When I was an intern at Us Weekly years ago, my boss asked me to pick up a diamond and emerald ring from Fred Leighton in Manhattan: Julia Roberts had just been married and the magazine wanted to shoot a ring that looked like hers. The store sent me back to the office with two options that together cost roughly $80,000. At about $500, the Apple iPad is far less expensive, but carrying it around Toronto on Wednesday made me feel like I was in possession of something almost as valuable.
Having launched just last Saturday and only south of the border, the iPad is as novel as it gets. I lost count of how many times I heard “Whoa!” from acquaintances and bystanders alike in the span of a few hours. “Can I touch it?” came a close second.
What interested me most, however, is whether it would measure up as a worthy accessory for your average urban stylista or whether the iPad’s core user is someone primarily concerned with gaming, stock quotes and e-books. With that in mind, I took out a borrowed model for a test run on a typical midweek day, gauging its attributes as I made my way around town.
My first stop: a media preview for Toronto-based fashion designer Marika Brose. Her dresses and cocktail separates are known for their gorgeous detailing, from feather trim to velvet rosettes. As the sneak peek progressed, I wanted to take notes, but found that the 10-inch iPad is too wide for me to type on with both hands while standing, no matter which way I turned the tablet. I also attempted to take a picture of one of the dresses – only to realize that it has no camera. Already, my BlackBerry was starting to look like a miracle gadget by comparison.
Reporter Amy Verner takes notes on the iPad at designer Marika Brose's media preview.— Tim Fraser / For the Globe and Mail
Still, the response around me bordered on reverential. “My wife keeps asking what I’ll do with it,” said local scene blogger JJ Thompson. “And I’m like, ‘Are you kidding? I’ll buy it first and then figure out what to do with it.’ “ PR rep Tatiana Read gushed, “It’s a big celebrity!”
On the streetcar afterward, I expected riders to huddle around in similar fashion, but I didn’t even get a prolonged stare. In transit, I started reading the one installed book, Winnie the Pooh. Its charming E.H. Shepherd illustrations offered a neat counterpoint to the device’s high-tech lines. Finally, a woman in her mid-60s inquired about it as I got up to disembark. She said she can’t wait to get one. Why? “I like gadgets, that’s why.”
My friend Sean Chambers, a lawyer, joked that taking the iPad to Dark Horse Espresso Bar, a Spadina Avenue coffee joint teeming with freelancers, would be like “pouring blood into a shark tank.” But when we did, the hipsters in the house turned out to be a shy bunch. One man looked like he might approach us but reached for a newspaper instead. (Frankly, I found the blasé attitude both expected and reassuring.)
I wanted to take notes, but I found that the 10-inch iPad is too wide for me to type with both hands while standing, no matter which way I turned the tablet.— Tim Fraser / For the Globe and Mail
