I’m surprised mainstream media and much of the tech press have no idea of the power of the iPad to deliver rich content in a manner like it’s never been seen before in a handheld digital device.

The Apple iPad will not only be a success, it will have a halo effect on the sales of other Apple products.

aliahlewis - 19 March 2010 03:03 AM

I agree that iPad can’t compete with laptops and they are made to be compete and replace the netbooks, ereaders. I personally like the iPad and already have reserved it and I am very excited to get it on 3rd March wh9ich is couple of week away..

For many consumers the iPad may replace a laptop. It’s not an issue of it “can’t compete with laptops” it’s a matter of it’s not designed specifically to address that market.

In my view the iPad is designed to take revenue share from the growing netbook market and do so at an attractive gross margin. It also monetizes the market following original purchase.

The netbook market consists of low-margin sales, commodity pricing and, practically speaking, virtually no software sales following original purchase.

The market may have just grown a bit larger

Apple offers 10-pack iPad bundles for educational use

willrob - 20 March 2010 05:27 PM

The market may have just grown a bit larger

Apple offers 10-pack iPad bundles for educational use

As expected. 

The iPad enhances Apple’s education market product arsenal in an impressive way. In tandem with the MacBook, schools now have more choices for integrating mobile learning technologies into the classroom and curriculum.

All those little skulls full of mush will have smaller back packs/book bags.

Apple may have it’s head in the clouds with the iPad.
I assume it will sync with mobile me, and wonder if a trickle, Time Machine, style back-up via WiFi to the Apple cloud (North Carolina data center) may be offered.
No more my dog ate the homework.
Fire an employee and remote wipe their assigned iPad before they know it.
Will a Mac or PC really be needed to sync an iPad?

Interesting discussion on Ebooks for the education market on the iPad from Wharton

While some students may be using notebooks or their more portable cousins, netbooks, to read textbooks, some experts predict that within the next 10 years, most U.S. college students—and many high-school and elementary-school students as well—will probably be reading course materials on an electronic device instead of in a paper book. And that will have a broad impact on students and teachers, not to mention the $9.9 billion textbook-publishing business.

Within days of the iPad announcement, a group of major educational publishers announced they all would use technology developed by ScrollMotion, a New York-based content technology company, to transfer textbooks to the iPad. The group includes McGraw-Hill Companies; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-12, which is a unit of Education Media & Publishing Group; Pearson’s Pearson Education, and Kaplan, the test-prep unit of The Washington Post Co.

For those trying to handicap the potential for Apple to successfully introduce the iPad where other tablet products have failed, this short article from High Tech Strategies, covers 10 reasons high tech products/companies fail

Is Apple making a fatal mistake with the iPad or on their way to another blockbuster product?

There are two versions of the technology adoption lifecycle model. The original version (introduced in 1957 at Iowa State College) describes the market acceptance of new products in terms of innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. The process of adoption over time is illustrated as a classic normal distribution or “bell curve.”
The second version is an adaptation of the original that includes a gap in the bell curve, between early adopters and the early majority. This essentially splits the adoption process into three distinct phases, an early market and a mainstream market, separated by a period of time called the valley of death.

Both versions of the technology adoption lifecycle are useful tools for understanding the way markets unfold and mature. However the second (valley of death) version typically applies to discontinuous innovations, meaning the product forces the user to change behavior.

pats - 21 March 2010 01:02 PM

For those trying to handicap the potential for Apple to successfully introduce the iPad where other tablet products have failed, this short article from High Tech Strategies, covers 10 reasons high tech products/companies fail

Is Apple making a fatal mistake with the iPad or on their way to another blockbuster product?

The article was a good read. 

One more thought, now that we’re only a week away.

I keep wondering -why- all of the iPads that are out in the field to a select few sites are being kept under strict lock and key. If everyone knows exactly what they look like, and pretty much how they’ll behave, thanks to all of the demos and videos, then….

... why? Why do these iPads need to be so completely and absolutely hidden from sight?

Far-fetched idea that may be just a little bit less far-fetched… maybe the real ones do have cameras. Anyone who physically sees an iPad would pick up on this immediately. It’s one thing to bind organizations to a non-disclosure, to prevent discussion; but the only way to guarantee that anyone outside the circle of non-disclosure would absolutely not be able to see this for themselves would be to….

.... keep the iPads locked up in a room, tethered, with all the windows shut tight and the curtains drawn. Kind of like what’s actually going on.

This is pure speculation, and I’m just wishing for it to be true, but it would still be a very VERY nice surprise if it was. It would be similar to the last minute announcement with the original iPhone, of the switch from plastic to optical glass.

Regardless, I want it (and will be getting my 3G/64GB preorder) with or without a camera…:-)

dmiller - 26 March 2010 01:25 PM

... why? Why do these iPads need to be so completely and absolutely hidden from sight?

Because it’s a planned launch, with planned news flow, and Apple wants the audience to pay attention. Also because the shipping product will be different from the pre-release loaners (especially as regards installed software).

pats - 21 March 2010 01:02 PM

For those trying to handicap the potential for Apple to successfully introduce the iPad where other tablet products have failed, this short article from High Tech Strategies, covers 10 reasons high tech products/companies fail

Is Apple making a fatal mistake with the iPad or on their way to another blockbuster product?

Yes.  A very good article.  Some marketing strategy bullet points are particularly cogent.

edit: fixed quote block

Fake Steve Jobs gets it

http://www.newsweek.com/id/235565

What really is exciting is that among the few that have actually had an
iPad in their hands all are enthusiastic.

Looks like Apple’s initial supply of iPads has sold out.   via 9to5mac

If you haven’t already ordered your iPad, you’ll now have to wait to April 12th to get your hands on one, according to Apple’s Website.  The Wifi models have moved from an April 3rd delivery date to April 12th, signaling that Apple has run out of its first week’s worth of Wifi iPads.  We already knew that demand is pretty strong, and this is another indication that sales will be brisk.