I went shopping for a sport armband for my HTC Droid Eris last night. After settling on a case intended for an iPod Touch, my morbid curiosity took me toward the iPads. While I let my daughters pound on the display model’s screen, I overheard the following conversation.
Woman [striding up to counter, approaching salesman]: Well, I’ve done my homework and I’m ready to take the plunge. [giggling] I’m going to buy it.
Salesman: Alright, then! Which one do you want?
Woman: Which one? Um, the big one?
Salesman: Ooh, alright, big spender. Let me get that going for you.
Woman: Okay. So, are you guys going to teach me how to use it?
Salesman: Sure, we help with that. Do you have any questions right now?
Woman [picking up display model, inspecting edges of iPad]: Yeah, where do I plug in my camera to download photos?
Salesman: It doesn’t do that. But you can download them to your desktop computer and then transfer them by MobileMe.
Woman: Oh. Okay. And playing DVDs?
Salesman: Nope. But you can buy movies from iTunes. Or you can put movies on your desktop computer and transfer them by MobileMe.
Woman: Okay. [Waving the iPhone that's been glued to her left hand throughout the conversation] Does it do anything different than the iPhone?
Salesman: Um, yeah, it’s a lot bigger and faster.
Woman: You better give me the small one.
Me: [Pointing to her hand] Sounds like you already have the small one.
Woman: Guess so. But if I don’t buy it, who will, right?
Me: Indeed.
[Fighting over the iPad, Lila and Madeleine scream at one another, giving me a good excuse to run away]
