Farewell, Dear iPad: It's Not You, It's Me

Early adopter returns it because 'it's too good'
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 19, 2010 6:00 PM CDT
Farewell, Dear iPad: It's Not You, It's Me
A file photo of an iPad.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, FILE)

An unhappy early adopter of the iPad explains in the Harvard Business Review why he returned it to the store: "It's too good." Peter Bregman toted it everywhere and used it for email, to check news and traffic, and to watch the occasional episode of Weeds. He showed it off like a proud papa. In short, it did "everything I could want," with the consequence that it consumed his every waking moment—and some moments that should have been spent sleeping.

"So why is this a problem? It sounds like I was super-productive. Every extra minute, I was either producing or consuming. But something is lost in the busyness. Something too valuable to lose. Boredom." This "precious thing" lets the mind wander and fosters creativity. His brother gave the obvious advice—don't use it so much. But "I can't not use it if it's there," writes Bregman. "And, unfortunately, it's always there. So I returned it. Problem solved." (More iPad stories.)

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