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Study shows experiences are better than possessions, but not iPads
new study from Cornell finds that
"lust for material things fade but our unique experiences remain with us for a long time." I have always been a believer in personal investment and have said that the best investment that you could make for your future is not in a hedge fund or 401K but in creating unique personal experiences. Traveling the world, getting to know different cultures and just enjoying the beauty of life is the single greatest thing we have and if you are fortunate enough to be able to do such things then you shouldn't hold back to wait until your 70 when you retire. Would those lifetime memories be made even more memorable by having an iPad at your side capturing every moment?
"lust for material things fade but our unique experiences remain with us for a long time." I have always been a believer in personal investment and have said that the best investment that you could make for your future is not in a hedge fund or 401K but in creating unique personal experiences. Traveling the world, getting to know different cultures and just enjoying the beauty of life is the single greatest thing we have and if you are fortunate enough to be able to do such things then you shouldn't hold back to wait until your 70 when you retire. Would those lifetime memories be made even more memorable by having an iPad at your side capturing every moment?
The study found "people are less satisfied with material purchases because they are more likely to second-guess what they could have had (such as a new model or a better price), the researchers found. Consumers spend more time thinking about material purchases they didn't choose than they spend when they buy an experience." Very true. I guess this will be something I have to ponder tomorrow while I stand in line for my Ipad trying to figure out if I should have waited for the maxed out 3G version with the mega large HD. =)
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Comment by Alex on April 13, 2010 at 1:59am
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It was approved and with, amongst other features Opera Link (http://www.opera.com/link/) that browser is light years ahead of Safari.
It took 20 days to approve. That is a significant lead time for a small company, and with the arbitrary approval policy usage from Apple side it becomes a huge risk to develop on your own dime.
Stuart: I think the choice for the reader as an android is probably because of Chrome being pretty much a browser with an OS, and Android a more developed platform. I see Android now, chrome for the future. :-)
In terms of the religious divide I see Apple as a shadow of MS..two sides to the same coin. I have a huge distaste for monopolistic and anti-competitive behaviours.
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Comment by Daniel Leuck on April 13, 2010 at 1:34am
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Alex Bergo: Well other things that might affect developers: erratic approval process for apps (sink $40k into development and then have Jobs go nuts on your app..check the EULA it really is crazy even if they did lower the dev. fee), long approval process (trying to convert your investment into money is a gamble). Look at opera, by far, IMO, the better mobile browser. They have no idea when or if their app will be "approved" by Jobs : http://my.opera.com/community/countup/index.dml Insanity. Lets say you wanted to create an app, small company, devote 3 months into developing. How much time can you afford before you have to convert?
These are excellent points, although it should be noted that Opera was just approved. Apple's arbitrary and ever changing policies are definitely a serious issue.
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Comment by Stuart Malin on April 13, 2010 at 1:25am
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Seems like the new religious divide has formed :-) Curiously, the old line - Microsoft/Windows v. Apple/Mac - seems like a relic of the history and already feels like dust. Yet Microsoft is still loaded to the gills with cash and does have some rabid followers -- will they stage a meaningful comeback?
@Alex: thanks for the link -- interesting question raised therein: Andorid v. ChromeOS -- Google proclaimed one, but seems to betting on the other (for the sake of immediacy). Does this portent an internal divide at Google?
I suspect Jobs must be livid with Schmidt, for the latter seems to me to have certainly used his director's position at Apple to divine the future and shape strategy at Google.
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of course I am trying to lure someone in ;-)
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..or just wait for a REAL product that fosters REAL innovation...supporting well etc etc
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/04/nyt-google-android-tablet-im...
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Found the link to the YouTube vid of a toddler using an iPad, if anyone is interested...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT4EbM7dCMs&feature=player_embedded
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There are material objects that can be purchased, there are experiences that can be had, and there are material objects that offer or provide an experience -- the latter category seems to capture people, and with a device like an iPad, the experience is brought to you. I don't have an iPad and haven't even held one, but based on some videos I've seen, the experience can be awesome. I saw one video posted (sorry, I don't have a link) of a 2 and a half year old girl using one for the first time - in less than minutes she was opening and closing apps, navigating, and manipulating. What this means to me is that the iPad might actually be simple enough to penetrate into the hands of people who find computers too challenging.
Besides its UX, it's technology also holds promise -- imagine this gizmo with multiple cores (which is very well supported in a deep way by the Apple OS's, from Clang compilation to Cocoa frameworks. Apple has masterfully maneuvered the majority of installed base (desk-top and mobile) into position for 64 bit, multi-taksing, and multi-core. Sure, Android is multi-tasking, but if you look into the model of how this is implemented, especially for Cocoa Touch and the new WebKit, it is a different take on an old problem, one that will yield impressive performance margins over competing platforms.
Somewhere I heard the iPad described as a big battery attached to a high res screen and a small circuit board. When the technology for power storage advances (nanotubes?), these devices are going to be really light-weight.
Disclosure: I am an unabashed Apple fan, in spite of their fortress mentality.
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Note: I know this is off topic, but....here goes.
You mean like I did in the next sentence, "This may change with the rise of Android." ;-)
No I mean as in where, what are how are they dominant. Obviously they are not dominant everywhere. :-)
Yes, but handset marketshare isn't particularly relevant. What matters to developers is the size of the market for apps. In this area Apple is clearly dominant. iPhone App sales are projected to exceed $1 billion this year and the download count recently passed 3 billion. Do you think RIM will see numbers like these for apps? Not a chance. Android might in 2011.
Well other things that might affect developers: erratic approval process for apps (sink $40k into development and then have Jobs go nuts on your app..check the EULA it really is crazy even if they did lower the dev. fee), long approval process (trying to convert your investment into money is a gamble). Look at opera, by far, IMO, the better mobile browser. They have no idea when or if their app will be "approved" by Jobs : http://my.opera.com/community/countup/index.dml Insanity. Lets say you wanted to create an app, small company, devote 3 months into developing. How much time can you afford before you have to convert?
In many respects iPhone is a success despite Jobs insane control issues. I guess Marketing > Control so far.
I think the handset market is very important. It is still the entry drug so to speak and if the providers can convert their users to the more advanced product line (a common way for a goods producer to sell more). They have not been successful so far (many reasons for this), but still the market in other parts of the world is growing exponentially, and with economies of scale, in both hardware and network I think that the iPhone growth might change as users becomes more advanced. When users becomes frustrated by being dependent on an application as bad as iTunes to do just about anything in terms of management is an old model. Unless changed I think it will be Apple's Achilles heel both for iPhone and iPad, for this to happen Jobs needs to let go of his control issues.
In terms of technology I really hope for Apples sake that their upgrade cycle will be shorter, and not the full year they previously have used because there are a lot of improvements that can be made for the iPad.
Other companies to look out for in the smartphone market: Nokia (must improve and open their Symbian platform A LOT), Sony Eriksson (how they have missed the target with their PSP brand for cell phones is beyond me. Needs to clean up corporate culture and use their core competencies better. They have xperian x10 out on the android platform), Samsung (new CEO, noted their are looking to create cheap smartphone for the segment under the current users).
Let's see what the press conference on OS4 will hold. Maybe the multi tasking finally will be there?? :-)
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Given the price point and the swivel camera, the Adam sounds very compelling. I hope the Nvidia issue doesn't cause a long delay.
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Comment by Nate Sanders on April 6, 2010 at 6:49am
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Argh...word on the street is that the Adam is being delayed by problems with the Nvidia Tegra system-on-chip.
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