iPad - 1 million iPads sold in 28 days!

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Anghammarad
Isn't it time we all stood upp and gave a standing ovation to the sheer marketing and industrial design miracle that we call Apple.
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I prefer to shake my head at society because we have allowed "fashionable" items to run our lives.
 
Eh if a company can design something, market it, and charge some ridiculous price for it more power to them.
 
FoolKiller
Because Nintendo's previous console was under supported by third-party developers and thus sat at the bottom of the sales figures. After coming out nearly a year after the 360 and having less technical specs on everything but controllers Nintendo had to make a move to reestablish themselves in the marketplace. Apple has no need to establish themselves, as they are locked in already.
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And this is the point, Nintendo were not so confident after the experience with the Gamecube that they could compete so even with groundbreaking motion control they knew that it was probably safer to go low tech with the rest of the package and sell at an attractive price.

The irony is that by accident they created a new form category of gaming which everyone else is now trying to mimic so in hindsight they may have been able to bump up the initial price but they didnt want the risk....

When you say 'locked in' the thing is Apple was not established in this product category because it didnt exist so I would argue there was a massive need to establish themselves in what they created.

Should Apple have been so confident that they could create an entirely new category of personal computing (self titled) and have its first product so highly priced?.....is a big gamble but I guess Apple think they are immune to failure. Just because they have had a good run doesnt mean the iPad couldnt have totally crashed and burned.

FoolKiller
Or, add the functionality the iPad lacks, like multitasking, Flash, USB, and SD card reader and charge the same price.
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Which means they will sell to the productivity crowd but the real money will lie in the image conscious lot which is where the iPad will dominate, I can already see socialites / kids/ etc now teasing others if they have a slate but not an iPad.

Joey D
Eh if a company can design something, market it, and charge some ridiculous price for it more power to them.
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Thats pretty much it, lucky Apple.

Robin.
 
Robin.
And this is the point, Nintendo were not so confident after the experience with the Gamecube that they could compete so even with groundbreaking motion control they knew that it was probably safer to go low tech with the rest of the package and sell at an attractive price.

The irony is that by accident they created a new form category of gaming which everyone else is now trying to mimic so in hindsight they may have been able to bump up the initial price but they didnt want the risk....
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If Nintendo knew it would take off this well I don't doubt that they would have included the Motion Plus tech (assuming rumors that they cut it for price reasons at launch are true) and charged more. But due to the Gamecube situation they were not confident that it would shine. The Nintendo name was not as bright as it was, and definitely not as fashionable as apple is now.

When you say 'locked in' the thing is Apple was not established in this product category because it didnt exist so I would argue there was a massive need to establish themselves in what they created.

Should Apple have been so confident that they could create an entirely new category of personal computing (self titled) and have its first product so highly priced?.....is a big gamble but I guess Apple think they are immune to failure. Just because they have had a good run doesnt mean the iPad couldnt have totally crashed and burned.
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While it is technically a new category, it is still a portable data device using an app store application. Their risk was minimal at best. Add in that when they announced it with possible prices that every Apple fanboy started drooling immediately and they knew they were fine. You forget that they gave themselves plenty of time to readjust their pricing structure if needed. But when you can get the likes of Stephen Fry to proclaim it the closest thing to the Hitchhiker's Guide and get every tech blog and wannabe tech journalist to proclaim the awesomeness of Scrabble (just before they changed their rules, creating even more Scrabble news coverage - not an accident, I assure you) they were guaranteed a winner.

Which means they will sell to the productivity crowd but the real money will lie in the image conscious lot which is where the iPad will dominate, I can already see socialites / kids/ etc now teasing others if they have a slate but not an iPad.
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Sounds a lot like an iPod. Nothing is funnier than hearing non-tech people tell me about their Creative Zen iPod. They have brand recognition and that is all it takes to guarantee success with a new product.


And when you look at all the information Apple had going into the launch that signaled it would sell big and the fact that it did sell big, it is clear that their price is justified, if not too low.
 
I agree, the obscene amounts of Apple praise being pourn out by people is sickening. You can praise something but you dont have to pronounce your undying love for it!

I just saw on the news someone (I think it was the head) of the New York Times saying "god bless you Steve you saved the entire publishing industry..." oh come on!! :yuck: People didnt say things to this extent about the Kindle.

