As I posted earlier I got my mum (my son's Gran) an iPad for her 83rd birthday (in Worthing) and gave it to her on Sunday 27th. Actually sourcing one in time before leaving the Midlands was a bit of a last minute scramble (thanks for all the suggestions!) as the 3G versions were rarer than hen's teeth - PC world at Fosse Park Leicester had only wifi-only iPads and the Apple shop in the city centre didn't have any for sale at all (all were reserved). I bumped into their lengthy iPhone 4 queue (it was last Thursday) but luckily didn't have to wait in it. I was about to despair as I didn't have time to go to Birmingham. Solihull Apple store (Touchwood) had said they would e- mail me when they had any 16 Gb 3G iPAds but I hadn't heard. However I rang them and found that they had some 64Gb ones so decided to plump for that despite the hefty price hike. I really needed to have the thing in my hands on Sunday and introduce mum to it personally. I got to the store after work just before they closed at 8pm and they helpfully put in the relevant chip and got it going. I couldn't resist playing when I got home (using our home wifi) and fell in love with it of course.
Mum took to it straight away although I was careful not to overdo the hype and just said it was 'a toy for the young at heart'. I talked her through the O2 sign up (went for the £2 for 24 hours option initially as I have no idea how much she will use the Internet) but needed an e- mail for that and of course she hasn't got one (yet)... there should be an alternative option! My aunt was also at the party (similar age) and was taking a great interest - she could see how easy it was, simply poking with a finger or swiping, no wires, no keyboard, a very visual interface etc, I wouldn't be surprised if she got herself one although at the moment, getting hold of one is the problem! One major issue was that it won't receive BBC iPlayer since that needs Flash. It was in the middle of the England match and I'd promised mum she'd be able to see the match on the iPad - doh! Also she needs an account to watch Youtube and I didn't have time to show her how. She's a bit confused by the concept of 'apps' too. Luckily my husband got her a little 'Guide to the iPad' book which she is finding very helpful (familiar technology!). Anyway (sorry for long post) if you've got elderly relatives who are technology-shy, this is definitely the way to go! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sussex Mac User Group" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/smug?hl=en-GB.
