Life is full of choices. You need to choose what to have for lunch. You need to choose how much of a retirement fund contribution to make. You need to choose whether that person you met at a party on the weekend is worth calling for a date. And for many of us in the digital sphere, you have to choose whether or not to buy an iPad2.
As anyone who reads this blog or my tweetsprobably knows, I’ve been deliberating about whether to iPad or not to iPad for several months. But when push came to shove, I decided to buy skates instead – Bauer Supreme to be exact. As much as I didn’t really need a new pair of skates, I needed them more than I needed an iPad.
At the end of the day, the decision was easy: I play hockey three or four times a week so the ROI on a new pair of skates is a no-brainer. I have a MacBook Pro so justifying the purchase of an iPad is more difficult. Getting an iPad isn’t going to make my digital experience or livelihood dramatically better or different. But buying new skates will make playing hockey more enjoyable, although it may not improve my game. 
As much as I would like to have a new iPad, it’s not a must-have or even a nice-to-have. It’s an extravagance compared with other things. As important, an iPad would probably encourage me to spend more time online at a time when I’m actually trying to be more productive and spend less time online.
So for now, I am iPad-less. But the silver lining is I have a great pair of new skates.
Related links:
- Why iPad 2 Won’t Have Much Competition In 2011—Unless It’s From Amazon
- Media Content Drives Tablet Purchase Intent (eMarketer)
Over the next week or so, consumers will be sorely tempted by “XX% Off” and “Inventory Clearance” sales – making it increasingly difficult to avoid falling victim to “Seasonal Consumerism Syndrome”, or SCS.