The biggest reason the iPad can't sell like hotcakes

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  • Reply 21 of 57
    As far as printing, I use Weprint when I need to print something quick from my Touch. I am sure the iPad will be able to do the same.
  • Reply 22 of 57
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRonin View Post


    I think Apple needs to do something with MobileMe, a Time Capsule & the Keyboard Dock to position the iPad as a 'stand-alone' device?




    The top of the line iPad with all the accessories, TC and MobileMe membership would cost about the same as a MacBook, and not be nearly as functional.
  • Reply 23 of 57
    macroninmacronin Posts: 1,174member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRonin View Post


    I think Apple needs to do something with MobileMe, a Time Capsule & the Keyboard Dock to position the iPad as a 'stand-alone' device?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevegmu View Post


    The top of the line iPad with all the accessories, TC and MobileMe membership would cost about the same as a MacBook, and not be nearly as functional.



    Not an apples to apples comparison (pun totally intended!), since adding a Time Capsule & MobileMe membership to a MacBook would also drive the price up?



    As for functionality, I would think the changed form-factor (single-plane vs. dual-plane/hinged) actually adds a certain ease-of-use functionality to the iPad?



    Besides, the point I was working towards was the moving of the iPad to a stand-alone device classification?



    As has been said time & time again, for what a vast majority of the computer using population actually do, a stand-alone iPad would be the perfect device. Ease-of-use computer intended for casual computing in a relaxed manner; no muss, no fuss?
  • Reply 24 of 57
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRonin View Post


    Not an apples to apples comparison (pun totally intended!), since adding a Time Capsule & MobileMe membership to a MacBook would also drive the price up?



    As for functionality, I would think the changed form-factor (single-plane vs. dual-plane/hinged) actually adds a certain ease-of-use functionality to the iPad?



    Besides, the point I was working towards was the moving of the iPad to a stand-alone device classification?



    As has been said time & time again, for what a vast majority of the computer using population actually do, a stand-alone iPad would be the perfect device. Ease-of-use computer intended for casual computing in a relaxed manner; no muss, no fuss?



    A Time Capsule, Mobile Me and keyboard would be needed to make the iPad a stand-alone device. The MB is already a stand-alone device, so wouldn't need them to be 'whole.'



    Apple doesn't want the iPad to be a stand-alone device- thus the limitation on drive size. It is to be between an iPhone and MacBook, not a MB replacement.
  • Reply 25 of 57
    We're all speculating, but I dint hunk apple is even targeting this as a stand alone device. I believe it's MEANT to be a supplement to your "real" computer.

    Yep, it's pricey. Yep, it doesn't do everything. But it'll still sell like hotcakes. The iPhone is expensive, doesn't do much without a computer running iTunes, but it's still the hottest smartphone on the market. The same could be said about iPods. The iPad is gonna have the same appeal.
  • Reply 26 of 57
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    Even grandma wants to remove red-eye and crop her digital photos.



    Then I'm betting grandma will get her wish when an app is made available for her to buy and do just that. Out of the box, the iPad is targeted for certain activities, but with the App store the functionality can be extended in limitless ways.



    Quote:

    I'm not talking about for me. I'm talking about for all the people who are going to buy netbooks instead, the market Apple is supposedly going after with the iPad. The only people this Apple product is for are people who already own Apple products and have money burning a hole in their pockets.



    So....only Apple users want to browse the web, watch movies, listen to music, read books, play games, and download apps? I don't get why only Apple users would buy this? It does exactly what most computer owners want and it does so in comfortable, easy to hold format. Apple owners only? Hardly.
  • Reply 27 of 57
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    Even grandma wants to remove red-eye and crop her digital photos.



    No, that's far too complex and confusing for Grandma. Grandma wants ME to do it for her! And then watch the results on her beautiful iPad.

    And I've got a full-featured Mac to do it with. A hundred times faster than Grandma ever could on an iPad.



    'Grandma' defined as the over eighties. The fastest growing demographic in the next decades in the rich western/'first' world.
  • Reply 28 of 57
    macroninmacronin Posts: 1,174member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    The only people this Apple product is for are people who already own Apple products and have money burning a hole in their pockets.



    This product is targeted at BOTH Apple & Windows users, just like the iPods & iPhones Apple currently offers?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevegmu View Post


    A Time Capsule, Mobile Me and keyboard would be needed to make the iPad a stand-alone device. The MB is already a stand-alone device, so wouldn't need them to be 'whole.'



