Apple sold 3M iPads over launch weekend [u] - Page 4

Originally Posted by zoetmb

Apple has changed expectations so radically, people don't realize what an accomplishment even a few hundred thousand units would have been. I've posted this before, but this is the amount of time for each of these technologies to reach just 1 million sales units, according to Greystone Communications, Yankee Group (except for the iPad count, which came from other sources):

Original iPad: 28 days
DVD: 21 months
Satellite Radio: 23 months
CD Players: 28 months
MP3 Players: 28 months
Radio: 39 months
TV: 40 months
DVR: 53 months
VCR: 58 months
Online Subscriber Services: 114 months
Cable TV: 144 months
Satellite TV: 144 months

Apple now does in days what it took multiple companies years to accomplish.

Originally Posted by Relic

Not a troll I have one myself and I could easily live with out, so could most people who buy one. Sure, some companys and business people have found value in using it as a tool but that is a very, very small percentage. So ok, the iPad is mostly, hows that, is mostly a toy for those who buy one, especially for those on this board.

Originally Posted by Relic

I think it's silly to upgrade from a iPad 2 to a new iPad 3 uh iPad. But at the end of the day it's just a toy. So if a new toy will bring happines in your life then so be it, buy one. However do not pretend one bit that you need a new one of course not the previous model is a more then capable tablet. You want one because of the hype.

Originally Posted by KingKuei

A number of sites are starting to report that the 3 million ONLY includes iPads sold at Apple retail. So the real number sold is presumably much higher.

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum

I am very happy with the new iPad numbers as a user and a shareholder.

As far as the dividend/buyback announcement -- I was hoping for at least a 10:1 split, too.

I wanted the split to set up some investment accounts for the grandkids -- $60 per share provides a lot more room to maneuver/experiment/fail/learn than $600 per share.

The grandkids all have savings accounts -- but that's not investing... It's just setting money aside for a later purchase...

My 16-year-old granddaughter is saving for a car and taking online driving lessons...


Speaking of young girls taking driving lessons, I found this YT clip from a show that was on HUB late last night:

Family Ties - Jennifer Learns to Drive


Enjoy -- they just don't make TV shows like this anymore

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum

Perhaps some of the doctors and medical professionals who use these "toys" to treat and interact with patients, and the patients themselves might disagree.

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

I totally agree. The dictation is amazing. As is the screen is simply stunning (the 2 has already passed on my 13-yr old). And the speed.... wow.

Originally Posted by cy_starkman

The other thing I fail to get about dictation (in its current form) regardless of device or accuracy is speed and all that bizarre stuff, like punctuation you have to speak out.

Originally Posted by cy_starkman

Really? I haven't tried the new iPad yet but the 4s is just as woeful at dictation as is every other device I have attempted it on since oh, 1991. Okay, it has improved a bit but it is still far from where it needs to be.

The other thing I fail to get about dictation (in its current form) regardless of device or accuracy is speed and all that bizarre stuff, like punctuation you have to speak out. Then having to re-read the whole thing to check for errors, then tip tapping and fixing them all.

Maybe in another 10 years.

All that said, I am very curious to see how the new iPad could deal with taking minutes, as long as people did not speak over the top of each other. You know, sitting in the middle of the table. Obviously it would be verbatim as opposed to key points, but still an interesting test.

Originally Posted by Right_said_fred

methinks one should eat ones hat

Originally Posted by Relic

Not a troll I have one myself and I could easily live with out, so could most people who buy one. Sure, some companys and business people have found value in using it as a tool but that is a very, very small percentage. So ok, the iPad is mostly, hows that, is mostly a toy for those who buy one, especially for those on this board.

Originally Posted by alexkhan2000

One thing that often gets overlooked is Apple's operational excellence compared to other area's of the company's discipline like design, engineering, software development and marketing, etc. I work in the supply chain side of things in a completely different kind of industry and go to Asia (mainly China and Korea) 4~5 times per year, so I can appreciate what's involved in working with the suppliers there and coordinating the development, manufacturing and delivery of products to the customers all around the world.

When I observe what Apple is doing purely from the supply chain side of things, I'm in absolute awe of their execution from front to end - especially considering how older products are phased out and new products are inserted into a rather huge pipeline. To me, Apple's supply chain management is more interesting than their marketing or engineering operations. And I don't think there is any doubt that Apple manages supply chain better than any other company in the world and that it is the underlying factor in why Apple has been so financially successful.

