Gobsmacked; that's how she felt.
My 23-year-old co-worker is no stranger to consumer technology. She packs a MacBook and a touch screen mobile phone, has an iPod stacked full of music and can happily lose an entire night to FaceBook. But one morning last week, two mums and a dad — all in their 40s and 50s — put her to shame with their passion for new technology.
The moment came when my co-worker and I bumped into a woman I knew who had recently bought an iPhone. Having just acquired one myself, I asked her how she was finding it.
The woman's enthusiasm was palpable. Launching into an excitable endorsement of all the software 'apps' (applications) she'd installed, we quickly began comparing phones and app lists. Immediately, one of the women working at reception (another iPhone convert) was leaning over the counter and passionately joining in the conversation.
When I finally turned back to my co-worker, the expression on her face was unprecedented; a mixture of disbelief and displacement. Not only did she feel socially excluded for not having an iPhone, but she was also 'weirded out' by the experience.
'Older people aren't meant to be into technology like that', she pronounced over coffee.
Her comment was a turning point in my thinking. I was once again reminded of the incredible impact Apple is having on personal technology. Over the last few years, Apple has managed to combine sexy device design with simple tactile user interfaces, popularising the way people engage with technology, in a manner that feels intuitive and anything but technological. More aptly put, Apple is creating 'human' technology; changing our lives, organising them, connecting them to others.
It should come as no surprise, then, that women are one of the fastest growing consumer groups of Apple products. According to various surveys conducted in the US late last year, women now comprise 40 per cent of the iPhone user base, with 29.5 per cent of all iPhone users being 'iPhone moms'.
Next month, the iPad launches in Australia. Essentially a jumbo version of the iPhone, the device will be roughly the size of an A4 piece of paper and allow users large screen interactivity with broad-range connection to the internet.
Think of it this way: this is the laptop that's not a computer, and at your fingertips (literally) will be the ability to watch videos, read the