    But even with a MacBook, one might have the need (or want) for a MobileMe account, and having a Time Capsule is a good idea from a backup perspective.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevegmu View Post


    Apple doesn't want the iPad to be a stand-alone device- thus the limitation on drive size. It is to be between an iPhone and MacBook, not a MB replacement.



    I think the limitation on drive size is more a matter of keeping initial costs down, which will lead to more sales of the product. As volume of sales go up, and the price of flash RAM goes down, drive sizes will increase without pushing the final cost of the product up.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post


    We're all speculating, but I dint hunk apple is even targeting this as a stand alone device. I believe it's MEANT to be a supplement to your "real" computer.



    I think that the iPad being a 'complimentary' device is just a short-term smoke screen, intended to get the product out there in the public eye. Apple will use the first (and possibly second) generation of this device to 'feel the waters' as it were, to see how the majority of computer users react to a controlled system. I believe there are plenty of end users who don't care about what is happening 'under the hood' of their operating system, those who could care less about a file system (or even really understand the underlying concepts of a file system, for that matter), and those who do not feel the need to change & tweak their system for 'optimal performance'?



    I reference this article New World vs. Old World Computing as an explanation of the shift the iPad is ushering in for everyday computing for the masses?



    As the iPad matures, I think that the idea of tying it to a Time Capsule & a MobileMe account will be the best initial path towards it becoming a 'stand-alone' device.
  • Reply 29 of 57
    daveswdavesw Posts: 406member
    People are going to buy the iPad because it's going to be one of the biggest fashion accessory in the world. People don't care whether the iPad can multitask, support flash, etc.



    They'll buy the iPad for the same reason they buy a BMW or a Mercedes instead of a Toyota.



    Sounds like i'm joking but it's true.
  • Reply 30 of 57
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Except the experience of driving a Mercedes or BMW is slightly different to driving a Toyota.



    People have been saying similar things about the iPhone ever since it was introduced, how many years of people using iPhones, iPod Touch's and the forthcoming iPad to dominate mobile Internet use, does it take for detractors to realise that these products are more than "fashion statements".



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by davesw View Post


    People are going to buy the iPad because it's going to be one of the biggest fashion accessory in the world. People don't care whether the iPad can multitask, support flash, etc.



    They'll buy the iPad for the same reason they buy a BMW or a Mercedes instead of a Toyota.



    Sounds like i'm joking but it's true.



  • Reply 31 of 57
    aizmovaizmov Posts: 989member
    1. Agree, we should at least be allowed to download/save/delete files (music, video, images, ...) without needing to sync with iTunes

    2. Agree <- maybe it is already in iWork, we don't know yet

    3. Agree <- a 3rd party app might make it happen

    4. Multitouch would be nice, but Flash never!
  • Reply 32 of 57
    daveswdavesw Posts: 406member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


    Except the experience of driving a Mercedes or BMW is slightly different to driving a Toyota.



    People have been saying similar things about the iPhone ever since it was introduced, how many years of people using iPhones, iPod Touch's and the forthcoming iPad to dominate mobile Internet use, does it take for detractors to realise that these products are more than "fashion statements".



    oh i totally agree that the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch are great/revolutionary devices.



    I discussed it here in detail. http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=106729



    The iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch are obviously more than just a fashion accessory. What i was trying to say with my post is that theres a lot of factors that will make iPad a hit. product, marketing, distribution..etc. and just the fact that there are ALOT of people out there who will buy the iPad just because it's a beautiful sexy device they can bring with them anywhere they want to go. for some people IT IS a fashion statement. Which is probably good for Apple.
  • Reply 33 of 57
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    No, It's not the lack of a camera.



    Apple could sell a billion iPads if they had approached it as a standalone product instead of an expensive luxury accessory to your full-featured desktop computer/laptop.



    And suffer like all other netbook makers with cannibalization of their laptop sales. I don't think they want to do this.



    Quote:

    The iPad already does 90% of what 90% of consumers use their home computers for, and does most of it better.



    And at only $499...what a steal.



    Quote:

    1. It has to function solo, without the requirement that you sync it with a real computer. Since there is no optical drive for loading media, at the very least it should allow the user to input their iTunes account info and the iPad would automatically re-download all of their purchased items from the store directly. And since space is limited, it'd have to let you delete purchased media to free up space and re-download them at any time. The xBox 360 does this, so there's no reason the iPad couldn't too. Users should be able to plug their iPod into their iPad, and have the two sync directly to one another. Eliminate the expensive middle man, and the number of potential customers is endless.



