iPad toddlers

We continually see things that would never have been possible just a few years ago. We rarely stop to even notice…

A few days ago I was sitting at a coffee shop with some friends, and to the right and behind me a rather hassled young mother hurridly put an iPad in front of her two toddlers, who were sitting grouchily in their double push chair. The toddler to the right had the iPad on her lap, and her twin brother (both were no more than 12 months old) was bawling his eyes out. The sister immediately started swiping at the game, and the brother stopped crying and watched intently.

Immediate. Instinctive. Bam!

I almost dropped my cup and saucer. Those at the table had caught this too. Not only the fact that the mother had the iPad to shove in front of the screaming duo, but the fact they both tuned in, knew what to do and were at peace.

The iPad 3 comes out next week, and the whole product category is not yet two years old. When a new device can be used so naturally by 1 year olds, you know it’s been built to perfection. No instructions, just instinct. An extension of the human brain. A natural plugin.

Incredible. Makes me feel very humble and worthless, as we struggle to improve the user experience of the online systems and sites we develop daily. As Apple say “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication“.

Oh, and by the way, there is a Blog (‘Babies with iPads‘) dedicated to this subject… of course.