Four years ago, if you had told me that I would own 3 Apple devices in 2011, I would have said you were crazy. Now, I own those four devices: an iPhone 3GS, an iPad 2, and a 2010 Macbook Air. More importantly, I use all three of these devices every day.
Throughout high school, I regarded Apple as a company that made reliable, competitively-priced music players. However, I saw their computer product line as being completely over-priced compared to counterparts that run solely on Windows. I purchased my first apple device, a 2nd generation iPod Nano, in the fall of 2006. Prior to this, I had owned a few different MP3 players from Creative and Archos, but their user interfaces weren’t intuitive and seemed to malfunction quite frequently. I used the iPod Nano frequently for about 6 months, and it never had a problem. Unfortunately, it was stolen from my backpack in early 2007, and it came time for me to find a new music player. The reliability of the iPod Nano struck me as being head-and-shoulders above the other MP3 players that I had used, so I decided to get another iPod Nano.
In 2008, when the 1st generation iPod Touch was released, I decided that I needed an upgrade. The Pocket PC that I had been using for the past couple of years to organize my day to day activities was becoming old, and its battery life was so low that it was barely usable. The dual purpose of the iPod touch as both a music and video player and a PDA seemed like a great idea, and it’s battery life was competitive. It’s important to point out that when the iPod Touch was first released (along with the original iPhone) there was no app store. A couple of months later, it became possible to jailbreak the iPod Touch and add unofficial apps, but the applications were very limited, and the reduction in the battery life outweighed the benefits of the “Installer” app store. Even without an App Store, the iPod Touch was incredibly useful, and became an integral part of the way that I managed my schedule. I used it to track homework, quizzes, tests, weekend trips, outings with friends, everything!
In 2009, my iPod Touch lost its ability to connect to wi-fi networks, and it suddenly lost the majority of its battery life. Since it was out of warranty, and with a new generation iPod Touch available in stores, it made more sense to get a new one rather than to pay for a refurbished first generation one. The App Store also became available around this time, and it completely changed the landscape of how the iPod Touch could be used. For the first time, I found myself using the iPod touch for simple tasks, even when I was sitting in front of my computer. The user interface that Apple had hand-crafted for the iPod Touch and iPhone was unique, in that it simply worked, and it accomplished simple tasks (such as adding calendar events, adding phone numbers, etc.) quickly. The only thing that it didn’t have was a phone…
In October of 2009, I was fortunate to be able to upgrade to an iPhone 3GS, and sold my 2nd generation iPod Touch. The fact that one device was now my phone, calendar, address book, and “handheld internet portal” amazed me. As a college student, I was constantly on the go, and needed quick access to all of those features. And, once again, it just worked. For years, I had used PCs and run into problem after problem that consistently slowed down what I was trying to do. All of the cell phones that I had before, most recently an LG Dare, seemed to have clunky user interfaces, and were difficult to use. With the iPhone, this (as with all of the iPods that I had owned) wasn’t the case. When it came to mobile devices, Apple had completely sold me that they were the best available option for a smart mobile device. About 3 weeks after I got my iPhone, I left my phone at home one morning. In that day, I realized just how much I used that device, and how integral it had become to my daily operations.
When Apple announced the iPad, I saw it as something that was really cool, but I wasn’t sold. That all changed when I went to the University Book Store a couple weeks after it was released, and I picked up one of the demo units. It was thin, fairly light, and incredibly intuitive. I’ve been fascinated with Human Computer interaction for a long time, and the iPad seems to find a way to get the computer and the user more interconnected than ever before. Using the iPad doesn’t feel like using a normal computer: it’s something altogether different. I purchased an iPad in May 2010, and have used it every day since. I use it primarily for consumption: reading books, reading the news, watching videos and podcasts, but I’ve also used it quite frequently to take notes in class. The low profile of the device makes it much more class-friendly, and less distracting. Also, the on-screen keyboard creates much less noise than a traditional keyboard, with only a minimal reduction in speed. The only limitation that I found in the iPad was that when I was trying to run a meeting for a student organization, it’s ability to be used as a “presenting tool” was limited. All in all, it replaced my laptop on a day-to-day basis, and my back was thankful for that.
In October 2010, Apple announced a new generation of the MacBook Air. This version was still incredibly thin and light, but it had a good amount of computing power to it at the same time. additionally, the price was quite competitive. The MacBook Air fit my technology needs perfectly: a thin, light, powerful notebook that I could use to run meetings, etc. I bought one for my birthday, and have used it in a daily basis ever since. I now had my apple trifecta, and I discovered that each device worked better because of it’s counterparts. More features of the iPhone and iPad opened up because they were now being synchronized with a Mac. However, the Mac was still flexible enough to be able to run Windows 7 for my engineering applications. It was a perfect fit.