To coordinate the production and delivery (in virtual secrecy) of millions of these sophisticated products into the hands of consumers over a weekend is pretty mind-boggling to ponder from a logistics perspective. What Apple is doing makes what I'm doing in the industry that I'm in seem like caveman-primitive in comparison. I wonder how many Apple supply chain employees are based in Asia overseeing the supply chain side of things. It must be in the many hundreds or perhaps well over a thousand. I can't even imagine.

A great example of Apple's innovation in the supply chain side of things is how the products get delivered to the consumers' doors straight from the factory in Shenzen, China. As Tim Cook famously said, "Inventory is fundamentally evil." Why have expensive warehouse space and overhead in the US when Apple can ship in volume from the factories and warehouses in China with special shipping deals with the likes of FedEx and UPS to have the products delivered straight to the customers' doors? Even an HP operations manager said that it was an "Oh, s$*t!" moment when he ordered an iPod and saw it being shipped to his door from China.

Apple is leveraging its humungous size and scale along with breathtaking speed and proficiency to get the products made in time with the quality that it demands and then delivered in the most cost-effective ways possible to its customers. Apple needs to operate like a little start-up in this industry to stay ahead and Tim Cook and his operations team has somehow figured out how to do so despite its $100+ billion size in a super-fast moving industry. I mean, is anyone really interested in Exxon or Walmart's operations? They're like blue whales or elephants while Apple is like a killer whale, a cheetah and a falcon moving at their top speeds.

Apple's remarkable logistics and operational excellence often gets overlooked by virtually everyone out there and perhaps that's a good thing. To most people, it's just not that interesting and not worth delving into. But this is Apple's secret (or under-appreciated) weapon and no one in Apple wants to share how they do it. And not enough people would care enough anyway. This weekend's sales of 3 million iPads in 4 days is a good example of what is possible when a company has its operations act together.

Having too much of a backlog is akin to leaving money on the table. Having too much inventory is pretty bad too. Tech products are like milk; no one wants to buy sour milk. It seems Apple is getting better and better at forecasting demand and that's even more bad news for the competition.

Originally Posted by Relic

Not a troll I have one myself and I could easily live with out, so could most people who buy one. Sure, some companys and business people have found value in using it as a tool but that is a very, very small percentage. So ok, the iPad is mostly, hows that, is mostly a toy for those who buy one, especially for those on this board.

Originally Posted by wizard69

There are lots of things I could live without. I don't really need those cloths, don't really need that pickup, I might be able to get buy without my shop tools, for that matter I don't really need my Microwave and stove. However this is the modern world and roasting a rabbit over a wood fire can be a bit time consuming. Cloths come in handy fighting the winter cold and that pickup has great utility. Similarly the iPad has great utility and can be used for many purposes including as a toy.

As to business somethings just evolve in unplanned ways, I never thought of my iPhone as a business tool yet it has become incredibly useful for the work I do. I'm certain iPad is rapidly evolving into a valuable business tool also. Like all things computer it takes time for the software to get there, but even today app store is chocked full of useful apps for business.

Honestly you are starting to sound like a relic from the past. The mainframe gods and Mini computer gurus of the day didn't think much of the desktop computer either. Mini computers hardly exist anymore and the mainframe business has been transformed. We sit today with front row seats to be able to watch the transformation of the PC world. It is pretty neat to watch if you open your mind.

Originally Posted by alexkhan2000

...Apple is leveraging its humungous size and scale along with breathtaking speed and proficiency to get the products made in time with the quality that it demands and then delivered in the most cost-effective ways possible to its customers. Apple needs to operate like a little start-up in this industry to stay ahead and Tim Cook and his operations team has somehow figured out how to do so despite its $100+ billion size in a super-fast moving industry. I mean, is anyone really interested in Exxon or Walmart's operations? They're like blue whales or elephants while Apple is like a killer whale, a cheetah and a falcon moving at their top speeds.

Apple's remarkable logistics and operational excellence often gets overlooked by virtually everyone out there and perhaps that's a good thing. To most people, it's just not that interesting and not worth delving into. But this is Apple's secret (or under-appreciated) weapon and no one in Apple wants to share how they do it. And not enough people would care enough anyway. This weekend's sales of 3 million iPads in 4 days is a good example of what is possible when a company has its operations act together.

Having too much of a backlog is akin to leaving money on the table. Having too much inventory is pretty bad too. Tech products are like milk; no one wants to buy sour milk. It seems Apple is getting better and better at forecasting demand and that's even more bad news for the competition.

Originally Posted by alexkhan2000

One thing that often gets overlooked is Apple's operational excellence compared to other area's of the company's discipline like design, engineering, software development and marketing, etc. I work in the supply chain side of things in a completely different kind of industry and go to Asia (mainly China and Korea) 4~5 times per year, so I can appreciate what's involved in working with the suppliers there and coordinating the development, manufacturing and delivery of products to the customers all around the world.

When I observe what Apple is doing purely from the supply chain side of things, I'm in absolute awe of their execution from front to end - especially considering how older products are phased out and new products are inserted into a rather huge pipeline. To me, Apple's supply chain management is more interesting than their marketing or engineering operations. And I don't think there is any doubt that Apple manages supply chain better than any other company in the world and that it is the underlying factor in why Apple has been so financially successful.

To coordinate the production and delivery (in virtual secrecy) of millions of these sophisticated products into the hands of consumers over a weekend is pretty mind-boggling to ponder from a logistics perspective. What Apple is doing makes what I'm doing in the industry that I'm in seem like caveman-primitive in comparison. I wonder how many Apple supply chain employees are based in Asia overseeing the supply chain side of things. It must be in the many hundreds or perhaps well over a thousand. I can't even imagine.

A great example of Apple's innovation in the supply chain side of things is how the products get delivered to the consumers' doors straight from the factory in Shenzen, China. As Tim Cook famously said, "Inventory is fundamentally evil." Why have expensive warehouse space and overhead in the US when Apple can ship in volume from the factories and warehouses in China with special shipping deals with the likes of FedEx and UPS to have the products delivered straight to the customers' doors? Even an HP operations manager said that it was an "Oh, s$*t!" moment when he ordered an iPod and saw it being shipped to his door from China.

Apple is leveraging its humungous size and scale along with breathtaking speed and proficiency to get the products made in time with the quality that it demands and then delivered in the most cost-effective ways possible to its customers. Apple needs to operate like a little start-up in this industry to stay ahead and Tim Cook and his operations team has somehow figured out how to do so despite its $100+ billion size in a super-fast moving industry. I mean, is anyone really interested in Exxon or Walmart's operations? They're like blue whales or elephants while Apple is like a killer whale, a cheetah and a falcon moving at their top speeds.

Apple's remarkable logistics and operational excellence often gets overlooked by virtually everyone out there and perhaps that's a good thing. To most people, it's just not that interesting and not worth delving into. But this is Apple's secret (or under-appreciated) weapon and no one in Apple wants to share how they do it. And not enough people would care enough anyway. This weekend's sales of 3 million iPads in 4 days is a good example of what is possible when a company has its operations act together.

Having too much of a backlog is akin to leaving money on the table. Having too much inventory is pretty bad too. Tech products are like milk; no one wants to buy sour milk. It seems Apple is getting better and better at forecasting demand and that's even more bad news for the competition.

Originally Posted by REC

This is why Apple can survive and do quite well without SJ running the company. If the creative people like Ive are given sufficient freedom internally and the operations people keep running such a smooth ship, this can go on for quite a while even without the visionary at the top.

Of course that's by design. It's the way SJ designed it to be. He wanted Ive to have special control over vision. He wanted Cook to succeed him and keep Apple running with expert efficiency.

I know this sort of operational excellence is something that Steve identified as very important for the future a long time ago. During his first stint at Apple, when the Mac was debuting (and later in the late 80's/early 90's at NeXT) he did several interviews where he bragged and talked about the value of JIT (Just In Time) delivery, keeping inventory small and finding ways to make it smaller. I remember he was obsessed with having the capability of predicting a customer's needs and rolling a new computer off the assembly line in the most efficient way possible and then getting that machine to the customer as directly as possible. He seemed particularily interested in this topic and probably sought out people like Cook back then.

The genesis for this kind of operational excellence is probably over 30 years in the making. You can't just copy this, there's decades worth of experience and relationships to get to this point.

Originally Posted by alexkhan2000

One thing that often gets overlooked is Apple's operational excellence compared to other area's of the company's discipline like design, engineering, software development and marketing, etc. I work in the supply chain side of things in a completely different kind of industry and go to Asia (mainly China and Korea) 4~5 times per year, so I can appreciate what's involved in working with the suppliers there and coordinating the development, manufacturing and delivery of products to the customers all around the world.

When I observe what Apple is doing purely from the supply chain side of things, I'm in absolute awe of their execution from front to end - especially considering how older products are phased out and new products are inserted into a rather huge pipeline. To me, Apple's supply chain management is more interesting than their marketing or engineering operations. And I don't think there is any doubt that Apple manages supply chain better than any other company in the world and that it is the underlying factor in why Apple has been so financially successful.

To coordinate the production and delivery (in virtual secrecy) of millions of these sophisticated products into the hands of consumers over a weekend is pretty mind-boggling to ponder from a logistics perspective. What Apple is doing makes what I'm doing in the industry that I'm in seem like caveman-primitive in comparison. I wonder how many Apple supply chain employees are based in Asia overseeing the supply chain side of things. It must be in the many hundreds or perhaps well over a thousand. I can't even imagine.

A great example of Apple's innovation in the supply chain side of things is how the products get delivered to the consumers' doors straight from the factory in Shenzen, China. As Tim Cook famously said, "Inventory is fundamentally evil." Why have expensive warehouse space and overhead in the US when Apple can ship in volume from the factories and warehouses in China with special shipping deals with the likes of FedEx and UPS to have the products delivered straight to the customers' doors? Even an HP operations manager said that it was an "Oh, s$*t!" moment when he ordered an iPod and saw it being shipped to his door from China.

Apple is leveraging its humungous size and scale along with breathtaking speed and proficiency to get the products made in time with the quality that it demands and then delivered in the most cost-effective ways possible to its customers. Apple needs to operate like a little start-up in this industry to stay ahead and Tim Cook and his operations team has somehow figured out how to do so despite its $100+ billion size in a super-fast moving industry. I mean, is anyone really interested in Exxon or Walmart's operations? They're like blue whales or elephants while Apple is like a killer whale, a cheetah and a falcon moving at their top speeds.

Apple's remarkable logistics and operational excellence often gets overlooked by virtually everyone out there and perhaps that's a good thing. To most people, it's just not that interesting and not worth delving into. But this is Apple's secret (or under-appreciated) weapon and no one in Apple wants to share how they do it. And not enough people would care enough anyway. This weekend's sales of 3 million iPads in 4 days is a good example of what is possible when a company has its operations act together.

Having too much of a backlog is akin to leaving money on the table. Having too much inventory is pretty bad too. Tech products are like milk; no one wants to buy sour milk. It seems Apple is getting better and better at forecasting demand and that's even more bad news for the competition.

Originally Posted by Relic

Not a troll I have one myself and I could easily live with out, so could most people who buy one. Sure, some companys and business people have found value in using it as a tool but that is a very, very small percentage. So ok, the iPad is mostly, hows that, is mostly a toy for those who buy one, especially for those on this board.

Originally Posted by Alfiejr

the weekend number 3 million is indeed impressive. but a significant factor has to be the much expanded day 1 global sales launch in a dozen major markets. with two dozen more to come next week. comparing just US sales only to the the last two years' launches of iPad 1 and 2 would be very informative about its absolute growth in popularity in just a single market (but Apple won't release those figures anyway). but then Apple's global sales expansion is a big reason for the its huge growth of the last few years overall - maybe THE biggest reason. so i'm not saying that don't count ...

and one also has to wonder how many "pre-sales" aren't even included in that total. does that mean only the ordered iPads that haven't shipped/been delivered yet? is it 1 million more? more? less? Apple is so damn closed mouth.

if Foxconn was assembling 5 million a month (last quarter's iPad 2 sales rate) starting in February they should have made 5-10 million by now. they must all be committed to overseas markets, hence the two week delay in shipping orders from the Apple Store. i just walked in and bought one on the spot yesterday, so there is plenty of inventory in the retail stores, for the moment at least.

Originally Posted by melgross

Apple is much more open about this than any other company. They tell us how many have been sold. They tell us how many days supply is in the channel. No one else does that. At best, we get a shipped number. Other companies, such as Samsung, don't even tell us how many they ship, leaving the numbers to be estimated by others who have no idea of the real ones.

We find out that all of those numbers about others are wrong, on the high side, and actually pretty far off when useage info comes out.

So we get numbers that state the iPad has a 60% marketshare, when it's closer to 80%, etc.

Look to Apple as a shining example of openness in giving sales numbers.

Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum

I am very happy with the new iPad numbers as a user and a shareholder.

As far as the dividend/buyback announcement -- I was hoping for at least a 10:1 split, too.

I wanted the split to set up some investment accounts for the grandkids -- $60 per share provides a lot more room to maneuver/experiment/fail/learn than $600 per share.

The grandkids all have savings accounts -- but that's not investing... It's just setting money aside for a later purchase...

My 16-year-old granddaughter is saving for a car and taking online driving lessons...


Speaking of young girls taking driving lessons, I found this YT clip from a show that was on HUB late last night:

Originally Posted by Freshmaker

I keep thinking it's a good time to sell mine, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I mean, there's gotta be a correction at some point, right? Right? It's been on an incredible run this year.

