Is Georgetown on the iPad Bandwagon?

The world embraced the iPod, the MacBook and the iPhone with open arms, but has the iPad been greeted with the same enthusiasm?

According to the Washington Post, members of the White House staff have gone gaga over the product. But not all Georgetown residents have caught the fever.

Kate Radi, a D.C. resident who lives near Georgetown, doesn’t own an iPad but does have other Apple products.

Radi generally reads a lot but hasn’t taken the time to learn about the iPad because she hasn’t heard much interest in the product, she said.

“I’ve never heard someone say, ‘I love the iPad,’” she said.

She added that she needs someone to really like the product before she would consider investing in one.

Michelle Laughlin, a recent graduate of Georgetown University, said she is familiar with the product, but to her the iPad is just an enlarged iPhone.

“It’s an unnecessary piece of equipment that Apple is using to get business,” Laughlin said.
The iPad is useful for reading or for someone who constantly travels, but for others having an iPhone is sufficient, she said.

John Cunningham, a student in D.C., has used the iPad numerous times but decided against purchasing one after becoming familiar with the product through a friend.

“It lacks the functionality of a laptop,” Cunningham said.

However, Nadeem, a Georgetown resident, plans on acquiring the product soon.
“It’s exactly what I needed,” he said,

Nadeem called the iPad a combination of a laptop and cell phone, where checking email and news on the Internet is all possible. You “can’t read in the same way” on a Blackberry, he said.