Until the iPad has wide availability outside the U.S., Apple’s taking even more paranoid precautions than typical. Notably, everyone is still limited to buying no more than two of the devices, and, until today, no one was allowed to buy an iPad with cash. That policy was allegedly in place to prevent exporting by creating a credit card trail for each device.
But the policy’s silliness was revealed rather dramatically when Diane Campbell, a disabled woman living in Silicon Valley on a fixed income, attempted to use $600 cash to buy herself an iPad. She was turned down at the Palo Alto Apple Store, and went home, dejected, ultimately writing Steve Jobs a rather delightfully pointed e-mail.
“Come on Mr. Jobs, give a sister a break, okay. I’m not going to go sell my iPad.”
That message quickly hit, and earlier this evening, Apple reversed the policy, and Diane went home as a proud iPad owner. She intends to fill it with guitar song instructions. One thing that’s unclear is if the policy reversal also applies to iPhones, which similarly require a credit or debit card to purchase. I would assume not, as they require two-year service contracts, and a line of credit is usually required to secure that.
Nice to see Apple step up on what’s just a ridiculously common sense decision. And this makes me want to roll up to the Apple Store in the middle of next week with a big bag of penny rolls. Who’s with me?
