Family, tech and the joy of Apple's iPad
Apple aficionados often struggle to describe just what makes them love the company's products. In the case of GigaOM founder Om Malik, a recent experience in which he handed over his iPad 2 to his mother in India was the basis for a wonderful heartfelt story about what makes Apple products so special.
Malik describes watching his mother talking to her grandson via FaceTime (see photo at the top of this post), and I'll let his words explain how he feels about Apple:
"It didn't matter how it was happening - just that she could talk to her grandson who was oceans apart from her. If there ever was a moment that captured the emotion in a piece technology, that was it. The look on her face made me realize how lucky I am to write about an industry that makes such things possible. I also thought to myself, maybe somewhere Steve Jobs is smiling too.
Apple, clearly, is not for everyone. But for me that moment of joy experienced by my mother is enough of a reason why there will be no other computer company. Apple's competitors will do their own thing. Some, like Samsung, will do spectacularly well. But for me, Apple finds ways to delight people, pushing technology into the background."
Malik goes on to quote a post he wrote at Steve Jobs's passing last October, saying that "Jobs put life and soul into inanimate objects," noting that "The smile on my mother's face captures what I wrote the best."
It's a heartwarming story, and I'm glad Malik chose to share that personal family moment with the world.
