Google finally got me

I got the iPad one when it first came out. It was my first touch screen device and my first Apple hardware. It was love at first sight, within six months I had an iPhone and a Macbook Pro. The iPad two arrived the next year, followed by another iPhone, and iMac and finally and Apple TV. I’m a huge fan of Apple devices, obviously. I’ve heard the talk about Android and accessibility, good and bad and have remained largely indifferent. Until now that is. I chose not to upgrade to the iPad three or the new iPad as Apple wants us to call it. As a VoiceOver user, the retina display left me cold and even though I like to take a photograph or two, the improved camera didn’t move me either. Living outside the USA means that the 4G would be irrelevant also. I had decided to skip a model and wait for the iPad four, which if Apple sticks to its recent release cycle, will be launched in March 2013. However, all that changed this week, with Google’s release of the Nexus 7. I use my iPad mainly as a consumption device. I listen to Audible books, listen to podcasts, read books with iBooks, watch programs on the BBC iPlayer and listen to the radio. The idea that I will be able to do all of this, on a device costing half the price is enough for me to take the plunge.