Originally Posted by Tony12

Amazing!
Im just upgrade my iPad 1 to the New iPad, want to know there are how many are same as me --- upgrade from the 1gen iPad?

Originally Posted by thompr

This *is* the correction.

Thompson

Originally Posted by SolipsismX

But he said, "aren't shipped". Typically the sale hasn't taken place until the unit is prepared for shipping at which point the sale has been charged to your account then that would be counted. I would expect any pre-ordered that have not collected fees and can be easily canceled without having to do a chargeback as not being counted.

Originally Posted by Nairb

These sales figures are neither exciting nor interesting. I think they are on par with expectiations.

What I would be really interested in is sales numbers for the iPad2 now the price has been dropped. People who would settle for a new iPad2 are the ones who are more likely to buy an Android tablet but have gone for a "cheaper" iPad instead.

I know one guy in a small tech shop and he says iPad2 sales have been strong since the announcement of iPad3.

Originally Posted by alexkhan2000

One thing that often gets overlooked is Apple's operational excellence compared to other areas of the company's discipline like design, engineering, software development and marketing, etc. I work in the supply chain side of things in a completely different kind of industry and go to Asia (mainly China and Korea) 4~5 times per year, so I can appreciate what's involved in working with the suppliers there and coordinating the development, manufacturing and delivery of products to the customers all around the world.

When I observe what Apple is doing purely from the supply chain side of things, I'm in absolute awe of their execution from front to end - especially considering how older products are phased out and new products are inserted into a rather huge pipeline. To me, Apple's supply chain management is more interesting than their marketing or engineering operations. And I don't think there is any doubt that Apple manages supply chain better than any other company in the world and that it is the underlying factor in why Apple has been so financially successful.

To coordinate the production and delivery (in virtual secrecy) of millions of these sophisticated products into the hands of consumers over a weekend is pretty mind-boggling to ponder from a logistics perspective. What Apple is doing makes what I'm doing in the industry that I'm in seem like caveman-primitive in comparison. I wonder how many Apple operations employees are based in Asia overseeing the supply chain side of things. It must be in the many hundreds or perhaps well over a thousand. I can't even imagine.

A great example of Apple's innovation in the supply chain side of things is how the products get delivered to the consumers' doors straight from the factory in Shenzen, China. As Tim Cook famously said, "Inventory is fundamentally evil." Why have expensive warehouse space and overhead in the US when Apple can ship in volume from the factories and warehouses in China with special shipping deals with the likes of FedEx and UPS to have the products delivered straight to the customers' doors? Even an HP operations manager said that it was an "Oh, s$*t!" moment when he ordered an iPod and saw it being shipped to his door from China.

Apple is leveraging its humungous size and scale along with breathtaking speed and proficiency to get the products made in time with the quality that it demands and then delivered in the most cost-effective ways possible to its customers. Apple needs to operate like a little start-up in this industry to stay ahead and Tim Cook and his operations team has somehow figured out how to do so despite its $100+ billion size in a super-fast moving industry. I mean, is anyone really interested in Exxon or Walmart's operations? They're like blue whales or elephants while Apple is like a killer whale, a cheetah and a falcon moving at their top speeds.

Apple's remarkable logistics and operational excellence often gets overlooked by virtually everyone out there and perhaps that's a good thing. To most people, it's just not that interesting and not worth delving into. But this is Apple's secret (or under-appreciated) weapon and no one in Apple wants to share how they do it. And not enough people would care enough anyway. This weekend's sales of 3 million iPads in 4 days is a good example of what is possible when a company has its operations act together.

Having too much of a backlog is akin to leaving money on the table. Having too much inventory is pretty bad too. Tech products are like milk; no one wants to buy sour milk. It seems Apple is getting better and better at forecasting demand and that's even more bad news for the competition.

Originally Posted by Relic

I think it's silly to upgrade from a iPad 2 to a new iPad 3 uh iPad. But at the end of the day it's just a toy. So if a new toy will bring happines in your life then so be it, buy one. However do not pretend one bit that you need a new one of course not the previous model is a more then capable tablet. You want one because of the hype.

Originally Posted by Relic

Not a troll

Originally Posted by matrix07

Apple efficiency is nothing compared to Google. Here the proof:

Originally Posted by Gatorguy

Add Starbucks New Evolution Juice Bar to the spelling impaired. This one is kind of a biggie:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1363436.html

EDIT: Probably rare, but even Apple's website could benefit from a simple spell-check:
http://www.madhatt.com/index.php/12-...apples-website

Proper spelling just doesn't appear to be as important as it once was IMO.