    This is no different from the iPhone or iPod. Almost everyone has a computer and oh..yeah...apple would STILL like to sell computers...



    Quote:

    2. It has to be able to print. If it can't send a document to a printer, it's a non-starter for the education market and college students. But if it could print, that opens a huge market. Apple's already offering a physical keyboard accessory; in three years when iPad's sell for $299, if point 1 and 2 were met there could be an iPad on every student desk in the world.



    Point 1 is silly and point 2 moot. The iPad will be able to print. Heck, the iphone has apps to print and there's no reason not to expect native printing support in mobile OSX given they've bothered to port iWork to the iPad.



    Quote:

    3. It needs basic photo-manipulation capabilities. They'll sell you an adapter to load your digital photos directly into the iPad, but all you can do then is look at them and share them electronically as-is. If they added basic photo-manipulation (cropping, levels, white balance, retouching), as well as the ability to print, the iPad would be a killer start-to-finish photography toolkit. Since they created fantastic versions of the entire iWork suite for iPad, I don't think photo-manipulation is asking too much.



    If they don't port iLife I'm sure they'll be an app for that pretty quick anyway. In any case, there's not enough storage on the iPad to make it really worthwhile.



    Quote:

    4. Multi-tasking and Flash support. These things being missing from an expensive add-on to your real computer is tolerable, but if the iPad were to be a standalone product you'd have to let people run a chat application and word processor at the same time. And Flash is a requirement to experience all of the web; I don't know how Steve Jobs can surf the web with giant gaping holes in the middle of pages and claim he's getting the full experience.



    Multi-tasking will appear when the iPhone gets multitasking. That could be the next hardware rev. It could be the one after that.



    Flash...meh.



    Pretty much none of these are show stoppers.
  • Reply 34 of 57
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by davesw View Post


    People are going to buy the iPad because it's going to be one of the biggest fashion accessory in the world. People don't care whether the iPad can multitask, support flash, etc.



    They'll buy the iPad for the same reason they buy a BMW or a Mercedes instead of a Toyota.



    Sounds like i'm joking but it's true.



    Or because it will be a device that is useful.
  • Reply 35 of 57
    daveswdavesw Posts: 406member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChrisClement View Post


    Or because it will be a device that is useful.



    absolutely.
  • Reply 36 of 57
    I don't care what it is called. If it has the expected feature set, I will buy one as an extra mobile device to have at my house.
  • Reply 37 of 57
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by davesw View Post


    absolutely.



    yeah, except when ask if they want a Kindle, Nook or iPad...most people will say Kindle. That is if they only want basic web, email and primarily reading books. Kindle's battery lasts a week without charge, it's a standalone device and costs less than the cheapest iPad.



    I totally agree with Cory's Origianl post on this. If this was a standalone device and did all that Cory wishes, they would double, if not Triple the sales of these. They already have the accessory keyboard for a more Desktop feel as well. Why not have a sync station integrated (like the Time Capsule or something similar) for added storage.



    I'd really like to see an alternate accessory keyboard that alow you a more comfortable experience on the coach for typing. I've tried one on the coach and that sleeve thing just doesn't cut the mustard. They need something more like a laptop like experience for couch surfing. There is a company that makes one, but it's still in the development phase.
  • Reply 38 of 57
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member
    I also wanted to add that if Apple is going to maintain this device as a "Desktop/Laptop Accessory", they really need to allow it to ACCESS MY LOCAL NETWORK! it just makes so much sense to do this. Think of the Enterprise experience of using this device in meetings! or even at home, let the iPad be truly an extention of my Desktop! If you're going to market it as an accessory, allow it to be an accessory to my computer.



    I think the future is for the flat panel of a laptop or a Desktop to be removable for travel. When you unplug it, it functions as the current iPad does, like an OS lite. But when plugged into the CPU, it back to a fully functioning Mac.



    That's what i see as the future, hope Apple agrees.
  • Reply 39 of 57
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    I recognize this thread is a few months old. But everyone should realize by now that the iPad has already sold like hotcakes and is fast moving into the territory of sliced bread.
  • Reply 40 of 57
    If hotcakes sold as well as the iPad, I'd start investing in Mrs. Butterworth right now.
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