Get it in white.

If you happen to find yourself in the market for an iPad 2, I implore you — get it in white. In fact, if you’re getting an iPhone 4, get that in white, too.

I used to find white iDevices ugly. I thought they were trying to hard. After all, Apple had long made black and shiny their new corporate identity. They’ve got teams of designers working for them, and surely they can’t all be wrong. Then again, those same designers pushed for white to make a subtle comeback (no, it wasn’t just Steve).

So why my sudden change of heart? I didn’t understand the white before. It’s not about being better than a black iDevice; rather, it’s about thinking different. You remember Think Different, don’t you? It was the slogan of a kinder, gentler Apple Computer that was coming to market with a stunning new device — the iPod. And, of course, it was white.

The white iDevices now aren’t about flash. They’re an exercise in retro. For me, Apple was all over white when I became a card-carrying Mac user. Now, when I look at my iPad, I’m taken back to that Apple — the kinder one, before all this MagSafe iCloud Final Cut Pro X happened. And I think it’s nice to go back there.

So, buy it in white. You might think “meh, it doesn’t match the screen” or “meh, it’s too white,” but you’d also be forgetting one more exceedingly important point: Thinking Different doesn’t show nearly as many fingerprints.

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