The amount of pledges of support by companies keeps going up by the day and all the other manufacturers will be left to pick up the scraps for their undeveloped App stores. All this has done has hurt the consumer because we no longer have a choice, its the Apple app store and devices or nothing!

It may well be that the iPad will be the only major player in its catagory thus creating another decade of misery for other competitors, like the iPod. I do sometimes wonder how it feels to keep developing products that are excellent and consistantly still fail to win everyone if anyone over, it must be seriously demoralising.

Robin.
 
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Robin.
The amount of pledges of support by companies keeps going up by the day and all the other manufacturers will be left to pick up the scraps for their undeveloped App stores. All this has done has hurt the consumer because we no longer have a choice, its the Apple app store and devices or nothing!
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Well, Apple has developed a very developer friendly environment, which many have praised as being easier than for any other portable device. Plus, iPhone developers just need to upgrade the resolution to make an iPad app.

I do sometimes wonder how it feels to keep developing products that are excellent and still fail to win everyone over, it must be seriously demoralising.
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I'm sure those guys that made Macs could tell you about that.


iPhone and now iPad to me are the same as Facebook. Everyone on the planet can have one, but I don't care.
 
FoolKiller
I'm sure those guys that made Macs could tell you about that.
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:lol: I see what you did there, ;)

I kinda meant guys like Sony and Creative with their audio devices, even the Zune HD (which I think is excellent) gets beaten down to the point were even MS isnt confident about selling in outside the US.

Apple's core business is the iPod and iPhone, thats what keeps them afloat, Their laptops and desktop are like halo models that build the brands image and are not there to make serious inroads to the PC dominated world. At least in that world we have a choice!

FoolKiller
iPhone and now iPad to me are the same as Facebook. Everyone on the planet can have one, but I don't care.
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I feel the same way, especially about Facebook, when I see someone pull out their phone and its an iPhone (for the billionth time) I think did they really buy it because it fits their needs or did they buy it because everyone has one. There are other phones on earth you know!

Robin.
 
The iPhone is probably the best smart phone on the market, it's got a ton of support and is probably the simplest thing in the world to use. Even my dad who's a techno-reject can use mine just fine.
 
Robin.
I just saw on the news someone (I think it was the head) of the New York Times saying "god bless you Steve you saved the entire publishing industry..." oh come on!! :yuck:
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But that's just the american way. They say these emotional things which sound very strange to a European mind. We say many things that is completely alien to them.

I own a couple of Macs, an iPhone and I will almost certainly buy an iPad when they come to Sweden. I buy Apple products for two reasons, they have super OS's and they look good. For that I am prepared to pay a little more. Would I still buy them if they looked like Dell computers but with the same OS and for the same high price? Or if they looked like they do now but ran Windows and Windows Mobile? No, I probably wouldn't. But as it is now they just offer me a few key benefits that makes it worth the extra money. Are they perfect? Far from it. But they're good enough for me to want to pay for it. It's as simple as that. The important factor that many of the tech savvy people continue to forget is that most people are uninterested in how and why their computers and gadgets work, they just want a good user experience from a gadget that looks good and that is exactly what Apple offers.
 
Anghammarad
That is business. The components needed to build an iPad cost $250. Why sell 1 000 000 iPads for $300 when you can sell 300 000 for $500 and earn more money? Steve Jobs does not want to change the word for altrustic reasons, he wants to make money.
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Exactly. It's called running a business & in that world, it truly is, a competitive market. You cut the price of one of your products once just so everybody will be able to afford it, you may very well find yourself losing a lot of profits.

Robin
I am well aware of Apple's grasp on people. I would have loved to see the meeting where they said up to what point can we rip off the most devout Apple fans, 500? 600? hell why not $700!
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Please be aware that it does not cost $250 to make each of the iPad models.
 
Anghammarad
That is business. The components needed to build an iPad cost $250. Why sell 1 000 000 iPads for $300 when you can sell 300 000 for $500 and earn more money? Steve Jobs does not want to change the word for altrustic reasons, he wants to make money.
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Selling a million units at $300 would end in $300,000,000 in sales. Selling 300,000 at $500 it would only result in $150,000,000.

Granted I do see your point but the analogy is rather flawed.
 
Justin
Selling a million units at $300 would end in $300,000,000 in sales. Selling 300,000 at $500 it would only result in $150,000,000.

