Chapter 6- Hundreds queue for today's Vancouver Apple iPad 2 launch

Summary

The buzz all around Vancouver was about the launch of the Apple iPad 2. Gillian Shaw, from The Vancouver Sun, reported that Colin Lochhead was downtown on March 24, 2011 at 11 p.m. at the Apple store, where he was soon joined by many other hopeful consumers wanting to purchase the new iPad, which went on sale March 25, 2011 at 5 p.m. The Apple staff ensured the satisfaction of their customers and kindly handed out coffee to the people in line, while staff in the Apple store in Pacific Centre, prepared to close at 3p.m to get ready for the launch. Some people were just in line to help their friends out , but ended up also buying the iPad2. Clayton Mckee sacrificed his sleep, just to purchase this new software for his girlfriend. Moreover, by midday the line-up had grown along Granville Street, while other consumers were at other popular electronic stores such as Best Buy and Future Shop.

Connection

From this article, it’s clear to me that many consumers are spending their money without much thought. They are wasting their disposable income on this new software, in which I think most of it “dissaving”. Since the economy isn’t doing as well as it should be, many people shouldn’t be spending more than their disposable income. Furthermore, the consumption of money has definitely increased due to a high demand for the iPad 2, which has almost the same software as the original iPad. Some factors that play a role in this are psychological changes, tastes and preferences and the expectations of consumers. Also, since the iPad was assembled in China, I’m guessing the foreign trade with importing and exporting is injecting into the GDP with the spending. Another factor that ties into this article is investment. Since Apple has made some innovations in the iPad 2, many more people want to purchase it. Moreover, on a side note, GDP has in fact increased .2% since January 2010, which has a role in the investment factor.

Reflection

In my opinion, I think that consumers shouldn’t be spending their money on the iPad 2. I’m 75% sure that Apple will come out with a new innovation in the iPad product line because technology keeps on further advancing. Although having this device is very efficient and convenient, I don’t believe that it is a smart investment. However, in another approach, it has defiantly been a good injection into the economy because of all the spending people are doing. Many consumers took money out their savings to purchase this product, which will hopefully put a boom into the economy. Moreover, I also think that many people wanted to buy this product just to show they live a lavish, high-class lifestyle. Therefore, falling into the trap of markers, helping them make huge amounts of profit.