So, at 8:31 ET this morning I hopped onto the Apple website, loaded a 16 GB WiFi-enabled iPad into my shopping cart, perused the accessories, picked up a case for it, read a little more about it, went back to the accessories, looked at a dock with a keyboard, clicked the learn more button, passed on that and went to check out.
Then, I emptied my cart, left the site and went back to work, editing a story.
At 8:37, I read an item on the iPad that I'd put aside yesterday (a guide on what iPad to buy from the New York Times which essentially said "don't buy an iPad now, wait for the next generation, you'll get more for your money") and filled up my coffee
.
At 8:48, I went back to the iPad site and read more.
I looked at the gallery.
I weighed what I really wanted the iPad for, especially since I'd just bought a new MacBookPro laptop.
I thought about being able to peruse the web as I drank coffee at Barnes & Noble while I was looking for a book. Then, I realized I would never have to go book shopping again, because I could use the iBookstore instead. Using iBookstore (and the new Barnes & Noble app that soon will be released for the iPad) meant I could:
- Save money by getting the books I want to read for less than a hard copy would cost, saving trees in the process;
- Save time by not having to leave my office and thus be more efficient and generate more revenue for my business;
- Reduce wear and tear on my car and save more money by not having to buy gasoline (thus reducing U.S. reliance on imports) for the 24 mile round trip to B&N; reduce emissions and congestion on the area roads;
- Save money by drinking my own coffee--which I know is better than Starbucks because I roast it weekly--thus providing a better life to the folks from whose coffee co-op in Costa Rica I buy my 50-pound bags of coffee (it's shade grown, organic and processed gently) because since I was drinking more of it I'd have to roast more often and buy more beans.
I'm sure there's more, but that's a good start; at least it was enough of a push for me to log back into my account, put a 32 GB WiFi iPad into my cart, plus the case plus the dock and keyboard.
At 8:51, I emptied the cart again and went back to editing.
For three minutes.
I thought about long waits in airports; about all that time I wanted to do some work but didn't feel like hauling my laptop with me (did I mention the iWork apps that you can buy for the iPad? Or, better yet, the Google Docs tools I've fallen in love with that are free?); and I really did think about how cool it would be to use it for watching online video (even though I know I won't be able to catch up on the episodes of "Lost" I've missed because, for the moment anyway, Hulu doesn't work on the iPad because Steve Jobs hates Flash). And watching online video is part of my job, right?
At 8:53 I was back at the Apple store. I grabbed that 32 GB WiFi model, added accessories and ... wait for it ... paid for it.
At 8:59 I went back and checked my order status. There it was ... "Set for delivery on April 3."
Don't tell my wife; I'm a dead man.-Jim