The Internet is abuzz with rumors of a new “mini” iPad due out from Apple this fall. Though I prefer to wait for an official announcement, I just couldn’t wait to share this news. As a die-hard Mac user, it has pained me to have to make the decision between the iPad 3 (starting at $499) or more affordable—and some would say, less capable—tablets from Amazon (Kindle Fire starts at $199) or Google (Nexus 7 starts at $199, as well). Tech gossip about the iPad “mini” have me waiting with bated breath to see what Apple has in store for loyalists come September. It’s enough to make a grown man giddy.
Searching for the proverbial needle in a tablet-stack
I’ve been an Apple convert for just under a decade. Beginning with my first generation iPod then graduating to the iPod Nano, iPod Touch, MacBook Pro and the many incarnations of the iPhone, I have always been impressed with Apple’s high-quality graphics and user-friendly interface. The iPad is no exception to Apple’s legacy.
The iPad I use for work is first generation and great for video conferencing on FaceTime, quick access to email when I’m away from my desktop computer and don’t want to hassle with a laptop and my kids have enjoyed playing Angry Birds or reading books together. On long flights, access to HBO GO® on the iPad has saved me from the awful in-flight movie selection. So when I wanted to get another tablet specifically for home use, the iPad was my first choice. Sticker shock and a litany of more affordable tablets stopped me dead in my tracks.
So, I did what any reasonable consumer would do and began to research tablets on the market. After reading what seemed like hundreds of blog articles, advertisements, customer reviews and professional tech website reviews, I still could not rationalize spending even $200 on something that would leave an Apple purist, like myself, so unsatisfied. Yet I couldn’t rationalize shelling out another $499 on an iPad so my kids could play video games and watch TV. I remained caught in limbo when it came to choosing a new tablet.
You can understand my excitement then, when Web chatter reveals that the solution to my dilemma may be right around the corner. All that is left for me to do now is hang in there for a couple more months to see if these rumors prove true. Fingers crossed!
Author Bio: Jack Garcia is an independent business analyst and technology writer. He travels frequently to Europe and Japan, keeping an ever-watchful eye on tech trends around the globe. He has two children who keep him busy when he’s at home. The family loves to play sports and vacation at the beach or camp out in the mountains. Jack’s philosophy is that adventuring is made easier by technology but more fun by technologies unexpected failure. He also thinks that those failures make for more interesting blog posts.