Granted I do see your point but the analogy is rather flawed.
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But what about the profit?
 
Anghammarad
I own a couple of Macs, an iPhone and I will almost certainly buy an iPad when they come to Sweden. I buy Apple products for two reasons, they have super OS's and they look good. For that I am prepared to pay a little more. Would I still buy them if they looked like Dell computers but with the same OS and for the same high price? Or if they looked like they do now but ran Windows and Windows Mobile? No, I probably wouldn't. But as it is now they just offer me a few key benefits that makes it worth the extra money. Are they perfect? Far from it. But they're good enough for me to want to pay for it. It's as simple as that. The important factor that many of the tech savvy people continue to forget is that most people are uninterested in how and why their computers and gadgets work, they just want a good user experience from a gadget that looks good and that is exactly what Apple offers.
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I have no issue if someone buys Apple products if it suits their needs, like yourself, at least you have put some thought into what you want out of a device.

Its when people buy stuff blindly that annoys me because companies go out of their way to differentiate themselves from other competitors by offering something different or some unique functionality just to get totally ignored by the buying public because its not the 'in' thing.

Robin.
 
Joey D
The iPhone is probably the best smart phone on the market, it's got a ton of support and is probably the simplest thing in the world to use. Even my dad who's a techno-reject can use mine just fine.
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Nope.

By all measures, iphone is not the best "smart" phone on the market. I doubt it's in the top 5 at this point.
 
While we seem to be bitching about Apple...

iPhone OS 4 clause attempts to piddle on Adobe's bonfire just a little more.


Essentially, Flash CS5 has been given a rather clever 'export to iPhone app' feature, and with 2 days until its launch, Apple have swiftly added a new App Store T&C clause - which will come into effect when iPhone OS 4 is released - that prevents anyone from actually submitting any Apps made this way. In other words, that brand new feature is essentially defunct before it's even been released. What it also means, though, is that every existing iPhone app that's not coded using Apple's own languages will too be removed as soon as OS 4 is released in the summer.

I'm disgusted, to be honest. This isn't an anti-Adobe campaign - it's a vendetta, and to block a whole number of perfectly good existing apps in the process is stupefying. Lord Jobs has justified this by saying that flash is 'buggy', and that "whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it's because of Flash".

**** off, Steve :) Take a look at how my 3G runs before you hoist yourself up to that new, slightly higher horse.
 
Jondot
What it also means, though, is that every existing iPhone app that's not coded using Apple's own languages will too be removed as soon as OS 4 is released in the summer.
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If you want to call call C++ "Apple's own language"
 
Jondot
Fine then, Apple's 'pre-approved' selection of languages.
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:sly: Sorry.


I don't like it either but I understand the reasons behind the decision.

The primary reason for the change, say sources familiar with Apple's plans, is to support sophisticated new multitasking APIs in iPhone 4.0. The system will now be evaluating apps as they run in order to implement smart multitasking. It can't do this if apps are running within a runtime or are cross compiled with a foreign structure that doesn't behave identically to a native C/C++/Obj-C app.
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Source: http://tinyurl.com/y95ghat
 
The International iPad launch has been delayed until Late May to meet US demand.
 
GTjazzabrandy
The International iPad launch has been delayed until Late May to meet US demand.
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New Zealands first iPad sold on an online auction site went for around NZ$1800 which is around 1291.14 USD!

I've updated the first post now that things have kind of settled.
 
Anyone here had a play on one yet?

I got five minutes in an electronics store out in the UAE on one and it seems okay, though I suspect I'd have got more out of it had I ever played with an iPhone, which I haven't. Thus I'm not that familiar with common Apple commands and making it do flashy things with particular finger movements.

The touch keyboard seems nice enough, the keys are big enough to type quickly and accurately as you would on a regular keyboard.

The weight of it surprised me a little, I guess for something that looks that different from a netbook I expected it'd weigh appreciably less as well.

Would I buy one? No. Too expensive. An iPhone is next on my list and that'd make an iPad pointless anyway.
 
jedaye
New Zealands first iPad sold on an online auction site went for around NZ$1800 which is around 1291.14 USD!

