Apple's iPad believed to be outselling Macs in the US - Page 2

I get what you are saying about multiple products. But I have a iPod Classic, Nano and an iPhone. While the Nano is great in the park because of it's size and weight, I would rather take the iPhone cause it does much more.

My iPad has eliminated my need for the Netbook at home. (Still have my laptop at the office, and my wife's at home.) It is easier to use for most things, and it does a pretty good job. With my bluetooth keyboard, I can actually write a report with it. My primary uses are tracking stocks and the web.

There are a large number of things that piss me off about the iPad, many of which will be addressed with the OS 4.0 update, and many of which require a hardware update. (Just this morning, I realized I didn't have a song I wanted to listen to on my iPad. Had to transfer it from Wife's laptop to USB memory stick, to my laptop at work, to my iPad.)

And... I actually had a moment where the device was useless without Flash. Cursed Versus and their over-the-time-limit coverage of the Am*** Tour of California screwing with my Tivo...

Very interesting thoughts.

But how do you square such a product with Apple's declaration that they are now a Mobile Device Company?

Is this supposed to be a joke? If so I don't get it.

FWIW, half of my tens days traveling with the iPad were onboard a cruise ship. Not sure how it goes on other cruise lines, but the one we sail with provides pretty poor wifi signal levels in the staterooms which only complicates using the very pokey satellite internet they make available to passengers. The reception is far better in the public areas on the ship, so that's where I used the iPad mainly.

emphasis on the word now perhaps? just a thought

It's hard to understand sometimes until you actually USE it. I know I was a sceptic about the iPhone, but within a minute of using one at the Apple store, I saw the amazing potential (and I remember having the same experience with a Mac in 1985). I've had my iPad for 6 weeks and am addicted. Sure you wouldn't want not spend a lot of time doing content creation on it, but for content consumption (ie, what 90+% of Internet users do) it is fantastic. Took it on an 8 hr plane ride a couple of weeks ago & it was perfect. Left it in my bag through security, listened to podcasts, watched some TV, read an ibook, played a few games & surfed the net (love the Delta in flight Internet) and even checked my work email & sent a note telling everyone I would be late due to flight delays. And the light weight & 10 hr battery life were great. And of course unlimited 3G Internet for $30/month with no contract is pretty sweet too. And the GPS. And if I am REALLY missing my Macbook, I can just VNC it, and it looks pretty nice on the iPad display(where I can move anything i want in to Dropbox and get it almost instantly on my iPad).

For the past two weeks, I have carried only the iPad to work. I used to carry my MBP15 every day prior to that.

To my surprise, I have discovered that part of it was just 'letting go.' It is somewhat surprising how little you need your 'main' computer. (I do work on that at home in the evenings, though).

That said, it is important to do a bit of planning ahead, with making sure that you have access to the likely files that you may need during the day. (Fwiw, I find Dropbox to be a terrific app for that purpose).

I'm not sure I get the distinction between "casual" and other kinds of uses. Since needs vary so much between individuals, when use becomes not-causal seems completely arbitrary to me. One person can't easily tell another when they cross that line. I'm also not sure why you think you'd need a number of devices like an iPad laying around the house. They are very portable, you know.

The virtual keyboard definitely takes some getting used to. At this point at least, I would not want to be typing on it extensively, but I may change my mind about that as I get used to it. As for holding the iPad, this is not an issue. You set it on your lap or a table just like book or a laptop.

Very well put. Most people really have pretty basic needs when it comes to computers. They could care less about the things that techies want or what serious gamers want. For the most part they want to surf the web, look at pictures, send/receive emails and consume media. The iPad does all of this very well (or at least well depending). It's actually the perfect device for the mass market. Techies will never understand this because they want these devices to serve their needs. What Apple realizes is that there is one hell of a lot more money in serving the computing needs of the general public.

It's may be impossible maybe to FIND iPads in stores, but they are getting shipments everyday (or about.) Basically sell them all before they hit the shelves. A number of units are sold online too. Supply is getting set aside for international, but US demand is definitely solid.

I totally see people favoring iPad to a laptop. Obviously, iPad has fewer capabilities, but only a small segment of users really want/need those laptop features. In addition, most all the functions they would perform on a laptop, a tablet provides much better experience.

Touch interfaces on current desktop/laptop form factors are pretty much useless, except as novelty features. For them to become generally useful, the computer form factor will certainly need to evolve. But, one has to consider that touch will never be as precise as what can be achieved with current mouse/pad interfaces, simply because one's finger is larger and tends to obscure what one is touching. So, it's a question of, what tasks does one perform at workstation computers and what sorts of input interfaces are they best served by. Physical keyboards and mice may go away, but I'm not convinced that a separation of display and input devices is destined for elimination.

You are hilarious. Every statement you make is a whine about how everyone is wrong, and Apple really sucks. Good luck with that.

That's absolutely right. Heck, even my mother, who has never shown any interest in computers before, beyond knowing how to send the occasional e-mail, played with one in the Apple shop on Monday and is now planning on getting one.


I agree completely. Because internet forums tend to be populated by techie types, it's more than likely that the limitations as perceived by that type of person are going to be hyped beyond belief, but Apple have an uncanny knack of knowing what average consumers want, and there are a lot more average consumers out there than there are techie people.

It's similar to the iPod/Zune battle. Microsoft assumed that if they added more features (radio & that bizarre wireless music sharing thing) it would make the Zune better than the iPod. It flopped majestically as they were features most people just didn't care about.

Indeed. I find it entertaining that despite having been proven completely wrong, the "iPad will fail" merchants still argue that black is white.

The way I see it and this is just my opinion, for most of us an iPad is an 'additional' product not a replacement for anything. Sometimes it takes faith or imagination to 'get' a new product category. It is, without doubt, a luxury item for most. However, over time and with a few updates it would serve many who have only modest requirements as a replacement for a laptop at least. Give it a few years and it may serve even more ambitious needs.

I wholly agree and it's similar to putting a round peg in a square hole.


There are certain instances where a mouse might be a better solution than touch and the same situation exists between a stylus and a mouse. For things like precise movie editing in pro apps, I believe there can be sufficient workarounds with a properly thought out UI.

As for drawing/photo editing solutions, I would never rule out a stylus-based solution which is generally better than using a mouse. Apple may want the primary input to be touch but it is quite possible that they will create other solutions. The only issue, from videos I've seen, is that you need to use a glove on that hand so it doesn't get recognized by the touchscreen when you rest your hand to draw or edit.

I won't ever expect hard keyboards to go away since there isn't a better way for text entry but I do see the mouse disappearing.

I suspect one day an Apple product with a large format screen laid back at a comfortable angle that does allow such apps as Final Cut Studio to be controlled by touch will exist. Accuracy for precise point of contact is easily achieved by zooming which is so simple in the touch interface. Plus there is no reason why for pros a stylus couldn't be used in addition for dealing with fine detail although zooming and contextual awareness will allow for many needs to be met such as adding a new point on a spline or similar fine detailed operation. I will eat my hat if this doesn't come to pass in the next few years. I will nip out and get a rice paper hat just in case

I am often curious are the 'SpotOffs' et al here to annoy, total idiots or paid to disrupt the possitive energy

AAPL is down a lot today, imo its a great time to buy more stocks before the next quarter results are out which will probably bring it to near 300$.

CRUS is down a lot too. Barging hunters here is your heads up.

Regarding the canabilizing issues, imo if you replace 200$ ipod touch with a 500$ iPad, its a good deal for Apple.

I sort of doubt it. the cheapest Macbook is $1000. The cheapest iPad is $500. Thats half the price.

I doubt many people will fork over another $500 just so they don't have to wait a few days to a week to get the iPad.

If the Macbook even comes into play in that scenario, then maybe thats what you need to get.

And I had to come along and get all trashy. You really can't take me anywhere...

I do expect hard (physical) keyboards to go away, and probably mice*. What I don't expect to see go away for workstations is the separation of display and control, even if the form factor changes and workstation touch becomes a viable interface.

* I think a virtual keyboard/control device that operates via touch and haptic feedback, with the actual keys/controls context sensitive and controlled by software are the future.


Such uses are, I think limited, and zooming in and out to get the detail required for precision would, I think, become rather tiresome. But, when you consider that the bulk of the work most people do at workstations is text based -- working with word processors, spreadsheets, code editors, etc. -- a touch model isn't ideal when a separate control panel (keyboard+mouse, virtual keyboard/trackpad, etc.) serves the purpose better. Sure, for specialized applications, a full on touch interface would be great, but for a lot of things it would add little benefit.

The scary thing is that I thing he is completely sincere in his beliefs regarding what he writes

Nonsense. Apple has sold far more iPhones than iMacs - yet the iMac isn't going anywhere. Apple realizes that no one product suits everyone. the iPad is not intended as a Mac replacement; although some people will certainly be able to use it that way, they will be balanced by the others who only buy a Mac after using an iPad.


Just like the 10,000 iPhone killers you've been promising for years.

The Hanvon is vapor at this point. If it ever becomes a real product, we can discuss it.


You have to wonder about those people. You can understand someone who likes a product and wants to talk about it. But what drives someone to spend hours on a board criticizing a product they have never used, would never buy, and don't know anything about? I'm guessing;

a. Massive insecurity with their own selections.
b. They wanted their mother to buy them a Mac and she got them a Dell POS instead.
c. They are tech support people or Flash 'developers' who make their living on crappy products and would starve if the world ever developed the taste for quality products
d. Steve Jobs stole their girlfriend

Choose one.

Yes, it was supposed to be a joke. See, I saw the sentence " retired to my stateroom" as a euphemism for masterbation. Not saying it was high-larious.

Plus, there is the little matter that the development tools don't, and won't anytime soon, if ever, run on iPhone OS.

Frankly, I find many of the people that complain endlessly every time Apple launches or revises a product to be like Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. "But I want an Ooompa, Lumpa noooowwwwwww!!!" Sure, it's fine to want a given product to offer certain features, and to express that. But to think a product will fail because it doesn't meet our individual desires to the letter is pretty juvenile and ridiculous.

Agreed? I wasn't talking about a MacBook Pro.
I wrote, "Mac Pro", which would be even far better than a MacBook Pro.
And what is it perfect for? It's a great computer yes,but at times it is overkill.
A 50 caliber Hawken is great rifle but I'm going rabbit hunting...

Follow along...
You wrote;

A better choice why?
I was suggesting you qualify your suggestion why a MacBook Pro is better choice than an iPad.
It depends on what you are doing.
What if you don't need to run Windows and have extremely limited space and weight?
What if you only want to watch a movie and check email?

I've been on the iPad waiting list for over two weeks....just recently called the store in my area and found out I'm now 49th in the waiting list queue. Seems like each store is receiving only slimited numbers of iPads daily to meet waiting list demands.

Over the last 2 days I've noticed the increased frequency of the most current iPad TV spot and find this not typical for Apple to launch without sufficient supply.

Seems like a Wii strategy going on here.

Cheers

This does seem to be the logic behind most of the criticism, otherwise phrased as: if I don't like it, nobody should.

In a word, hubris.

Just wanted to add that for the record, I have a 15" MBP and I do some part-time web design and I'd like to think I'm not a caveman tech-wise. I decided to take only my Wi-Fi iPad (with Verizon MiFi) on a recent trip for 10 days to see if it was an adequate travel replacement for my MBP. I found that it really was for the most part (granted I wasn't doing any web design at the time). It was great to breeze through airport security with it, my already small Booq laptop backpack weighted next to nothing and I didn't have to worry about my Mac's screen getting crushed by the passenger's seat in front of my when they reclined back. I could care less about Flash so that wasn't an issue. It was great for email and web surfing as we already know. I did find that I was happy to get back to my MBP simply for screen size and its greater functionality (which I didn't need on the trip), and the touch interface definitely isn't as precise as the mouse/cursor combo, but it was certainly not bad. All and all though, my iPad served me very well (which was definitely helped by having MiFi). The overheating thing got a bit annoying at while lying by the pool, but it wasn't a huge deal. Oh, and the glare is a real problem in direct sunlight. Good luck reading a book outside unless it's titled "Let's Count How Many Nose Hairs We Can See in Our Reflection"! I should add though, my glossy screened MBP is no better in direct sunlight though.

Not sure this is a Wii strategy. I suspect Apple might be having difficulty getting hold of enough Flash memory. There is a big supply shortage for flash at the moment, and high iPad sales are only making things worse. It's estimated that if Apple shift 7-10 million iPads between now and the end of the year, the flash industry will need between 250,000 and 300,000 more wafers to satisfy that demand alone. Given pretty much every fab in the world is running at 100% capacity at the moment, and getting another fab on-line is both a long and difficult process, supply problems aren't going to go away any time soon.

Agreed! I'm enjoying my iPad here in Cancun. In the past I've traveled with Macbooks, Macbook pros, an even an Air, nothing beats the portability of my iPad. I carry it everywhere and when I need to do any work, I just whip it out and start working. I even installed the Line2 app which allows your iPad to function as a phone - of course you'll need a wifi hotspot as Mexico doesn't have 3G yet ( or at least not Cancun).

I'm loving this device. And It's really easy to see why they are selling like crazy. Netbooks pale in comparison to an iPad.

For whom? For what use? For what price range?

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I think you might have stumbled on Apple's next advertising slogan for the iPad!

I don't know if the phrase "whip it out" is likely to appear in Apple's ad campaigns anytime soon! Particularly given Job's "freedom from porn" stance! LOL.

Must everything be a conspiracy or have a hidden agenda?

Likely, Apple is allocating a large portion of the iPad mfg. capacity for the foreign rollouts-- priming the pump.

Wouldn't Apple risk an upsell to a competitive netback, laptop, if BestBuy is out of stock of iPads?

Marketing is one thing, sales, another... "You can only sell what you have in your wagon."

.

But of course, and anyone who denies it is automatically part of the conspiracy.

We've had our iPad WiFi + 3Gs for two weeks now and I've mentioned previously the useful things we did with them while on a long road trip. We're discovering new things to do every day. For example, I like to cook and keep about 700 recipes in word processing files. Using the Avatron app on my iPad, all of my recipes are readily accessible offline. Avatron also works on the iPhone and iPod touch, but the type is much easier to read on the iPad. We also enjoy light classical music streamed on the Internet throughout the day from an excellent station in New York. While driving, we stream the Internet feed through the iPad headphone jack to our car stereo. See details here: http://www.wqxr.org/blogs/wqxr-blog/...y/#commentlist

From some of the comments above, it seems that the iPad's capabilities are less limited by technical shortcomings and more by lack of imagination on the part of of iPad non-users and detractors.