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Apple Stores Replace Kids' Table iMacs With iPads

Thursday April 26, 2012 12:21 pm PDT by Jordan Golson

Apple has replaced the iMacs that were previously on the kids' table at its retail stores with iPads, as first noticed by iMore. The switch is a clear sign of the direction the company is going, particularly with regards to its younger customer base.

The kids' table has been a staple of the Apple Retail Store since it the first locations opened more than 10 years ago. The original tables featured CRT iMacs surrounded by black balls from the Baleri Italia company for children to sit on. Apple, as is typical, spares no expense when it comes to its retail stores -- the chairs cost more than $500 each.

Over the years, as the iMacs themselves have been updated, Apple has replaced the machines with newer models, but this is the first time that a product other than a Mac has been featured.


(Image of old kids table courtesy Flickr/Ralph and Jenny)

[ 231 comments ]


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GSPice
90 months ago

Just what we need. I am in my mid 20s and my IT education was primarily word processing and office applications. I pity those kids these days who won't even get the level I got, and instead spend their time consuming videos and pictures on these devices.

The goal of teaching kids how to code (as IT classes in schools should be) seems further and further away with each story like this :(


I'm pretty sure kids who want an IT education won't be stopped by the iPad.
Rating: 43 Votes
Avatar
Consultant
90 months ago

Just what we need. I am in my mid 20s and my IT education was primarily word processing and office applications. I pity those kids these days who won't even get the level I got, and instead spend their time consuming videos and pictures on these devices.

The goal of teaching kids how to code (as IT classes in schools should be) seems further and further away with each story like this :(


Why would everybody learn how to code?
Do doctors have to know how to code?
Do cab drivers have to know how to code?
Etc.
Rating: 28 Votes
Avatar
Peace
90 months ago

Those lil' kids on those iMacs in the second picture...

remember going in the apple store when i was 10 to play lego indiana jones on those things, aaaw! :D


Perfect example of what the average kid does with an Apple device in a store. Play. And that's what they should do. Play. If parents want them to code they can take their children over to a Mac. Otherwise kids will be kids and play and what better thing to play with than an iPad.
Rating: 24 Votes
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Small White Car
90 months ago

Just what we need. I am in my mid 20s and my IT education was primarily word processing and office applications. I pity those kids these days who won't even get the level I got, and instead spend their time consuming videos and pictures on these devices.

The goal of teaching kids how to code (as IT classes in schools should be) seems further and further away with each story like this :(


Which is why all console game systems died out in the 1990's...because kids who grew up playing SNES and Genisis couldn't program on it none of them grew up to be video game designers.

That is what happened, isn't it? Maybe I'm misremembering.
Rating: 20 Votes
Avatar
DTphonehome
90 months ago

Just what we need. I am in my mid 20s and my IT education was primarily word processing and office applications. I pity those kids these days who won't even get the level I got, and instead spend their time consuming videos and pictures on these devices.

The goal of teaching kids how to code (as IT classes in schools should be) seems further and further away with each story like this :(


Yeah! The kid's section should be Mac Pros with a full-screen terminal window.
Rating: 20 Votes
Avatar
OdinPoe
90 months ago
My goodness what I wouldn't give for at least one semi-substantial iMac rumor...

This does seem like a good move, the iPad tends to be a more intuitive experience from what I've seen with my own kids.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Shrink
90 months ago
A lot easier to nag mom and dad for an iPad than an iMac.

Get them while they're young, and you own them for life!:rolleyes:
Rating: 14 Votes
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Eriden
90 months ago

First off, doing almost anything on an iPad requires a basic ability to read.


You obviously don't have kids.
Rating: 12 Votes
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Eriden
90 months ago
While I must confess that I prefer the Apple Computer of the 2001-2007 era to the modern Apple Inc with its gradual shift to all things iOS, I must say that my 5 and 2 year old sons much prefer using my iPad to sitting in front of the iMac. My 5 year old has learned to read using my iPad from the ABC apps to the Ruckus Reader apps, it feels to me like tablet learning has a secure place in society going forward.
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
Peace
90 months ago

good point.


I would appreciate it if you didn't change my words when you quote me.
Rating: 10 Votes

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