For £20, a way to try the iPad before buying

Apple may have sold a million iPads in 28 days, but you can be certain there are still countless consumers out there not yet sure they want to take the plunge. Tapping into that market of curious onlookers, UK-based Bid and Borrow—a site much like Neighborgoods, focused on the sharing of consumer goods—now gives consumers a way to try the iPad for just GBP 20 a day. London-based Bid and Borrow displays a wide variety of goods on its site, all submitted by users willing to rent them out. Those interested in hiring them can pay a fee or offer their time or talents for a barter trade. Though the iPad doesn’t arrive in the UK until May 28, one enterprising Bid and Borrow member in Brighton is already offering one up for rent. Consumers can reserve it in advance; with a GBP 350 deposit, the device can be tried out at will for GBP 20 per day. Ever popular during tough economic times, the try-before-you-buy philosophy has already been applied to cars, chickens, cookbooks, camcorders and guitars—to name just a few products—but it makes extra good sense in the realm of expensive, cutting-edge consumer electronics, especially those with limited global availability.