I own 2 iPods, 1 iPod nano not counting  the orange iPod nano that I gifted my Dad, and yet rarely listen to any music. In fact, the only music that I ever listen to is what comes on the radio on my way to & from work and the occasional garish B4U music videos that we sometimes watch.

Alright, so I have more music players than I would ever need, but I don’t have an iPad. Imagine what I can do with one – update my facebook status as I cook just because the iPad is compact enough to keep on the kitchen island. Or maybe read the Wall Street Journal as I watch TV or even look at random pictures of friends vacationing on a beach somewhere as I sit in my backyard. But wait, can I not do all this today with my good old Inspiron? So what if it is a little bulky to carry around? As I thought more, it became more evident that it would be one of those fancy additions to my gadget collection, which eventually would find a place in my office drawer, once the initial excitement of buying it died down.

So as I started walking towards the exit of the store, I decided to give it more time. Maybe they’ll come up with a better, cheaper version of the iPad which will justify my ‘need’ to buy it. Until then, I’ll pass…well at least until my next time in the store!!!