iPad Air

There was a time in my life when I was oblivious to the seemingly bizarre effect of Apple products on people, a term we now know as “The Cult of Apple”. That was about 5 years ago until someone very dear to me passed away some 8,000 miles away and I couldn’t be there for the family. I decided to buy a Mac Pro to replace my aging Sony Vaio but most importantly, I chose it so I can FaceTime with my family and attend the funeral services virtually.

On top of this nostalgic circumstance surrounding my first purchase of Apple product, Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder and the genius who invented an entirely new market of smart phones, tablets and music players (and not to mention the hero who took Pixar to where it’s at), died 2 weeks after this tragic incident in my life. Being a software engineer myself who’s right at the heart of the tech capital of the world, this was a hard blow both at personal and professional levels. The entire Silicon Valley mourned that day. And so began my Apple obsession…

iPhone 5S in Gold

There was no going back. I fell hard for Apple, although I have to admit that I’m the exact opposite of an early adopter when it comes to these things. Isn’t it ironic, given that I work in the tech industry? The only explanation for this behavior is my askewed priorities. I spend too much of my money in clothes, shoes and bags that there is nothing left for something else. When iPad first came out, I had no trouble stating that it’s a useless product and that nobody’s going to buy it since people already have laptops and smart phones. I couldn’t be any more wrong.

Mac Pro, iPad Air, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5S

I delayed getting iPad for as long as I can until finally, iPad Air with retina display was released. The beauty of the device, the clarity of display, everything about it knocked me off my feet. The competition couldn’t hold a candle to it. When I first touched it, I felt the same jolt of emotions that a fashionista would feel holding the very first of the iconic Chanel jacket or that of an archaeologist upon discovering the location of the long-lost Ark of the Covenant. While at first I didn’t know what to do with, the turning point was when I discovered the Flipboard app.

The fact that through this app, I could put a lot of my favorite digital contents in one place is pretty awesome. Now I can read local and world news, tech articles around Silicon Valley and the world, travel articles from National Geographic, Lonely Planet, Travel Esquire, discover endless array of amazing recipes, view breathtaking photos from around the world and keep up-to-date with fashion trends and deals, all in one place and under one app! Pretty amazing in my book. I consumed all these digital contents with so much voracity. It was as if I have been starving for a thousand years.

Other things I love to do on iPad include reading eBooks, watching a whole gamut of inspiring and educational videos on TED talks and following all my favorite tv shows such as Project Runway (via Lifetime app), HBO shows (via HBO on the go app) and endless other shows.

The last thing I’d like to point out is the almost magical, holistic and seamless integration of all Apple devices. This makes it very, very hard for someone who’s been using one Apple device to switch to a different device. For example, the migration of all my data from iPhone 4s to 5s via the iCloud is breathtakingly simple. With just one click of a button, all  my data including pictures, wallpaper, videos, songs, apps, contacts, messages and all other setups were copied from the old phone to the new, as if I didn’t even change phone. iMessage (free messaging between Apple devices), AirPlay (streaming contents from any Apple device to an Apple TV-enabled television), AirDrop (transferring of contents from one Mac to another Mac or iPhone to iPad or iPhone to iPhone), FaceTime and iTunes round up my favorite features of the Apple ecosystem.

Steve Jobs truly achieved the perfect marriage of technology and liberal arts! Kudos and thank you so much, Mr. Jobs.

Lastly, there is no doubt in my mind that print media is dying a slow and painful death and it’s unmistakable why.

Are you an Apple junkie as well? Have a great week! Thank you for reading.

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