How I made $4,000 listening to my wife

 Donna got her iPad on Tuesday, six weeks before her birthday.  At breakfast, she said she couldn't wait until May 27.  But that's OK. Four weeks ago I bought 200 shares of Apple.

I boosted my position in Apple because I listened to her questions about the iPad.  She heard the pre-release hype and started asking me things like "Can I do e-mail on it?" and "Can I watch jewelry-making tutorials on YouTube on it?." 

This non-tech woman who is frightened of our Harmony remote control was drawn to the iPad and ... !!!! ... what it could do for her!  She was imagining ways she could incorporate it into her life, ways that didn't involve a 'computer' but were part of her life.

That's when I bought more Apple stock, March 9 at $220. Not bad, a gain of 10% in less than a month.

Now, the second shoe has dropped.  And it bodes well for the AT&T position I took on in January.  I bought it primarily for the 6% dividend, fearing of course that the share price could take a hit if and when Verizon gets an iPhone. I'm not so worried now.

Because, Donna now wants to return the WiFi iPad and get a 3G-enabled model.  This morning she said, "Well, you know the selling point on the iPad has been its mobility. She said,  "If I'm in the car (She REALLY likes maps.) or at a meeting or having lunch, I might not be able to get e-mail or show somebody my Web site."

Now, this also means the iPad will become the gift that keeps taking.  Not only will I have to pay the 10% restocking fee to return the unit, but then I'll have another $%!#$% monthly data subscription fee to pay.

Donna's no dummy.  Couple of college degrees, a 15-year retail business she bootstrapped to international success and notice, and now a she's crafting artful, imaginative, custom jewelry (donnabarnako.com). 

My point is that all the comments from the tech bloggers, about the iPad, aren't worth a bucket of warm spit.  They are not the market.  I am not the market.  My wife is the market, and to judge by the reaction so far, so are her friends.   So, too, is the 11-year-old girl she met yesterday who began drooling on the iPad.  (She already owns an iPhone!) So is her high school brother. 

None of these people think of the iPad as a "computer."  Neither does Apple. Did you hear the word "computer" in the Oscar show TV ad for the product.  Nope.  I didn't either.

The iPad is going to be big.