When I started initial research for my thesis in November, I had never heard of a thing called iPad. iPhones sure, several of my friends have one and I had occasionally played a game or viewed pictures on the thing. But other than that, I wasn’t really interested in the fruits of Apple.
Oh, how that has changed. Last week I missed my train to an important interview by one minute. And off course I didn’t write down any phone numbers, hell I had barely scribbled down the address. That was the moment I cursed myself for not having a smartphone. I want a phone with internet! Or better put; I want an iPhone! After naive determination to get one as soon as my current contract would end in September, I started doing some calculations and concluded that buying an iPhone reduces my chances to travel to Japan or Australia severely. And nobody touches my travel, not even Apple’s well-oiled propaganda machine.
But I can’t say I am not affected by the fruits of Apple. Take the iPad, like I said already, I had never heard of the thing when I started my research. When it was released in the beginning of this year, I quickly realised that I should include it in my thesis. After all, could this be a new era in reading and publishing? The missing link between an e-reader and a smartphone? I started collecting newspaper articles and asked publishers about their view on the iPad. Only to actually see one with my own eyes last week. Someone at ANWB Media demonstrated the LP iPad app and the iPad version of Alice in Wonderland. Funny, well designed gadgets for sure. But I couldn’t help thinking; this is it? Just a hip gadget? Sure, I haven’t seen the whole thing, but I heard reading in the sun is just about impossible and it doesn’t even have a camera. People really spend €500,- on this? That could buy me a ticket to Beijing! Guess I am still more a travel-nerd than a new media-nerd…
