PDA

View Full Version : iPad users 'are the selfish elite', claims survey



Treffie
07-30-2010, 08:48 AM
Are you wealthy, sophisticated and smart but don’t care about anybody else?

The chances are you own an iPad.

A survey has revealed the typical person who has bought Apple’s latest gadget is unkind and has little empathy for others.

They have been branded the ‘selfish elite’ by a poll of 20,000 consumers carried out by an American research company.

The £429 device has become the most desired gadget in Britain since its launch in May and 600,000 are expected to be sold before the end of the year.

But the next time you see someone sitting on a train smugly using theirs, take comfort from the fact they are probably not a nice person.

According to Tim Koelkebeck of MyType, which carried out the survey, iPad owners are are six times more likely to be ‘wealthy, well-educated, power-hungry, over-achieving, sophisticated, unkind and non-altruistic 30-50-year-olds’.

They are self-centered workaholics with an overwhelming interest in business and finance who cherish ‘power and achievement’ and will not cross the street to help others, he added.

Mr Koelkebeck said that the high price was one reason why the iPad attracted such a specific clientele.

It also appeals to people who spend all day working in front of a computer screen and enjoy interacting with new technology.

In their free time they are so used to computers they want another screen to ensure continuity in their lives.

Apple founder Steve Jobs says it will revolutionise everything about our lives, from the way we travel to how we read books.

It sold out within hours of its launch in the UK and initial problems with the Wi-Fi connection have not diminished the relentless demand for the device, which costs up to £699 for better models.

Whilst those that own an iPad are uncaring and selfish go-getters, those who criticise the device are branded by the survey as ‘independent geeks’.
Attacking the device gives them an ‘identity statement’, said Mr Koelkebeck, that helps them cope with their own failings.

‘As a mainstream, closed-platform device whose major claim to fame is ease of use and sex appeal, the iPad is everything that they are not.’

Source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1298722/iPad-users-selfish-elite.html)

RoyBatty
07-30-2010, 09:33 AM
Are you wealthy, sophisticated and smart but don’t care about anybody else?

The chances are you own an iPad.

A survey has revealed the typical person who has bought Apple’s latest gadget is unkind and has little empathy for others.

They have been branded the ‘selfish elite’ by a poll of 20,000 consumers carried out by an American research company.


A couple of weeks ago I was on a train from Brighton to London. There were a number of flamboyant gentlemen, naturally from the prerequisite affluent and ~ 30-50 age group, sitting next to and across from myself.

After 30 mins or so of bubbly conversation amongst their circle the obligatory brand new hey-shoo-wow iPad made its appearance, reinforcing the stereotypes mentioned about Apple users in general as well as those quoted in this article.

:D

Treffie
07-30-2010, 09:53 AM
A couple of weeks ago I was on a train from Brighton to London. There were a number of flamboyant gentlemen, naturally from the prerequisite affluent and ~ 30-50 age group, sitting next to and across from myself.

After 30 mins or so of bubbly conversation amongst their circle the obligatory brand new hey-shoo-wow iPad made its appearance, reinforcing the stereotypes mentioned about Apple users in general as well as those quoted in this article.

:D

Two of the most selfish, narcissistic and self-obsessed people I've ever known were Mac users :D

Grumpy Cat
07-31-2010, 04:35 AM
They are self-centered workaholics with an overwhelming interest in business and finance who cherish ‘power and achievement’ and will not cross the street to help others, he added

That sounds like me. I work a lot, and I work in the financial sector. But I work a lot because I actually enjoy what I do. However, I will help people. I donate to charity, volunteer in the community, and people who know me IRL will tell you I'd give you my last dollar if I thought you needed it more than me.

But I think iPads are stupid.

You can do all the same things with an iPhone or an iPod Touch that you can do with an iPad... but the former two devices fit in your pocket. The iPad is just for showoffs.

I love my iPhone... it has saved me a lot of prime real-estate on my belt. I no longer have to carry a cell phone, pager, PDA, and mp3 player... the iPhone is all of those wrapped into one. I should have claimed it on my income tax, though, because I use it for work purposes more than personal (work-related calls, work e-mail, work-related pages, meeting reminders, Perl manuals in my pocket, etc.).

I can even use Collabnet/Subversion with it (which means I can work while laying on the beach).

Austin
07-31-2010, 06:03 AM
Most apple-product users in general seem to be naive/immature/stuffy characters from what I have noticed, the very superficial trendy types. Not all of course. What amuses me is any decent PC can and does beat the crap out of an apple any day so I get tired of hearing about apple computers when they are capable of a feeble performance at best compared to a much cheaper PC.

Apple ipods SUCK btw, you have to flip through all that bullshit, sony or some other brand is so much simpler to actually play songs with than having to deal with apples anal way of sorting through songs. Bought one when they first came out for like 250 and returned it and bought a sony for 90$ that lasted a good 5 years.

RoyBatty
07-31-2010, 07:28 AM
To be fair, imo it's a case of "horses for courses". There are applications where Apple (as a computer platform) is preferable, mostly because for certain types of roles superior software packages exist vs what can be found on PC. However, even here PC's usually have similar (if slightly less desirable) apps.

In some cases the overall integration on OSX is better or more convenient than on PC's but overall there isn't really a huge advantage to be gained from either. In most cases a PC will be much more versatile and supported with hardware and software than a relatively closed platform like a Mac would be.

As for Apple's products like iPad, I don't see the point. It's too big to lug around as a replacement for a book, the battery life is limited etc. For a device that size you may as well get a laptop.

iPhones - totally overpriced and overhyped. There may be cases where it has software support for essential functions that nothing else has at the moment... I don't know. Google Android should be on par with it by the time the next major release comes out. Expect iPhone to lose some of that bling-factor.

iPods.... nice interface, overpriced, sucky DRM. Anything with DRM I refuse to buy. End of story.

"Apple" is a license to overcharge (mostly) trendy, affluent types. They usually have the same kinds of jobs, wear the same clothes, talk with the same accents, male users are often metrosexual or gay, drive the same types of cars (Audi A3 being one popular choice). They frequently buy the entire Apple range...for some reason their lives are not complete unless they have the following:

Macbook
Mac Mini
iPod
iPhone
iPad (maybe)

They then bring in their Apple suite to the office to discuss with colleagues, gawk at etc etc etc.

Whenever a new model of Apple whatever is released, the inevitable conversations are "should I upgrade or not".

Eldritch
07-31-2010, 07:31 AM
Should I conbsider myself lucky that I don't know anyone who defines him/herself by either owning, or not wanting to own, certain products?