Diary of a not-so-early adopter

So, due to a defect in the build quality of my netbook I currently have no personal computer.  While the Apple-acolytes were clamouring over each other for the “new iPad”, I am seriously considering going for the older iPad 2. Now, I could go for a laptop or ‘ultrabook’ that costs near the £1,000 mark, but a tablet device  at only half the cost would easily fulfil all my personal needs of browsing the internet, sending messages to friends and making those all so important impulse purchases. While the above may seem like some hybrid love child between my own self-importance and a product catalogue, there is an important point amongst this (I promise!).

I read an interesting blog post by Cliff Saran recently that highlights that soon the content and services that we use may be at the forefront rather than the hardware. He says the usefulness of the Kindle is specific to the user and the books they read with it, and this goes beyond the device itself. While this article focuses on the security of information on consumer devices, it also shows how technology is quickly becoming a medium to the services we consume and less the end goal. As time goes on and the cost of hardware comes down, this will increasingly become the case.

For me, the importance of any new piece of technology is what I can use it for and how it adds value; it’s simply not enough to make people jealous, but there are many who are easily pleased by this alone. So, while there are some benefits to be gained from the “Magpie” approach (not supporting Newcastle United though Lorna!) I’ll happily sit at home with a slightly older bit of tech and some money left in the account to boot.