Word 1: “Baba”. . . Word 2: “Mama”. . . Word 3: “Jie-Jie” (Big sister in chinese)
and Word 4: “iPah”. Then the next word was “MINE!”
You can’t go out to a restaurant or hospital lobby without seeing $600 iPads or equally expensive iPhones acting as robot babysitters. I wouldn’t let Mia hold a $500 bill on a windy day, what possesses me to put an iPad in her hand? A cup of tea or the long drop from the table? Did I forget to mention the crack in my iPod screen that occurred after Mia dropped it from the plastic car stroller? (They sure don’t make them like they used to. ) The truth is, I am one of the “few” parents guilty of turning tablets and smartphones into expensive modern day pacifiers. Unfortunately, our children (nor the adults) will ever be weaned of them.
In terms of actual usage in our zoo, the first gen iPad we bought last year has been getting good mileage and holding up well with its black Apple iPad case. I’m not noticing much change in how it holds its battery juice either. Trouble is, since our family doesn’t know how to share, we recently bought the iPad 2 with 4 $100 Best Buy cards I got from my Citibank Thank You points. I am regretting the purchase of the pink smart cover. It just falls off during regular family use around the house. I need to get a better cover or it’s going to get scratched or cracked. In terms of noticing improvement, fundamentally the ipad 2 just provides the camera capability so we can Skype with Grandma and Grandpa. The iPads are both reasonably durable, but it’s only a matter of time before they gets scratched. Expect that streaks from sticky fingers and milk spots need to get baby wiped.
I considered other tablets, but having a common ecosystem of Apple products made sense because I didn’t want to deal with the family’s learning curve of switching to another kind of tablet. Plus, Mom likes the brand recognition aspect of the Apple iPad.
This is how our family uses the iPad.
- Mia plays bug squash, office jerk, and smackum. She visits youtube which doesn’t always display quality children’s programming.
- Maddy plays Wedding Dash, Diner Dash and would watch Michelle Phan (Makeup and Beauty Tutorials – millions of hits) Youtube videos all day long if I didn’t stop her. Yes, Maddy is only 7 yrs old.
- Mom watches Chinese dramas with endless storylines and shops online. Interesting though that she doesn’t make purchases on the iPad (i.e., typing is annoying). . . so from Dad perspective, window shop away!
- Dad has to wait for everyone to go to bed, before he gets a turn.
In summary, I am a human being and I don’t always behave rationally. I read product reviews as much as the next guy, but I ended up making this family iPad purchase decision on:
- wife’s interest in brand recognition (i.e., status symbol)
- learning curve of switching / common Apple ecosystem
- expensive modern day pacifier in which adults/children will never be weaned of
Amazon iPad product link
Tags: iPad, iPad 2, review, tablet
