The Obsession That Is Apple

As I write this, the world is less than 72 hours away from the introduction of yet another blockbuster product from Apple, Inc. Of course I refer to the iPad, which promises to be as much of a game-changer as sliced bread or beer in cans. I suspect that the malls on Saturday will see lines of drooling Apple fanboys snaking past the Gaps, Starbucks, and Macys, and ending at the front doors of the Apple Stores. The lucky ones will have pre-ordered their iPads and will actually dance out of the stores with iPad in hand. The rest will wait their turn to touch the iPads that are chained to the tables, but most won't walk out with them. The initial supply has already been virtually exhausted. And I, to the amazement of all who know me, will be nowhere to be found.

Journey back through time with me to Super Bowl XVIII, in 1984. The iconic Macintosh commercial had its one and only airing during that game. I think it could be argued that this was the most impactful single commercial ever created. At the very least it's up there with the Lyndon Johnson campaign commercial called Daisy that ran in 1964. Anyway, it was just after the 1984 commercial aired that I bought the first Mac for our company. We had already been through a couple of IIe and IIgGS Apples. Since then, at work and at home, I've gone through something like twenty Mac desktops and laptops. As new ones have arrived, the old ones went to our daughters and their children, a couple of young people who couldn't afford one on their own, and my mother. Mom, by the way is approaching 99 years of age and credits her laptop with keeping her mind sharp as she plays solitaire and other games daily. The first iPod came along in 2001. Since then, I'm on my 4th or 5th iPod. I'm also on my 2nd iPhone (3rd if you count the one that Apple replaced on warranty. And now there's the iPad.

What is it about Apple products that creates this kind of brand loyalty? Well, first there's design. No other manufacturer seems to understand that people like having something that looks and acts cool. And Apple, more often than not, is in the technological vanguard. Think of this, a subject that I discussed at lunch today. The iPad is the third new product category in a row in which Apple is defining the form factor: the mp3 player, the smart phone, and the personal media player/reader. iPod, iPhone, iPad. And don't forget how Apple has rewritten the rules for music sales with iTunes, how it's changed software development and sales with the App Store. And now it seems likely the entire media business is going to feel the force of Apple's innovation.

And yet I'm not there, in line for an iPad. Fear not. I can't imagine that I won't have an iPad, and sooner rather than later. I'm just waiting until I've got a good feel for how this new magic fits into my life. Will I stop buying newspapers and subscribe instead to electronic versions? Science fiction writers have been predicting that for decades. Will I miss having a real book in my hands? Will I really use it to look at live timing and scoring while I watch sports on TV? So I'm waiting a bit while some of these questions are answered. Or I could just be truthful and admit that the most important reason for buying an iPad is that it's way cool?