4 ms·

My mom wants one and that's how I know it's going to do well. Sidenote: Anyone order 2 and are willing to let the other go? Or are going to pick up in store an

by mikeyur 17y ago

My mom wants one and that's how I know it's going to do well. Sidenote: Anyone order 2 and are willing to let the other go? Or are going to pick up in store and could grab another? I'd really like to get it 3 weeks before the international launch :P My friend tried to order 6 and Apple canceled all 3 of his orders :( If anyone can help me out @yurechko on twitter or m[]mikeyur[]com

gloob 17y ago
My experience has been rather the other way around: I've only heard two people so much as mention the iPad irl; one was an engineering student and the other is a techy as a hobby. The former wants one because its made by Apple, and the latter can't see the point. I don't think my mom's ever heard of it.
glhaynes 17y ago
I was absolutely convinced that my mom would never so much as send an email in her life. Last time I saw her, she brought up the iPad.
Tichy 17y ago
Could it just be the result of efficient advertising, though? Arguably iPods are very useless things, too (except for the iPod Touch maybe), yet they sold like hot cakes. Again I suspect it's because of advertising. Marketing is something Apple is REALLY good at. Also iPods were good for displaying status (maybe the only real use) - the same isn't true for an iPad you keep at home on your couch.
- aero142 17y ago
  Wait, what? Useless? They play music. Or at least that is what I used mine for. YMMV.
  - Tichy 17y ago
    There were plenty of options for playing music otherwise. I think playing music while on the road is useless. Except maybe for some commuters on the train. But I don't think most buyers were commuters.
    - philwelch 17y ago
      I remember when people used to carry around large binders of CD's. That all seemed to stop after the iPod became popular.
      - Tichy 17y ago
        I don't have an iPod, and I don't use CDs anymore. I suppose it could have been MP3, BitTorrent and cheap external HDs that killed CD binders, not iPods per se.
    - pchristensen 17y ago
      I think playing music while on the road is useless. You are unlike much of the human race. Music is part of every culture and part of the way your brain works. http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/0452288525/ http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/045...
      - Tichy 17y ago
        I like music, just not when I am traveling outside. But granted, I don't commute much. I tend to bicycle, where iPods would be hazardous. Also, I don't want to blank out my environment. I listen to a lot of music at home. As I said, I can understand if somebody has to commute a lot.
- chadgeidel 17y ago
  They sold well because of ADVERTISING? Please tell me you are kidding. They filled a niche and were stylish. That's kind of the point of a good product. Sure, Apple has good advertising, but contrary to what some geeks think advertising isn't brainwashing.
  - Tichy 17y ago
    Um, did I hit a nerve?
    - aero142 17y ago
      I think you did. Around here, I think that many people see the iPod as the kind of success that they would love to emulate. The iPod did something simple, play music, but it wasn't useless. In dash vinyl record players did that as well, but the iPod did it really well. Apple created an elegant device that solved a simple, but very common task. They combined this with great design and brilliant advertising. For this they were rewarded with truckloads of money from satisfied customers. This is something to be studied and emulated, not derided by calling it useless.
- anonjon 17y ago
  I think you are absolutely right. The success of the ipod is all about very clever advertising. At the time that it came out, there were dozens of other mp3 players that were cheaper and just as good (there still are dozens of mp3 players that are cheaper and just as good). But somehow apple turned the ipod into something that wasn't an mp3 player and was an ipod. And Apple is really good at marketing and also making their products pretty (so that they can be marketed). Sansa or Creative, for example, don't seem to spend anywhere near the marketing money on their products as apple does, and it seems to show. (iPod is a household name, no one knows what I'm talking about when I talk about my SanDisk). (I'm sure iTunes had something to do with it too...) I think that too often we want to attribute the success of a product to rational causes such as technological superiority or 'innovation'... But really, I think there is a lot more that needs to be said about clever manipulation of your consumer's thoughts/desires. I also don't get why you are getting downvoted. Disagreement by downvote is not cool. Disagree by disagreeing, downvote when someone is being an idiot.
  - stck 17y ago
    Interesting how you imply product's prettiness to be somehow secondary to its functionality. Apple creates pretty products and that's why they are bought - not because they are marketed as pretty. If you've seen any scifi movies you know that the future is slick sweet, just like the iPad. Everyone wants to live in the future.
Gibbon 17y ago
I'm not particularly interested in the Ipad myself but my mother was over yesterday asking to send some emails and reminded me I had still not setup my old desktop pc for her. I said she should just get an Ipad and showed her the video on Apple's site. She went bonkers for it. Absolutely loved it.. started saying "I want a MomPad!!" along with lots of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" and a few "oh my gods!"

