Why Buying an iPad on April 3 Isn't Dumb

Early adopters don't suffer like they used to, says Farhad Manjoo
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2010 9:07 AM CDT
Why Buying an iPad on April 3 Isn't Dumb
In this Jan. 27, 2010 photo shows Apple CEO Steve Jobs holding up the new iPad during a product announcement in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

If the disadvantages of buying tech early are holding you back from buying an iPad when it goes on sale April 3, you're well-informed but wrong, Farhad Manjoo writes on Slate. The many reasons buyers have for regretting first-generation gadget purchases—they're "usually more expensive, more buggy, and offer fewer features than later generations"—just don't apply to the iPad.

Planned tech obsolescence is passe, Manjoo writes: Software updates ensure that early adopters won't miss a thing, and Apple "can quickly make changes to the device to satisfy any customer complaints." And even if the iPad fails, it "already has access to a wide range of applications and content that's not going away: stuff on the Web." Sure, "none of this guarantees you'll love the iPad, or that it'll be a success. But neither of those possibilities is such a disaster. You'll get years of great service from your iPad—even if Apple decides to discontinue it by Christmas." (More iPad stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X