I read a story this morning about a study that revealed that the gift kids between the ages of 6 – 12 want most for the holidays this year is…the iPad.  Yes, the iPad.  The “starting at $499 iPad.  My answer to that, as I used to hear as a kid, is “how does it feel to want?”  Don’t get me wrong,  I understand that kids are much more tech-savvy now, but have we really gotten to the point where we would even consider plunking down $500 of our hard-earned cash for a 6-year-old?  Looks like we have, because I’m guessing there will be some parents who will do it.

Ironically, I just got an iPad yesterday, and while I spent a significant amount of time looking for apps to download for my 8-year-old niece to use, I would never even THINK of purchasing one for her.  She can play with it, with me sitting right next to her, but that’s it!  This is the same kid I don’t trust not to spill on the couch!  Why would I trust her not to break an iPad.  And how could you not get mad if they did?  Then you turn into the crazy aunt freaking out on your niece…or maybe that’s just me!

I feel bad for parents (and Santa).  Every year the must-have gifts get more and more expensive.  Where do you draw the line?  I get wanting to give your children the best, and maybe I’ll never fully understand it because I don’t have kids myself.  But I don’t think you need to have kids to think that $500 dollars is a little excessive.

Besides the fact that a young child could break it, or you could be one of the people who can afford to spend that much, I personally think that giving a child a gift that expensive is sending them the wrong message.  Did they do anything special to deserve it?  Did they work hard?  Did they save up for it?  Probably not.  I guess I just think that kids need to learn the value of money,  handing over an iPad isn’t going to do that for them.

What do you think?  Would you ever buy your young child an iPad?  Do you think it’s OK even if you can afford it?  I would love to hear what you think!  Leave me a comment!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles

Attention my fellow gadget geeks! Apple has finally given us a look at their long-awaited “tablet” they’ve named the iPad. I don’t know about you, but I’m an Apple freak and was really looking forward to seeing what they were going to give us. From the looks of things, they didn’t disappoint! I haven’t held one in my hands and had the opportunity to play with it, so I can’t really give you a review of it, but I will give you my initial thoughts.

First of all, from what I’ve seen, it looks awesome! It’s like an iPhone or iPod Touch on steroids – but in a good way! Physically, it’s stunning with a screen that measures 9.7″ diagonally, weighs 1.5lbs, is 1/2″ thick, has up to 10 hours of battery life, is wireless and has 3G models. Features include: online access, email, a photo program, video, YouTube, access to all your music, app store, and an iBooks app to download books. Apple described it as the product between a smartphone and laptop. Those are the stats, and here’s what I’m thinking.

I have been contemplating getting a Kindle and definitely wanted to wait until Apple came out with their version, expecting it to be much better than what anyone else had on the market. It looks like everything I expected and more. The problem for me is that it may be MORE than what I actually want. Again, I was looking for a better version of the Kindle, and what they’re giving me is an lighter, thinner version of my MacBook Pro. Do I really want that? That brings me to the pricing.

Based on this pricing, I have to say I’m not sure I’m in. I know myself, and I would want the top of the line device. Immediately, that means $829 because I want Wi-Fi AND 3-G. If I wasn’t attached at the hip to my MacBook, I would think about that. THEN I have a problem with having to pay for a data plan. I am not ready to add another bill to my budget.

Bottom line for me, I think it is an incredible product, and if money were no object, I would be in! If they had a model that was just an iBook model that was cheaper, I would be in. But for me, I’m not yet ready to pay that much for a product with features that I feel are already served with other products that I have. Who knows…I say that now!

Well, that’s my humble opinion. What do YOU think?  I would love to hear from you! Feel free to leave your comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles