iPad: 50,000 sales in 2 hours, Apple TV bumped, mysterious app icon - Page 4

You win! I give up.

There is no such formula. Period.

And anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or clueless or has a pot of gold to sell you at the end of a rainbow.

So are you buy two because "If you want two even better you can get two and some Alabama chrome (duct tape) and tape those two together and at least then you could multitask."?!

You could say it was ahead of it's time, a device for an all download world which just didn't exist then and still doesn't.

Apple should have just been more level headed and made a base Apple TV with a DVD drive, and a high end model with a BD drive. Without optical the ATV was doomed to be a niche product, and a very expensive, and sadly too locked down and limited one at that.

It could still be saved through the type of all you can watch subscription models as offered by Netflix, LoveFilm etc, but I guess the studios don't want Apple to succeed here. Content is king as the saying goes, and Apple TV with it's ultra expensive and very limited store just isn't worth bothering with any more.

Personally I use my ATV from time to time to rent HD movies, but an iTunes HD rental is £4.50 for highly compressed 720p with lossy audio. I can get a BD in the mail from LoveFilm for £2 with beautiful 1080p video, lossless audio, and some behind the scenes extras to boot. ATV may be more convenient, but the sums just don't add up.

ATV is sadly destined to go the way of the iPod Hi-Fi and the cube. (and in my opinion, the iPad...)

Well, you're absolutely wrong on one point. From day one Apple TV has shipped with an HDMI connector. Still does.

How is the AppleTV supposed to replace a cable box when those things are usually tied to a provider and not interchangeable? Asking for this seems like a fantasy world request.

I'll agree that an optical drive DVD or BD would certainly add functionality and usefulness but how does not having one hurt the device? It's not like you have to choose between AppleTV or a DVD/BD player. You can have both. Adding it to AppleTV is only about consolidation and not added functionality.

For me, the beauty of AppleTV is it allows me to enjoy photos, podcasts, video podcasts, music, music videos, internet radio, TV shows, Movies and YouTube on my HD TV from my couch and it's accomplished with a simple effective interface. I do have my issues with the device, but they've never been so large as to damage my enjoyment. I've ripped my DVDs and can enjoy them on AppleTV with chapter marks and commentaries.

Most of my friends who come over and witness the AppleTV think it's a great device. Most comment how pictures especially are very impressive on the HD TV. Yet, only one friend of mine has gotten one. A tipping point has obviously not been reached. I think Apple is continuing to work on finding out what that point will be.

I don't believe it will be more content or BD or even the much touted DVR. It will probably need to be all of those plus maybe a Wii-like pointer interface to distinguish it and give it a 'wow' factor. Or maybe it will be the streaming from the cloud service that will get people excited about AppleTV. Maybe it's the configuring and synching that turns non-geeks off.

I'm curious how you see it as crippled. I've been using it from day one with much enjoyment. There are a few restraints, but I haven't felt it was a crippled experience.


Maybe, but it sure is taking AppleTV a long time to disappear. It's been on the market for 3 years now. We also have recent remarks from Apple saying they are still interested in working on the device and staying the market.

Please. I'll try to keep that in mind as I'm reinstalling Win7 again, because in less than a month, 3 friends have asked me to wipe their computer due to the same Myspace malware infection. People don't consciously buy Windows, they use it because it came on the PC they got for $299 with a mail-in rebate from Best Buy.

And people should realize, that perhaps the iPad isn't marketed to those that find $500 to be a lot of money.

If cash is short, don't blow it on frivolous things, be it an iPad, or some piece-of-sh*t netbook.

Troll much? You must really love living underneath bridges.

Then do the easy thing n00b and buy ATVFlash since you can't figure out the AppleTV is really hackable. It is amazing what you can do to that little machine.

The 50,000 estimate was from the first couple of hours, it's been 12 hours now, are there any updated estimates?

They dont actually "charge" a dollar for each item ordered. Or they shouldn't. The $1 you see is their computer reaching out to your bank' computer just to make sure the account is active and legit. The charge will drop off eventually and be replaced by the full charge. Not sure why they would charge $1 for each item unless you ordered separately.

You will often also see this if you purchase gas with a debit card. When you slide the card in, the computer doesn't know what the total charge will be, but it will check to make sure the account can accept the charge.

I'm not sure why we should be considering cheap netbooks as some kind of benchmark of what consumers are willing to pay. After all, until fairly recently, $300 netbooks didn't even exist, and yet there seemed to be quite few people willing to pay much more (and much more than $500, a "lot of money" or no) for mediocre laptops.

People will pay for things they like. Acting like the niche is entirely defined by "10 inch screen or less things that do computing stuff" and concluding that after that it's entirely a matter of price doesn't make any sense. The iPad isn't a netbook. For some people, it's going to be quite a bit better than a netbook, because it will be much easier to use, lighter, less bulky, with better battery life and easier access to an ecosystem of content most people are already familiar with.

For those people, a few hundred dollars will be worth it.

EDIT: Ah, I see Dr. Millmoss is on the case.

The multitasking rumor has been around since iPhone OS 2.0. It's still a rumor. After more than a month firing off on anyone who said he/she will buy an iPad you are getting one yourself.

I didn't say anything about netbooks doing those things well. People generally buy them for those purposes, and most I know end up disappointed.

With the exception of porn, spammy ads and kiddie games, flash isn't all that important to the average user.

Apparently it's up to about 90,000 in 6 hours.

The Washington Post has reported that Apple sold an estimated 91,000 iPads in the first six hours of the presale.

"On Friday, the first day that buyers could pre-order the device (it arrives in stores next month), Apple racked up an estimated 91,000 sales in just the first six hours of availability, putting temporarily to rest the Internet's persistent "iPad fail" meme. Analysts predict the first-year sales could reach 5 million."
- WashingtonPost.com 03.12.10

Not 'has' to. 'Wanted' to. Sell 10, to buy two iPads, not one (incl. cap gains tax and accessories).

As I also mentioned to you, I have more than enough AAPL left to put a kid through private college (the part you forgot). Thanks so much for your concern!

The next time you don't want to get called out when distorting something, try harder!

Who's E. F. Hutton?

Something tells me that when you're a stockholder it helps to know your stock's correct ticker symbol.

First of all Coke simply wouldn't exist if that were true. Why would it when POP! is .70 a bottle! and to the other extreme neither would Audi, MB, Ferrari, Lexus, etc, etc, etc.

The US highway system would be Hyundai, Hyundai and Hyundai from sea to shining sea!

Price wins every time... Yea I'm thinking not!

I agree. I paid with a debit card and Apple instantly pulled out -536 and some change plus two other entries for -1.00 in Pending leaving me with a much smaller ending balance. yahh, looks like they take it right away not during shipping.

I'd still have to disagree with your notion...

The public at large can be sold on anything no matter how bad it is...

Look no further than the government... and they were ANYTHING but cheap given their track record for past 100 years or so... and yet we are still sold on em every November even after all we know about em. Like lemmings we go with the crowd right off the cliff chirping all the way.

Not unlike Windows users who keep buying into their platform after the spyware and worms and viruses and security holes and keyloggers and... well you get my point...

They don't take it right away... they do check to make sure the card will approve the amount but it isn't removed from your account until it is shipped... This I'm all but sure of (given the amount of orders I've done on the Apple store).

If they did withdraw the funds without shipping then they be forcing you to either loose possible interest you might be earning on the funds if it was a debit card... OR .. if it was a credit card and they did it then you'd be charged finance charges prematurely. At the most what you are probably seeing is a 'lock' on the funds so Apple knows that when they do ship the order the funds will be available but if you call the bank the funds will still be in your possession so long as the order hasn't shipped... and again if its a credit card the money isn't charged to you but your 'available credit' with the credit card will likely have been reduced by the amount of your order so you are being prevented from maxing out the card and then having no credit left to pay for the order.

In both cases if they did try to actually remove/withdraw the funds from credit/debit accounts weeks before they shipped a product Apple would have been investigated, sued, etc so many times everyone would be talking about it.

I'm not saying its illegal because 'special orders' like cabinet work and such often do require at least 1/2 of the funds to be paid before any work begins but firstly, Apple isn't in that kind of business and secondly the company can't just do it without informing you of the policy.

Also check again.. when you said balance that probably isn't accurate... I'll bet you have a 'available balance' that has the funds removed... but the 'actual balance' is still what it was before you placed the order. Since you made an order (and the actual balance is what you make interest on) you gave your card as the method of payment ... Apple just told the bank that you made a transaction for XXX and promised to pay with that account and they are tell the bank to make sure the funds are still available when they ship it. If you told the bank to remove the hold they likely would and then they would in turn tell Apple the the funds have been declined and your order would be canceled.

are you sure you own one? have a look at the back. looks like HDMI to me!

the 'mystery app' pic has been removed by apple - another marketing slip?

The only reason that Microsoft maintained their marketshare among consumers was the relative familiarity the consumer had coming out of the enterprise - user experience, and the fact that Microsoft cut killer OEM deals to get it on as many computers as possible. So the consumer had little in the way of convenient choices. Most people I know don't go out and buy an upgrade of Windows - they go out and buy a new computer with the new version of Windows already installed. So you are inaccurate - price is important (especially in hard times), but it is only one aspect. Reliability, user experience and value for the dollar are other that weigh into the decision.

FWIW, a number of my friends and neighbors have come to me to announce that they are switching to Macs of one type or another, even, in some cases, where they had to save up extra cash to do the purchase. One of them is a waitress and she proudly showed me the huge wad of small bills from tips she had saved to go but her first Mac. That is user experience and value taking the front seat, not price.

It's a pure distraction argument that doesn't really merit a response, but what the hell.

Microsoft's dominance is a complete accident of history, based on events which could not be duplicated even if someone wanted to see such a thing happen again. And who would?

Microsoft had nothing directly to do with the advent of cheap commodity hardware, they were just in the perfect position to reap the benefits. They then proceeded to engage in a series of illegal, anticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend that dominance. Meanwhile a lot of people who should have known better were chanting the gospel of standardization, and a whole lot of other people who didn't know any better believed it.

Yes, I know the ticker is actually AAPL and not APPL. I just slipped on the keyboard when I typed it, big deal, calm down the world isn't going to end.

I was getting ready to go to the cafe today to update my CV and do some research and it hit me. If I want to sit at a cafe and pound out some text like I do on my Macbook or can be done on a netbook, you can't really do that on an iPad. The iPad is more of a media browsing device (as everyone says, it's just a jumbo iPhone).

How can we possibly write extensive texts using the virtual iPad keyboard? Also the device needs a stand which could prove to be unstable or inconvenient.

I can't see using the iPad upright in its stand while typing on the virtual keyboard. This means that we need both a BT/WiFi keyboard and we also are forced to use a stand.

I don't know if I'm liking this new iPad

You have one already?

The problem is that people compare the Apple TV success to a flagship project like the iPhone, when really it should be compared to devices like Time Capsules and Airports. Like these other wireless devices, Apple TV won't change your life but it will make it easier, and over time you will wonder how you managed without it.

Most people I know still buy DVD's and are even looking at Blu-ray players, but there is no doubt that digital downloads will eventually replace physical formats at some point in the future. Apple TV is the Bridge between iTunes and the Lounge, so Apple are not going to kill it, they will just wait for the market to grow.

What would happen if there where no early adopters?
Apple would not sell any and the product would be discontinued.

The iPad is not trying to replace a Netbook.
A Netbook is just a cheap laptop, nothing more.
A Netbook is an underpowered. lower speced, smaller screened Laptop.
If you want a laptop buy a laptop, or if you don't have the cash a netbook.

The iPad is a different type of product, it is not a computer, it is not trying to be a computer.
It is a new type of product, something that we will just have around the house, and use when we want to access the internet, play games, etc. NOT COMPUTE, for that we will still use a computer.

It is not a computer, just like an XBox is not a computer.
It serves a purpose, that you just don't see yet.

I will have an iPad sat on the coffee table at home, and will use it for :-

- Web surfing (glad there is no flash - NO ADVERTS)
- Control iTunes
- Read books
- Play games

All with a really slick, easy to use touch interface.
I know I can do these things on a laptop / netbook, but I don;t want to use a computer, as it feels like work, and that I am using a device that is not really designed to be used while I sit on the sofa.

You really don't understand the iPad.
It is not designed for what you describe, it is NOT a laptop / netbook replacement.
If you need to use a netbook use a netbook.

Why's that do you think? When iPod and iTunes were launched, it was easy to use your existing CD music collection. When AppleTV was launched, it wasn't easy to use your existing DVD collection. iPod was a huge success, AppleTV was a huge flop. It's not exactly rocket science.

Adding a DVD or BD now is too late, Apple have missed the boat on that one. They should drop AppleTV and concentrate on the Mac Mini instead, adding HDMI, a BluRay option and beefing up FrontRow. Better yet, include a TV tuner and PVR functionality (and include a universal remote so you can control the TV as well) and turn the whole thing into a proper media center.

Connect both a DVD/BD and an AppleTV to your TV set? Sure, it's POSSIBLE (assuming your TV has enough inputs) but having to faff about with so many remotes and switching inputs isn't exactly the perfect user experience. If Apple provided a decent integrated media center solution I'd throw away my existing DVD player and PVR in a heartbeat, but the AppleTV just isn't it, sorry.

Regarding the speed, that was one of the most surprising aspects of testing the iPad on the day of Steve Jobs launch. It's blindlingly fast apparently.

Oh yes I do. If it can't do what even a tiny netbook can do then it's just a jumbo iPhone. (not that I wouldn't like one).

Considering a netbook runs a desktop OS and has a trackpad and keyboard there will be many tasks it can do that any tablet or a tablet running an idealized OS can't do. For example, I bet I can install and run Photoshop on a netbook, but that doesn't mean it would be usable, but it's technically possible. I don't think that makes it a jumbo anything when the OS and HW is has clearly been redesigned to make it ideal for the form factor.

So it won't do what you want it to do (even if you haven't tried it) and that makes it "just" a jumbo iPhone.

Hmmmmmm... well... if you... awww, forget it... it would take too long.

On April 3rd we'll start finding out what it really can and can't do.

That would be really late. According to their record on previewing iPhone OS 2 & 3 I would expect an event before the end of the month. Maybe they will wait for the iPad to be launched before introducing the new SDK, but if they wait until May, developers will only get a month and a half before the new iPhone comes out, hopefully with the new software.

The argument that the iPad is just a jumbo iPhone has been overly used. If you've read other forums and kept up on the news you would know that the iPad apps store will be separate from the iPhone-iPod Touch apps store.

There are apps being specifically written for the iPad and some of the iPhone apps will also work on the iPad according to Apple. So it is more than just a giant, jumbo, over grown iPhone. And then the tiny netbook is just an underpowered mini PC laptop too small for the lap.