(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)
I can almost hear the excited squeals of delight coming from homes across the land as Apple fans melt into a puddle of geeky goo over the treats they can now spend their hard-earned cash on.
Last week it was the iPad, and tomorrow they’ll be able to get their paws on the iPhone 4.
Ah, the iPad: sorry Steve Jobs, you might look the part in your trendy black polo-neck jerseys but you’re not so good on naming stuff. I know, I know, everything gadgety is an i-Something these days but iPad really does sound like a feminine hygiene product. A very cool feminine hygiene product.
Much like the iPhone when it first hit the market, the iPad is expensive and has equally expensive running costs but it is something I’d probably look at adding to my gadget collection.
Actually, has the iPhone reduced its costs at all or is it still ridiculously expensive to run?
But I digress, back to the iPad. It looks very cool and I have no doubt that those who buy one will be as happy as the proverbial pig in muck at the performance, shininess and general whizz-bang cleverness of the thing.
However, as much as I like surfing the net, I still prefer a full-size keyboard and 23-inch widescreen monitor.
The iPhone 4 is the one that has been getting a bit of a caning elsewhere in the world over the antenna issue.
Yes, for a bit more than $1000 you can have a smartphone that you will need lessons on how to hold because if you put your fingers in the wrong place it won’t work properly.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned my lack of interest in mobile phones in previous columns but let me say this: my $99, four-year-old Sanyo works a treat. No matter how I hold it.
Sure, it’s great when new gadgets hit the market and I’m as much of a sucker for the gleaming smugness of the latest bit of kit, but I want that latest bit of kit to work, and for $1000 I don’t think that’s too much to ask.
But beyond these gadgets is another technological marvel: the Navibot Robot vacuum cleaner. It sounds great: an automated vacuum cleaner that sucks up pet hair and dust without any effort from you.
But you know what would really impress me? If one of these clever buggers could come up with a robot that will clean my oven and peel potatoes.