4 Apple Purchase Regrets

iPod Touch (1st Generation)

This was one of my most anticipated Apple purchases of all time. I was nearly hopping with excitement about it, as I couldn’t get the iPhone where I was, but there were a couple of problems with this early iOS device. First, it didn’t have third-party apps at this point. Second, it had very little storage compared even to my iPod with video. While the interface experience was amazing, it wouldn’t prove a watershed moment in my gadget-wielding career, like the iPhone 3G was when I got it nearly a year later.

My problem isn’t so much with the iPod touch itself; it’s that I bought the first generation of the product. The touch seems to be one of the pieces of hardware Apple is most guilty about artificially hobbling in terms of features, something which I think they do to differentiate the product from the iPhone. In retrospect, I should’ve waited to see features introduced that I really would’ve appreciated in a mobile media player, like a camera, better onboard storage or the still-absent 3G connectivity.

Magic Mouse

The only reason I didn’t include the Mighty Mouse on this list is because the Magic Mouse was more disappointing, since I was expecting so much from it because of its predecessor. Sure, it tracks better than the Mighty Mouse, but what mouse doesn’t, really?

The touch features of this device are kind of neat, in a gimmicky sort of way, but they aren’t really as useful as a trackwheel/middle button, unless you count the fact that they never get gummed up with dust, which has only happened to me with Apple mice anyway, so I don’t. It’s also a battery hog, and it’s not particularly comfortable.

I recently tried getting my Magic Mouse set up again, because I needed a spare input device as a temporary stop-gap, and I think it’s actually broken. It might still be under warranty, but I don’t even care. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

MacBook Pro

This one isn’t really anything to do with any fault on Apple’s part. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is a beautiful, well-designed machine. But shortly before I got it, I got an iMac for my home office, and shortly after I got it, I got an iPad. Between the two, I don’t really find myself using my MBP that much anymore.

Any work I do generally requires ample screen real estate, so I don’t really feel like using the MacBook Pro if I have my iMac and multi-monitor setup available as an option. Add in that most of the places I visit away from home regularly also have at least one large-screen iMac available for use, and the MBP seems less and less useful. Plus, I can usually accomplish with an iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard all the work I would’ve done with a notebook while in transit.

Believe me, I’m as surprised to see this one on this list as you are. I never thought it’d be a purchase I’d come to regret when I originally handed over the cash.

Apple Battery Charger

It’s cute, it’s compatible with Apple’s swappable electrical plugs, and it’s small, but other than that, this really isn’t one of Apple’s best efforts. I find it to be incredibly temperamental (why do I have to unplug and plug in three or four times to get the light to stop blinking orange?) and it only works with AA batteries, not AAA. At least with six batteries included, the price is right, but that’s about the only quantifiable advantage Apple’s offering has over those of traditional battery companies like Duracell et. al.

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