A Bit About The iPad and iPhone and What They’ve Changed

July 2011 Issue of Macworld

Let me start out by saying I am a big fan of Macworld Magazine. It offers great articles and helpful insight into the world of Apple Tech. Now I want to tell you about the article by Jason Snell (Editorial Director for Macworld) titled, “The Disruptive iPad: From the backseat to the bleachers, Apple technology changes things you might not expect”.

In this article (or editorial…I’m not a huge magazine enthusiast) Jason touches up on some things that the iPad has changed in the automotive industry. In the article he talks about him and his family purchasing a new minivan and about how the the iPad knocked a few hundred bucks off the price tag. Snell states:

“The biggest change that Apple has wrought cropped up when came time to decide whether or not to add in-car navigation and entertainment systems to our new vehicle.”

Jason stated that for just those features alone it would run about $1,500 extra. Now that’s a lot of cash for fixed navigation and entertainment that you cannot use anywhere but inside the car. He goes on stating that him and his wife both carry iPhone 4’s with Navigon’s MobileNavigator, a GPS app that costs $59.99 in the App Store, beating most GPS retail prices. And since most (if not all) newer cars come equipped with Bluetooth technology so even if you use your phone as a GPS, you can still receive calls while you cruise down the road. Snell also touches on the entertainment value of an iPad compared to those given in an automobile.

“Of course we want our kids to be entertained on long trips, so we hand over our iPads.”