iPad fueling dramatic growth for Apple Retail stores

What happened to all the trolls who predicted that the iPad is DOOMED????

How are separate interest in the Mac notebooks updates over the iPad which came out not long after the WiFi version was released.


Theyre waiting for another vendor to actually create an iPad competitor so they can claim its the iPad killer.

Hopefully my local Apple store can justify expanding. And maybe a little bit of sound dampening treatment. It's almost always loud and crowded, not pleasant in my opinion.

You want a quiet-sounding Apple store? Perhaps visiting a Microsoft store is right up your alley.

Just kidding. I'm sure any other retail store would love to have that problem with too many people in there.

Hey, when that iPad killer with 20 USB3 ports, com port, parallel port, 256TB SSD drive, Blu-Ray, Matte-Display,4G, 45" 16:9 OLED, 30lb battery with 27min battery life comes out, it will be a revolution!!!! After all, it's all about the hardware right???
</sarcasm>

That stool has 5 legs now...

considering how much android fanboys love the Evo 4G, 27mins battery life won't bother them a bit.

I just wish that the Apple Stores had a place to sit down while you're waiting for your slot at the Genius Bar. I can understand no seats at the computer tables, but, geez, an old guy like me needs a place to park his ass while he's waiting. That actually keeps me from going to my local Apple Store whenever I'm at the Short Hills (NJ) Mall.

It would be great if the iPhone app, that allows you make appointments, would also send you a Push Notification when its your time. This way, you could sit on a bench that is just outside many stores or not have to loiter so long at the back of the store to wait your turn.

I guess it depends on the store? The one in San Francisco has padded benches going along the entire genius bar for those that are waiting their turn. Quite comfy actually.

Isn't that the basis of a few dirty jokes?

Remember the haters who ridiculed the name "iPad" because it would supposedly make people think feminine hygiene product instead of a computer? Molly on CNET was one of the worst. Where are they now that RIM is going to compete with a BlackPad? Is that supposed to make people think of feminine products for African Americans?

Time and success have proven these critics as wrong as they could possibly be. The name iPad is so ubiquitous now that people may first think of an electronic device when they hear about new feminine pad!

That will be extremely hard to do well but I'm sure somebody will get the formula right. Sadly I'm actually thinking HP might be the only possible competitor. Microsoft isn't likely to "get it" anytime soon. Android is a possibility if a major player where to steer a product with a little vision.

All of these are coming of course, there is nothing really outstanding at the moment. This brings me to the question of the September iPod updates, I'm still wondering if Apple plans to update the iPad then too. Not a major update but one that addresses the limited RAM and the lack of the iPhone sensors (gyros). It would seem that attacking these up front and having a "new" iPad on the market at the same time as the competition hits would put Apple in a very competitive position.


Dave

Of course there is more to a good computer than the hardware. That should be obvious to almost everybody these days. However what is minimal hardware can vary widely from one person to another.

As to the iPad I've been a proponent of the idea that the machine has shipped with to little RAM since the day it debuted. The issues with iOS 4.x, and the IPhone 4 hardware seem to agree with me here. The iPad is woefully under configured for the OS that will be the mainstay of the device moving forward.

As to ports a real USB port (note 'a' is singular) would have been a tremendous advantage for the iPad as it would allowed for web cams and support for FaceTime on old hardware. Unfortunately that port is not on the iPad so there is no recourse for retro fitting such hardware. I actually understand why Apple doesn't want a generic USB port on the device as that would then imply the need to install an extremely wide array of drivers and profiles for every device a user would want to install. I suspect the lack of a USB port is more about support issues than anything with Apple.

In the end the thing that I really find a big short coming on the iDevices is the lack of an SD port. Strange you may say but it makes sense to me to be able to sues SD cards to store media files to help one manage the onboard flash allotment. If there is anything that I'd like to see Apple change on its iDevices it is the allotment of space for an SD port. Argue all you want about looks and other issues, it would make for a huge technological advantage for such devices.

In any event it isn't all about hardware but on the other hand it isn't a world free of hardware either. By that I mean you can't dismiss the importance of hardware in delivering the iPad/iDevices experience. The point of many here is that with careful tuning of the hardware environment iDevices will be even more popular and competitive with the coming competition.


Dave

Yep, inevitable.

I'll stick with what I said in January:


And here we are. iPad a huge success, most people having lost interest in Windows style "slates", and the great hope lying in Android devices that more or less replicate the iPad concept but, inevitably, with better specs.

And if and when these devices hit the market, the exact same people who were championing the (subsequently put on the back burner) HP Slate will hail the triumph of the Google/HTC iPad clone as the first "real" tablet, having completely forgotten that not too long ago they thought the entire idea of the iPad was fatally flawed. After that, we can have fun arguments about how Apple didn't really innovate with the iPad because the design and execution were obvious to one and all.

Sigh. Hey, remember when the bezel on the iPad was so huge it was a joke?

Yeah, we can put that with "ha ha that giant bezel is a huge joke."

Can't find the post, but it was clear to me that the iPad was going to be a huge success, at which point "iPad" was simply going to become the name of that particular thing, just like "iPod" sounded funny for a while until it didn't.

My thought was that once that happened, anyone sniggering at "iPad" was going to sound like an adolescent douche. And guess what?

The sniggering continues but mainly by those hoping for an Android tablet. Only thing it will be called something like RoidPad. Which has even more severe bodily function connotations.

The bezel on the iPad is pure genius. Not just in naked use but also especially with so many cases and "folio" type cases. The only ones laughing right now are Apple, all the way to the bank.

I like the idea of a RoidPad. They can market it with ads that show death dealing robots from the future slaughtering effeminate iPad users in an apocalyptic hellscape, then waving their huge, cybernetic dicks. Since the market for Android devices is apparently mostly 12 year old boys jacked up on energy drinks and puberty.

Wonder if they'll make a newer smaller ipad..

Still, my nearest Apple store has concrete floors, even if it's been polished, it's still pretty low-rent and reflects noise. Not great for a store chain that's reputed to have all this great and wonderful environment and experience.