iPhone, iPad, iPod and all that

The world is taken by storm every time Apple launches its products, not to forget the buzz that precedes the event. Same is the case with iPhone 6, iPhone 6plus and the Apple watch. From the unique features of the gadgets to kidney-selling jokes on twitter to be able to afford it are a part of discussions on social media. i always wondered what is so big deal about a piece of gadget or a spanking new car! Wondered what made people so crazy about it. But having one such fanatic as my husband, it has made me realise that boys and their toys work perhaps just like girls and our make-up!

i am no techno enthusiast. So i cant give a feature by feature account of the new devices launched by Apple. But yeah, all the drooling over around me makes me sit up and think about my experiences with Apple products that i have used over the years since 2008.

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i was introduced to Apple at a point in my life when i did not even know the importance of the brand. i only knew Microsoft. But thanks to my Apple-freak husband, my first laptop was a 15 inch MacBook Pro. It has a nice, big screen and keyboard you can spread both your hands on! It took me a while to figure out all the wonderful features of the device. Being able to add the range of Microsoft features like word etc made it easier to get used to the Mac versions of the same.

And soon, i felt like a spastic if i had to use any Microsoft computer. Like people who have used Apple say - you cant use anything else once you are used to Apple! i still use my Macbook even though Apple has put it out of any kind of service or warranty about 2 years ago. You see, Apple moves on to newer versions each year and hence don’t have the time to look at aging machines. The CD drive has a problem and there are display issues, but I know there’s a lot of life left in my Mac yet!! And i am not replacing my constant buddy of 6 years any time soon!

My husband always wanted a Mac for himself. But his company IT policy wouldn’t let him use one for official purposes. But piddling company policies don’t stop a real enthusiast! He bought a 15 inch slim Mac and now i am typing on his 13 inch Mac. (extra gadgets are given away to people who will value them!)

And oh! An iPod touch was his first gift to me even before i knew this guy who i was about to marry was a gadget freak! i started using it only after marriage. A worthy gift since i love listening to music. Though adding songs is a painful and time consuming process. My current iPod is a tiny, old 16GB iPod nano which i have stuck to despite newer versions being bought and given away to people. Well, i don’t want to change iPods and keep shifting songs. Secondly, i am fine with gadgets as long as they serve my purpose. i am not crazy about advanced technology that comes with newer versions.

Coming to iPads, i thought it was really intelligent to change an iPod touch version to an iPad! Larger than the iPod and smaller than the laptop, it seemed the perfect size. By this time, i was kinda getting to understand what is the big deal about new gadgets!

The year iPad 1 was launched was also the year my husband bought one. (It looks so clunky compared to later versions now). Hubby dear used it for a year and passed it on to me when his company gave him iPad 2. i must just read some books on it not having figured out all other things it could do. And as luck would have it, he quit his job 3 yrs ago, returned iPad 2 to the company and happily bought iPad 3, which he uses even now!

Never crazy about an iPad, i’d occasionally play games on his iPad. A mini iPad is the first gadget i asked for in January this year. i thought the size was perfect for browsing and reading books/blogs. With compatible keyboards with iPad, it becomes the smallest computer like device possible. Even though it’s not the best for typing stuff since the screen and the keyboard are small, i can always carry it to meetings and cafes to type out blog drafts. It is also great to watch videos, access maps and check social media on the go.

Coming to iPhones, i reluctantly shifted to an iPhone 5 from my Blackberry bold which i was happy with. We had iPhone 5 lying around, thanks to my better half who is happy to just buy the newer versions but not keen to use them himself. When there was word out iPhone 5s being out, i thought that our iPhone would become an old version without even anyone of us using it. i was apprehensive about the touch keypad since i message a lot. But it took me no time to get used to it.

Just as i had put this one to use, hubby dear promptly went and bought iPhone 5S which was launched some time later! i am absolutely against upgrading to new gadgets every 6 months or throwing away money on buying them when we don’t need them. But do husbands care? No. (And no, even though the 5S is lying around, it’s not being given away to anyone)

So having been through an entire range of Apple products, what do i think? Apple products are great and Apple ensures that we get newer and better versions every year. The displays are great, keyboards comfortable and the basic features only get better in the future versions. Did Apple change my life? Maybe. i guess, if i did not have it, i would have just gotten used to what i had!

But i have a problem with the rate at which they release their new offerings. Yes, there was a huge difference between the first Mac and Air version. But there is only so much that you can do with each upgraded version. To make the laptop slimmer, the CD drive is missing. The projector cable slot is gone - which is important for me as a trainer when i conduct sessions.

i don’t see much difference between my iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S which my sister uses. Screens can get bigger and the body slimmer, but is my current phone - now it is 2 versions old - that old? Will i, as a customer, throw away a perfectly fine phone and spend a fortune on the latest version? i don’t think so. And i guess that’s why i don’t understand Apple’s strategy of introducing new products so fast.

And i definitely think that Apple products, especially iPhones, cost a bomb. These shiny new gadgets have a lot of aspirational value. But wouldn’t that close-to-a-lakh be better spent elsewhere in your life and otherwise? Here i’ll definitely say - it’s just a phone! It takes crap loads of effort to make that much money. And such are the times that we are expected to just blow it on a phone!

To all of you slobbering over iPhone 6 and feeling disheartened about not being able to afford one, take heart! It’s no big deal! Your phone is good enough for now! Do you want to regret spending a fortune this year when Apple comes up with an even more desirable iPhone 7 next year? Because you know it will!