iWant becomes iNeed... and now iHave
Does anyone remember the March, 2011, issue of beijing kids, when I described in "iWant becomes iNeed" our family's reluctance to join the Cult of Apple?
Over the summer my little iPod Nano was damaged, so we had to take it to an Apple Store for replacement. While I was waiting, Randy wandered the store, browsing with limited interest. Of all of us he has been the most hesitant to buy Apple products. There have been other brands of tablet devices he has been investigating, all of them using the Android system, but the physical size and memory he most wanted never hit the market.
Randy scanned the wall of accessories, certainly entertained by the assortment of must-have plug-ins. But then a few things caught his eye. There were these attachments that connected an electric guitar and an iPad. Further research later brought Randy to learn more about Garage Band, as well as other cool music apps and accessories. Finally, an iPad made sense to him.
We've been loading it up, for sure, with many, many apps for the kids. Among my favorite magazines growing up were those published by Cricket. I've always wanted my children to have hese kinds of magazines, but living in China it has not been easy for us to subscribe. For Myles' age, Spider and Ask are both available for iPad. None of the preschooler magazines are available, but there are several Ladybug book apps that Brigid loves.
I was feeling a little left out. I mean, I started this whole Apple thing with our family, and I did not yet have an app of my own on our new iPad. That was, until I discovered the comic book apps. Right now I am reading Sandman, in sequence. Those that I did read over twenty years ago (!!!) came to me out of order, and with huge gaps in between. I'll be able to follow the entire series, from beginning to end.
We have not yet made the complete leap to all Apple products, all the time. We still prefer our less expensive (and Google Maps capable!) Android phones, and Mac computers are not yet in our future. For now, we'll continue to enjoy what we have.
For years our family has resisted the gravitational pull of the Apple product phenomena. It hasn't been easy, watching everyone with their brightly-colored iPods, super-slick iPhones, and description-defying iPads. However, with two young kids, and my own notorious clumsiness, we have never been able to justify a purchase of that magnitude for something we considered to be a fragile toy.I went on to reveal that watching my friends and their kids with all these cool educational apps prompted me to purchase an iTouch. I have never regretted that purchase as we've filled it with great educational and entertaining apps, as well as some favorite videos (like School House Rock). We've been introduced to most of our kids' apps through the special deals from Moms with Apps (thanks, Jacqueline!). Every Friday they offer several free or seriously discounted apps for all kinds of iThingies. With all the math, alphabet, Chinese, geography--you name it--apps, our iTouch has become a serious learning tool.
Over the summer my little iPod Nano was damaged, so we had to take it to an Apple Store for replacement. While I was waiting, Randy wandered the store, browsing with limited interest. Of all of us he has been the most hesitant to buy Apple products. There have been other brands of tablet devices he has been investigating, all of them using the Android system, but the physical size and memory he most wanted never hit the market.
Randy scanned the wall of accessories, certainly entertained by the assortment of must-have plug-ins. But then a few things caught his eye. There were these attachments that connected an electric guitar and an iPad. Further research later brought Randy to learn more about Garage Band, as well as other cool music apps and accessories. Finally, an iPad made sense to him.
We've been loading it up, for sure, with many, many apps for the kids. Among my favorite magazines growing up were those published by Cricket. I've always wanted my children to have hese kinds of magazines, but living in China it has not been easy for us to subscribe. For Myles' age, Spider and Ask are both available for iPad. None of the preschooler magazines are available, but there are several Ladybug book apps that Brigid loves.
I was feeling a little left out. I mean, I started this whole Apple thing with our family, and I did not yet have an app of my own on our new iPad. That was, until I discovered the comic book apps. Right now I am reading Sandman, in sequence. Those that I did read over twenty years ago (!!!) came to me out of order, and with huge gaps in between. I'll be able to follow the entire series, from beginning to end.
We have not yet made the complete leap to all Apple products, all the time. We still prefer our less expensive (and Google Maps capable!) Android phones, and Mac computers are not yet in our future. For now, we'll continue to enjoy what we have.
Comments
Ease of use, free apps, low-cost apps, movie rentals, books, TV shows...
You'll quickly see how it becomes an extension of everything you do. Its part of Apple's genius in my book.