NEW iPAD WITH GENERIC EMAIL? WHY?

I did what people do when their smart-phone battery gets old and weak: buy a new battery, or buy a new phone. No one said anything about an iPad.

So, there I was in the Bridgeport Apple Store waiting on the appointment I’d made the day before.

I waited beside the iPad display, a countertop that ran along the left side of the room. Knowing how sharp and cunning Apple is in their design and marketing, I still took the bait and picked up the small, white, screen near me and put it though it’s paces.

I don’t own an iPad, don’t plan on owning an iPad, but the more I toyed around the more I liked it. I checked the email, thinking a new iPad wouldn’t have email. Why would it?

I was wrong, but it was generic email. I checked each machine and found the same emails. Those clever bastards, right, because they sounded like lifestyle pitches.

“I just returned from Paris and can’t wait to show you my pictures. The front and back cameras in my iPad mini let me take vivid photos and cinematic videos, and that’s just what I did. When can you come over?”

iPad People

“Oh yes, of course I’m taking my new iPad to London next week. I couldn’t live without it. I love my iPad mini for its size and capability. I love the A12 Bionic chip with Neural Engine and a 7.9‑inch Retina display with True Tone; I love the Apple Pencil, so I can capture my biggest ideas wherever I am. I filming a talk at Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner. So excited. Then I’m off to Paris for more pictures. I’ll call when I get back.”

Just as I was about to buy an iPad, my Apple guy showed up. I was there to buy a new battery because my old battery faded too fast.

A new battery cost $50; my phone trade-in for a new one was a $50 credit. I could replace my phone with the same model 6 for $200. I did the math, but the Apple guy saved the day when he checked my battery capacity: eighty-six percent.

“A new battery may not show much improvement, but you can buy one. First, I’ll check the battery-saving options on your phone,” he said.

I walked out of the Apple Store without a new battery, new phone, or new iPad, and I think my Apple guy did it on purpose. He found a way not to make a sale. I’m a pushover and was there to buy a new battery, and would have, but for him. It was a treat to work with a sales guy/tech who listened.

Sometimes the world is on my side. I’d tell you more, but my battery is dying.