14 DAY TRIAL // A grandma who invented a new type of accessory for iPad users has caught the attention of Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California. Thanks to her success with the leather iPad Handle, Cate Vincent was recently flown to Apple’s HQ to meet with a representative.
When Cate Vincent dropped her iPad four weeks ago, she never thought she’d end up selling her solution, never mind meet an Apple high-up right at the Cupertino, CA headquarters. But she did.
"I thought what happened next was all a joke," she said.
Mrs. Vincent says her iPad Handle was an immediate hit with her friends and family.
In just a few days, hundreds of people wanted one. So she made a website to promote it, filed a patent application, and opened a bank account for the “Original Leather Handle for iPad.”
"Folks began to ask where they could buy one, so I carried a stack with me wherever i went. The handles began to sell, so I ordered fifty more. Then a week later my husband raided his savings account and ordered 200 more! Can you imagine how it felt that he had such confidence in me and my handle?" she said.
Four days later, Mrs. Vincent got a call from Cupertino.
"I thought he was kidding. I thought it was a prank, maybe one of our eight kids," Vincent said, "Or a friend pulling my leg, since everyone knew I'd been an Apple fan since 1984 when I bought my first Apple computer."
But it wasn’t a prank. In fact, three days later Mrs. Vincent was on her way to meet with an Apple representative, in a glass office in Cupertino, California.
"Until I actually shook his hand, I was convinced it was all an elaborate plan, since I have friends who would do just such a thing."
According to the media release, “the plan, which hatched in Cupertino, means you'll be able to buy Cate's Original Leather Handle for iPad to tuck under your Christmas tree this year.”