I love technology – especially if viewed from the lens “technology makes life easier”.
But, in my acquisitions, I have always had one guiding principle, ‘juice out the maximum benefit per dollar invested!’
For this reason, I am not always the first of all people to buy new techs, though usually, I am the first to read and talk (and sometimes write) about it in my village, I am not always the first to buy and be sure when I buy, its always one of two things:
(1) Why in the world have I been so foolish to have waited this long to acquire this piece of machine (that was the feeling when I succumbed to the pressure from Apple to buy the MacBook and then later the MacBook Pro) or
(2) Uhm…here is money wasted again, boy, when will you be smart enough to stop wasting hard hard cash! (that was the case when I bought…. 🙂 )
Following the rumours and subsequent confirmation in January of the release of the next big thing in mobile computing – the Apple iPad – I bought a piggy bank, yes to save my $500 for its acquisition!
Unfortunately, when I reached the stipulated mark, the device was yet to be officially available in the country I live in. And when it became “unofficially available” the cost was much more than the cost of my car – was I disappointed? Yes! And my decision? To wait until the good people at Apple officially launches the product and sell it for $500 in that country!
A couple of days ago, my decision to wait received a boost! With the rumour of a blackberry BlackPad late last month and the eventual confirmation by the Blackberry powers that be at the their developer conference in the same month of a Playbook – a device that should have been aptly named WorkBook!!!
And as this device is not ready for launch and shipping until early next year, I have decided to wait even longer to acquire tablet computing power for the following reasons:
(1) Apple iPad is cool, the Playbook -seem to me- will be cooler!
(2) The BlackBerry Playbook will synchronize securely with my Blackberry Bold (II) allowing me to do all things blackberry on a bigger screen, the Apple iPad will not (now and forever more!)
(3) The attractive element of Blackberry phones (the BBM) is available on the Playbook, Apple (and even Nokia) seem not to be interested in that level of hassle free instant messaging and mobile community solution
(4) With the synchronization function, I do not need to take out another data subscription for the Playbook – it will share that of my BB whilst I am on the move, and use my wifi once I am home – I have to make the heavy decision (yes, heavy cos of the associated cost) of buying a wifi edition or a wifi+3G edition of the iPad and subsequently take out a data subscription – if I chose to have access to all things iPad whilst on the move!
(4) Blackberry Playbook will come with a camera! Apple is undecided to add a camera to its iPad (it has to the iPod famiy and even introduced facetime)
(5) Playbook plays flash! And HTML 5 too! Apple’s excuse about the flash is understandable, but I want flash all the same! And thanks to Apple, HTML5 has become so popular in technology speak, but common users just want a machine that works!
Well, I simply love the fact that I don’t have to take out so much now to buy the iPad 🙂 and somewhere deep within, I fear another super tablet computer announcement will increase my patience threshold and make me wait perhaps even longer !
