ME, MYSELF, AND I

. KNOMO .

I recently made a rather impromptu decision to buy an iPad … of the mini variety. Not only was it impromptu it was also rather frivolous as not only do I already have an iPad, I also have a Mac Book and an iPhone5. Yes. Unnecessary indeed. But that’s the thing with Apple, they know how to be oh so enticing and play on our weak, uncontrollable conspicuous consumption heart strings. And boy, don’t they do it well?

So yes, I didn’t need an iPad. But the thing is, I really wanted one. I have a super old one already which my dad kindly handed me down a year or so ago. As stupid as this sounds, I don’t use it because …. ‘it’s too big’. Oh shoot me now. Anyway, as much as it’s probably terrible to say, i find it too big. It’s too clunky, heavy and  big to carry on my daily commute. And as for travelling … well I may as well just take my laptop, as I can’t blog on the ipad (if only). So for now my big old iPad is sat in my B&O speaker system on which I use it for music and TV streaming in the kitchen. So not quite redundant … thankfully.

The reason I decided to invest in the iPad mini is still debatable – a mix of wanting to be part of the gang, feeling like I needed a treat and a desire for an enjoyable commute and travelling experience no doubt. And I have to say, despite the £350 set back (I went for 32gb WIFI only) … i don’t regret it for one second. In fact i’ve used it every day this week, and already managed to watch an entire season of breaking bad. Not only making my commute more enjoyable, but this impromptu treat so worth the investment.

I also had a super helpful Apple sales guy who made the purchase so easy … after a trip to the Orange store, a tedious call with EE and finally a visit to Apple itself I realised i’d wasted a good few hours with 3G contract conversations and I should have gone to Apple in the first place. I wanted this iPad for light browsing in and out the home & a drop of film watching on my travels, and really that’s about it. After thinking i’d need a 3G enabled iPad (adding on at least £100 on the IPad itself, and whacking up a £300 24 month contract) … the seriously legendary Apple guy stopped me on my tracks and taught me all about tethering … Yes! Free wifi transfer from my iPhone to iPad, simply by setting up my iPhone as a hotspot when needed. Genius. He saved me £400 overall from this invaluable piece of information.

. Apple iPad Mini 32GB White £350 . Knomo Ipad Folio £49 c/o .

The impromptu spending wasn’t to end there, as I then embarked on a 24 hour iPad mini case hunt. The high street let me down hugely, Apple’s stock was boring and over priced, General stores only sold chunky, ugly looking cases, Kate Spade has limited UK stock for the IPad mini, and Aspinal was just a little too far out of reach (although I seriously did consider the £150 investment as I love their cases that much). That’s when Knomo came to the rescue. It’s only fair really, after all  I blame them for this purchase in the first case, since it was post discovering the Oldbury bag (designed to hold an iPad) that I really decided I should get myself a new one.

My new Knomo case is utter perfection – thin and sleek, a stunning pink colour, high quality leather, tracked / returnable if lost, and has all the expected functionalities. It was ‘SOLD’ at first site. And at £50 I can truly say it’s well well worth it’s price tag!!

So there you go, a mini essay, two new goodies, and one very happy lady :) … and one sightly concerned bank account