4 ms·

I'm surprised that they sold half as many iPads as iPhones. I've read several predictions that the tablet thing would turn out to be a fad but it seems to have

I'm surprised that they sold half as many iPads as iPhones. I've read several predictions that the tablet thing would turn out to be a fad but it seems to have legs.

erikpukinskis 15y ago
I think (and have thought since the iPad launch) that the tablet market will be bigger than PCs. They will take over roughly 90% of the laptop market (leaving behind the graphic designers and vintage geeks), and also add a whole class of users who don't currently have a computer of any kind, at least doubling the size of the "big screen computer" market. It's a fascinating example of displacement at work. Apple was never going to get the PC world to start buying Mac laptops. So they're just going to displace that entire market with a new product category. Classic strategy from the Innovator's Dilemma playbook.
- cageface 15y ago
  I still think text entry on tablets is a pretty big problem. I often find myself swapping out my iPad for my laptop when browsing because I wan't to add a comment to a thread somewhere or quickly copy & paste something to email to a friend. I'm 100x faster on a real keyboard. I also much prefer the quick multi-context browsing experience of a real multi-tabbed browser to anything available on the iPad, which for me is increasingly relegated to e-reader status. I may very well turn out to be in the minority though. But as much as I disagree with a lot of Apple's recent business practices I do have to give them credit for having an uncanny knack for placing the right bets on new technology.
- MaysonL 15y ago
  iPad revenue exceeded Macintosh revenue last quarter, even while Macintosh revenue rose 14% year over year.
- gamble 15y ago
  Average people have an incredible mental block against switching from PCs to Macs. I'm speculating here, but it seems to me like what market share they've acquired for the Mac in the last decade has come largely at the margins - geeks, artists, students, etc. For the average person, their computer is still a scary, complex, bewildering machine somewhat akin to an automobile that can only be comprehended by experts. They would no sooner switch to a Mac than trade in their Camry for a Lotus. The iPad is a psychic do-over. By creating a new category firmly embedded in consumer electronics rather than computing they can displace the computer mindset as well as the PC as a physical product.
- pragmatic 15y ago
  No. It's not either/or - it's both. You _need_ a PC/Mac to set up an IPad: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2011/07/07/setting-up-an-ipad-requires-a-pc/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2011/07/07/setting-up-an-... I got a cell phone, I didn't throw away my home phone (yet) and my wife has one too. I got a laptop (3) and I still have a desktop and 2 HTPC's. I have a Kindle, I didn't throw away my books. These devices all complement each other. Some things you just can't do on a phone or a touch OS. We need to get passed the mindset that one product needs to fail for another to succeed. This market is not zero sum.

I'm surprised that they sold half as many iPads as iPhones. I've read several predictions that the tablet thing would turn out to be a fad but it seems to have legs.

erikpukinskis 15y ago

I think (and have thought since the iPad launch) that the tablet market will be bigger than PCs. They will take over roughly 90% of the laptop market (leaving behind the graphic designers and vintage geeks), and also add a whole class of users who don't currently have a computer of any kind, at least doubling the size of the "big screen computer" market. It's a fascinating example of displacement at work. Apple was never going to get the PC world to start buying Mac laptops. So they're just going to displace that entire market with a new product category. Classic strategy from the Innovator's Dilemma playbook.

cageface 15y ago
I still think text entry on tablets is a pretty big problem. I often find myself swapping out my iPad for my laptop when browsing because I wan't to add a comment to a thread somewhere or quickly copy & paste something to email to a friend. I'm 100x faster on a real keyboard. I also much prefer the quick multi-context browsing experience of a real multi-tabbed browser to anything available on the iPad, which for me is increasingly relegated to e-reader status. I may very well turn out to be in the minority though. But as much as I disagree with a lot of Apple's recent business practices I do have to give them credit for having an uncanny knack for placing the right bets on new technology.
MaysonL 15y ago
iPad revenue exceeded Macintosh revenue last quarter, even while Macintosh revenue rose 14% year over year.
gamble 15y ago
Average people have an incredible mental block against switching from PCs to Macs. I'm speculating here, but it seems to me like what market share they've acquired for the Mac in the last decade has come largely at the margins - geeks, artists, students, etc. For the average person, their computer is still a scary, complex, bewildering machine somewhat akin to an automobile that can only be comprehended by experts. They would no sooner switch to a Mac than trade in their Camry for a Lotus. The iPad is a psychic do-over. By creating a new category firmly embedded in consumer electronics rather than computing they can displace the computer mindset as well as the PC as a physical product.
pragmatic 15y ago
No. It's not either/or - it's both. You _need_ a PC/Mac to set up an IPad: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2011/07/07/setting-up-an-ipad-requires-a-pc/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2011/07/07/setting-up-an-... I got a cell phone, I didn't throw away my home phone (yet) and my wife has one too. I got a laptop (3) and I still have a desktop and 2 HTPC's. I have a Kindle, I didn't throw away my books. These devices all complement each other. Some things you just can't do on a phone or a touch OS. We need to get passed the mindset that one product needs to fail for another to succeed. This market is not zero sum.