by mikeyur 17y ago

gloob 17y ago

My experience has been rather the other way around: I've only heard two people so much as mention the iPad irl; one was an engineering student and the other is a techy as a hobby. The former wants one because its made by Apple, and the latter can't see the point. I don't think my mom's ever heard of it.

glhaynes 17y ago

I was absolutely convinced that my mom would never so much as send an email in her life. Last time I saw her, she brought up the iPad.

Tichy 17y ago

Could it just be the result of efficient advertising, though? Arguably iPods are very useless things, too (except for the iPod Touch maybe), yet they sold like hot cakes. Again I suspect it's because of advertising. Marketing is something Apple is REALLY good at. Also iPods were good for displaying status (maybe the only real use) - the same isn't true for an iPad you keep at home on your couch.

aero142 17y ago
Wait, what? Useless? They play music. Or at least that is what I used mine for. YMMV.
- Tichy 17y ago
  There were plenty of options for playing music otherwise. I think playing music while on the road is useless. Except maybe for some commuters on the train. But I don't think most buyers were commuters.
  - philwelch 17y ago
    I remember when people used to carry around large binders of CD's. That all seemed to stop after the iPod became popular.
    - Tichy 17y ago
      I don't have an iPod, and I don't use CDs anymore. I suppose it could have been MP3, BitTorrent and cheap external HDs that killed CD binders, not iPods per se.
  - pchristensen 17y ago
    I think playing music while on the road is useless. You are unlike much of the human race. Music is part of every culture and part of the way your brain works. http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/0452288525/ http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/045...
    - Tichy 17y ago
      I like music, just not when I am traveling outside. But granted, I don't commute much. I tend to bicycle, where iPods would be hazardous. Also, I don't want to blank out my environment. I listen to a lot of music at home. As I said, I can understand if somebody has to commute a lot.
chadgeidel 17y ago
They sold well because of ADVERTISING? Please tell me you are kidding. They filled a niche and were stylish. That's kind of the point of a good product. Sure, Apple has good advertising, but contrary to what some geeks think advertising isn't brainwashing.
- Tichy 17y ago
  Um, did I hit a nerve?
  - aero142 17y ago
    I think you did. Around here, I think that many people see the iPod as the kind of success that they would love to emulate. The iPod did something simple, play music, but it wasn't useless. In dash vinyl record players did that as well, but the iPod did it really well. Apple created an elegant device that solved a simple, but very common task. They combined this with great design and brilliant advertising. For this they were rewarded with truckloads of money from satisfied customers. This is something to be studied and emulated, not derided by calling it useless.
anonjon 17y ago
I think you are absolutely right. The success of the ipod is all about very clever advertising. At the time that it came out, there were dozens of other mp3 players that were cheaper and just as good (there still are dozens of mp3 players that are cheaper and just as good). But somehow apple turned the ipod into something that wasn't an mp3 player and was an ipod. And Apple is really good at marketing and also making their products pretty (so that they can be marketed). Sansa or Creative, for example, don't seem to spend anywhere near the marketing money on their products as apple does, and it seems to show. (iPod is a household name, no one knows what I'm talking about when I talk about my SanDisk). (I'm sure iTunes had something to do with it too...) I think that too often we want to attribute the success of a product to rational causes such as technological superiority or 'innovation'... But really, I think there is a lot more that needs to be said about clever manipulation of your consumer's thoughts/desires. I also don't get why you are getting downvoted. Disagreement by downvote is not cool. Disagree by disagreeing, downvote when someone is being an idiot.
- stck 17y ago
  Interesting how you imply product's prettiness to be somehow secondary to its functionality. Apple creates pretty products and that's why they are bought - not because they are marketed as pretty. If you've seen any scifi movies you know that the future is slick sweet, just like the iPad. Everyone wants to live in the future.

Gibbon 17y ago

I'm not particularly interested in the Ipad myself but my mother was over yesterday asking to send some emails and reminded me I had still not setup my old desktop pc for her. I said she should just get an Ipad and showed her the video on Apple's site. She went bonkers for it. Absolutely loved it.. started saying "I want a MomPad!!" along with lots of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" and a few "oh my gods!"