I use Apple products. It’s probably the only area of my life where I look down on those who don’t belong to the cult (and sometimes feel a little sympathy towards the non-believers). That being said, I have come to notice that design-wise, the more you pay the less curve you get. I’ll elaborate.
All the Apple products I’ve owned over the years, have been the entry-level models. The iPhone 3GS, the MacBook (the last white unibody), and now the iPad. Not the iPad 2, the new iPad (commonly referred to as the iPad 3), but the first of it’s kind. All of these models are reminiscent of the prime of Steve Jobs’ career. This is before everyone became all retina-obsessed, and before Jobs became a turtle inside his own turtle-neck.
Considering that the iPhone has now gone through four generations, these were all products fresh to the market. They all work well, and they all have something we all take for granted…they fit snugly in your hands. This is because they all have a curve. The first iPad is heavier, and you do get a mean workout on your wrists by standing and blogging with the device in your hands, however, it feels natural.
Before I sold my soul to the luminous Apple logo, I was a PC gamer. Being a gamer you come across the ‘other side’ too, in this case these are the console gamers (i.e. any game that requires a joystick and a TV and not plonking behind a computer). I tried both Playstation and Xbox, and despite the popularity of the PS I sided with Microsoft’s Xbox…because of the curves. Think of the inside of you hand. it’s naturally rounded, which is why holding a ball is far less stressful (on your hand’s environment) than if you would clutch a block for a few hours.
You want to feel comfortable in the moment. Yes I may rummage through five more stores to find accessories, but ultimately I want my ergonomics to be at ease. I can’t lie around on the sofa at home, if it’s got a hole on the one side. Things you use everyday, need to…fit. If it blends in with your body, your fingertips will struggle to part with it.
Do yourself a favor…go and hold the iPhone 3GS (if you manage to find one). Now go and hold the slice-of-bread style iPhone 4. There isn’t a comparison. the same goes with the iPad. I’ll suffer under the weight of the iPad; knowing it’s a notebook with a belly I can put my hand around and caress. Sometimes it is heavy (particularly at the end of this blog). Other times…it just works.
PhilosopherPoet
