 Q&A: Kishyr Ramdial
Consumer with a new Apple iPad
Q: How many Apple products do you own? Which is your favourite?
A: I have six Apple products: 4th Gen iPod, AppleTV, 24" iMac, MacBook Air, iPhone 3GS and my new one, the iPad. (Seven, if you count the Magic Mouse as a separate device.)
The iPad is definitely my current favourite. And it's definitely not a large iPod Touch. The bigger screen means an entirely new platform. The apps are better, bigger and, in some ways, have an overall better user experience.
Q: What made you want an iPad?
A: I think we've always known the tablet computer to be the future of computing, but up until now, there has never been one that has succeeded in terms of usability. When Apple announced and showed off the iPad in January, I knew I had to have one. The fact that it's based on iPhone OS rather than Mac OS X makes the biggest difference because iPhone OS was made to be touched, while desktop operating systems were made with a different ideology in mind.
Q: What were your feelings/expectations as you got onto that plane to New York?
A: I wasn't looking forward to the 18-hour flight :-) but knew the ride home would be a lot more bearable once I'd bought my iPad and loaded it up with content. It was my colleague, Anice Hassim's (@anicehassim) idea to go to New York and be among the first to get the iPad. We were both incredibly excited - both for the iPad launch and for experiencing New York first-hand.
Q: What did it feel like when you got into the Apple Store after standing in the queue?
A: We got in line at 4am on Saturday morning – in freezing weather, something Durbanites are certainly not used to! But it was worth it to be among the first in the world to get an iPad. Going into an Apple Store isn't like going shopping - it's an experience like no other. From the moment you enter the store to the moment you leave the store, you are guided by an Apple Store employee. It's service excellence like nothing on earth - in a way that only Apple could probably pull off.
Apart the store experience, entering the store on launch day is something else! I could probably not express the overwhelming excitement in the air. I captured it on video (http://photokish.posterous.com/must-watch-ipad-launch-at-apple-store-5th-ave) just so that I could try to show everyone what it was like (and even that doesn't do it justice).
Q: What apps have you downloaded so far and do you have favourites?
A: I think I've spent over $50 on the first day buying iPad apps! These are some of the really great ones: iBooks, StreamToMe, BBC News, Twitterrific, NewsRack, RealRacing HD, Scrabble, Weather HD, SoundHound, Marvel Comics, 1Password. The two I use most frequently are Twitterrific and NewsRack (RSS).
Q: Summary on the iPad? Who would you recommend it to?
A: The first thing you notice when you switch it on is the amazing screen. It blows you away. I would most definitely recommend it. It changes the way you consume media to an extent that it becomes personal. Touching and feeling video, photos, music, and the internet is a whole new experience. And it literally changes the game when it comes to gaming (cheesy, but true!).
It might just be the first computing device that people of all ages already know how to use, before they even use it. And that, to me, is the main reason I'd recommend buying the iPad. Specs don't matter - user experience is all that does.
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