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A Very Apple Christmas
According to the Mental Floss Twitter feed (via New York news anchor and game show host Pat Kiernan), kids are hoping Apple plays a prominent role in the upcoming holiday season, as the iPad is the most-requested gift among children ages 6 to 12. The top three is rounded out with two more Apple products: the iPod Touch and iPhone.
I guess this confirms something most of us already knew: kids like the next big thing almost as much as, if not more than, their parents do. When I mentioned this news tidbit around the office today, no one seemed surprised, and that tells you everything you need to know. For what it’s worth, I hear Santa’s elves have been taking CTS certification courses since last Christmas.
Children are embracing and feeling more comfortable with technology earlier and earlier all the time. That certainly opens up a new market to manufacturers that hasn’t always been there, although kids always want to do what mom and dad are doing, at least until they’re teenagers. (Hey, maybe that’s why the group cuts off after age 12. Teenagers are probably hoping for door locks and headphones to keep the grown-ups out.)
Gone are the days of watching moms (and sometimes dads, although they tend not to hit the malls until some time in the final week or so before the holiday) wrestle each other for the last Cabbage Patch Kid, Tickle Me Elmo and Beanie Baby on the toy store shelves. I’m getting a little misty just thinking about the department store wars my mom waged, including the year I was among the first kid on my block to own a pair of Air Jordans.
This year, the staredowns will come in the electronics aisles of your favorite department store or among the madness at Best Buy and the other big box stores. Even Toys"R"Us is expanded its electronics area to sell tablets, Kindles, iPods and other Apple accessories.
With Black Friday sales and offers starting more than a week early this year, the supplies of some of the “hot gifts” could be even more limited by the time the masses descend just after midnight the say after Turkey Day.
So, don’t waste your time or money buying little Billy a basketball (remember those?) or a toy train set. If you want something that’s not going to collect dust, head right for the “healthy” options and bring a big smile to a youngster’s face.
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4 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
@John
Does that theoretical gas station present the gas options to me in a much more intuitive way than any other gas station? Does it provide ways to share that same gas between all these other cars I happen to have in a seamless way? If I happen to accidentally lose all that gas, will the gas station help me replace it all for free (the first time, anyway)? If I have a problem with this gas - or the car it goes in (how can I tell which is the issue??) - can I walk into that gas station’s store and ask the clerk to help me fix whatever the issue is?
Does that car look, feel, and drive in a way that makes absolute and total sense to me? Do I have confidence in the fact that the engineers of the chassis, body, and engine are employees of the same company that engineered the software that runs the engine, the braking system, and the radio? Do I have to worry about which gas station I should get my gas at, or which version of gas I need to buy from which gas station owned by the different companies that sell both the gas and the car, but not the same version of gas in all their cars?
You gave me lots to think about.
@ Details Matter
You bring up some excellent points as well! Yes, there are MANY things to consider when buying into a particular device and it’s associated ecosystem!
Personally, I feel that the ability to source my content from any provider is important. I also want my device to be able to talk to ANY other device, regardless of brand. Others may feel that the benefits of ease of use and sharing between similar devices is more important, although I see MANY devices out there that would have the attributes you specify, that are NOT branded with a fruit! 
As long as there is some thought put into all of this, I dont begrudge people their personal choice…I just get concerned when I see people rush to a particular brand without thinking things through.
I also feel that people should shop with some sense of social responsibility. I am NOT a fan of certain technology companies and their track record when it comes to industry domination, bullying of smaller competitors (or larger INDUSTRIES) to get what they want, and the concentration of power at the expense of user freedom. I object to the way they treat their Chinese workers, and their track record on hazardous waste and their other ecological shortcomings. In short, I oppose the POLICIES of certain companies, and regardless of how shiny or cool their new products are, since I dont support the rest of what that company is doing, I refuse to fund them, even a little, by buying their stuff!
A $500+ gift for a 6-12 year old???? WTF!!!!
I could maybe see this if it was a musical instrument or something similar, that was going to be something with responsibility and a long term value to it.
But an iPad, for a 6-12 year old .... no way in hell.
Do your family members a HUGE favor and buy them something else…preferably, something that doesnt tie them for life into a single ecosystem (Kindle’s and Nook’s are out too, unless you hack it for them so they can buy their content from whomever they want!).
Let me ask you (rhetorically, anyway) this…if someone bought you, say, a new car…but this car only took gas from one gas station that was higher priced than anyone else’s gas…would you want the gift? Or, maybe the gas is the same price, but you could only buy it when the owner of the station wanted to sell it to you, and then you had to agree not to drive to certain locations. Still a good gift?
Something to think about.