Last night, I had a dream about an iPad. Yes, readers, sometime between midnight and 7 AM EST, an Apple product entered what I considered a realm of healthy fantasy, a space previously populated by certain ex-boyfriends and Desmond from Lost.  

Here’s the weird part: I didn’t think I even liked the iPad. Though I had warmed to it a little since we were first introduced (“Really, Steve Jobs? You’re calling it an iPad?”) I still was just not that into it. The iPad didn’t seem like my type. I like my gadgets small and super portable, and I’m not into playing games (neither in relationships nor on screens). Plus, I don’t like to play the field. I got a new MacBook last fall, and my iPhone is due for an upgrade. I felt comfortable with the current status of my relationship with Apple products, and didn’t think I was ready to move my commitment up to the next level.

But Apple’s done the promotional equivalent of showing up at my door with flowers every day. Those sexy advertising campaigns — serene living rooms! faceless hipsters! — are showing me another side of the iPad, and melting my skepticism/cynicism that this gadget’s a cad. Crazy powerful? Lasts all day? More books that I can read in a lifetime? Oh baby.

Sex appeal has long been a hallmark of Apple products, and I wonder how successfully the company will capitalize on its traditional good looks in their efforts to convince people they need an entirely new category of devices. Then again, it appears that the marketing strategy is premised on looks first, functionality second. Maybe their game is to play down the iPad’s intelligence and just make us all lust after it. If so, will enough people go in for the eye candy? Or will the iPad be just a summer fling? We’ll see.   

Meanwhile, I’ll still be making eyes at the iPad for at least a few more months. I know the Rules. I’m certainly not the kind of girl who goes all the way on a first generation.