I've updated the first post now that things have kind of settled.
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I can't believe the amount of noise about this thing, its all mainstream media. Had the local paper down here in southland have a story on some guy that imported one! He was a self proclaimed 'gadget guy' and said the iPad does more than what a notebook can do and its potential is limitless :D

As for the price, I would predict it will hit NZ shores at about 1500ish, so a few hundred bucks more to have the latest apple gadget for a fanboy isn't much of a reach.
 
Not had a go of it yet but I'm heading in to town now so will see if the Apple Store has a demo in stock yet. TBH it is just a big iPhone but much less portable so I'd never get one. If I want an internet device for the home that's also portable I'll use the laptop I'm typing this on, it's too big for a pocket so you need a bag therefore you might as well just use a laptop.

I'm holding out for the next gen iPhone which by the look of the recently leaked prototype was worth waiting for (bigger battery, better camera, better screen).

EDIT: No iPads in the Apple Store yet...
 
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homeforsummer
Anyone here had a play on one yet?

An iPhone is next on my list and that'd make an iPad pointless anyway.
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I've got one, actually. Very handy little gizmo. I've got an iPhone, too, it depends on what you're doing with each of them. The iPad comes in handy when I'm watching a movie or something downstairs and want to look something up on the internet. The iPhone can do it, but it's just so damn small to sit there digging through a Wikipedia page. The iPad is large enough to make it less of a hassle, and it's faster to boot. I had some friends over last night watching a movie, and we were all passing the iPad around during the movie to do things.

Expensive? Yeah, but if you've got your heart set on a tablet for general use around the house like that, it's actually not too bad, especially compared to some of the other tablets coming out.

And believe it or not, I think Apple was right in making the screen 4:3 instead of 16:9. Despite the "wider" display, a lot of the upcoming 16:9 tablets actually have less screen real estate compared to the iPad. Since I use it primarily as an internet device, I can't really imagine trying to browse through pages on a thinner display. Sure, it might be better for watching movies and such, but I've got a 47" HDTV for that. It wasn't until I saw some of them side-by-side that I realized that the iPad screen is better overall for what I'm using it for.
 
My mom got one through work and so I had an opportunity to play with it. My brother was next to me on his iPhone and we can narrow the iPad down to this definition: An iPhone/iPod Touch with a bigger screen and faster processor.

We basically played Mini Squadron against each other, and as with the iPhone I felt that the lack of tactile feedback gimped gaming controls a bit as my thumb would slip off of the pre-ordained control space occasionally and I had no clue until my plane quit working.

And then I found myself playing Harbor Master and Air Controller. Basically, I want these games on my non-smart phone touch screen phone.

The gadget loving geek inside me was saying, "Hey this is a fun gadget." But the realist in me said, "Why is this worth $500?"

I would need something with the functionality of a laptop computer and so an iPad would just be a secondary device. But that is why I don't see what the point of myself having one would be.
 
Jedi2016
I've got one, actually. Very handy little gizmo. I've got an iPhone, too, it depends on what you're doing with each of them. The iPad comes in handy when I'm watching a movie or something downstairs and want to look something up on the internet. The iPhone can do it, but it's just so damn small to sit there digging through a Wikipedia page. The iPad is large enough to make it less of a hassle, and it's faster to boot. I had some friends over last night watching a movie, and we were all passing the iPad around during the movie to do things.
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This is one of the main reasons why I've been debating it. I have an iPod Touch and the Wife has an iPhone. my use of the iPod for music is very minimal, as I use it much more as a web browser/calendar/household interaction.

While sitting in front of the TV, I often have a desire to look up and info regarding what I'm watching. On the iPod its such a small screen, that It gets tough. Plus, I've got large fingers (and a bad sense of feeling) that I often hit links and other such connectino when I don't want to. I have Netflix and it'd be nice to peruse their entire site while selecting something to watch, as their "VOD" doesn't show everything available.

In additin, I often have ideas rolling around in the back of my mind and it'd be nice to put them down instead of having to go to the computer and logon to note it up.

Basically, I see it as a Large iPod touch. Which is exactly why I want one.

Unfortunately, if I buy one, I'll buy two. Otherwise, She'll be using it all the time and I'll never get a moment on it.
 
Der Alta
Unfortunately, if I buy one, I'll buy two. Otherwise, She'll be using it all the time and I'll never get a moment on it.
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Goto your local Best Buy (assuming they carry them now), tell them you want two if they give you a deal. It works for me everytime, they aren't on commission but they got sales numbers to reach :)
 
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