• Apple iPad - The whatever it is begins

    Over at Macrumors there is an interesting article about the pent up demand for the Apple iPad. This is based on some research performed across 3,200 people.

    If the stats are to be believed, and these are survey based after all and so are wide open to interpretation, the demand is likely to be significantly higher than it was for the iPhone. Why should this be so? Is it really that exciting and revolutionary a technology? Or just an oversized iPhone that people have really been wanting for some time, having matured their taste on the iPhone itself.

    I'm on the fence myself. Do I or don't I? I really do not know. I think it is going to be one of those spur of the moment things. You know the type. A casual walk into the Apple store at Bluewater with absolutely zero intention of buying anything. A saunter over to the wooden tables sporting the iPad. Ten minutes of fiddling and chatting with the Apple store "Genius" and then the twitching of the credit card in the shirt pocket becoming unbearable. Twenty minutes later and its out of the door clutching the shiny white Apple bag containing you know what

    Predictable? Moi? Certainly ...

    In research note released this morning, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky shares the results of a ChangeWave survey of over 3,200 respondents earlier this month revealing pent-up demand for Apple's forthcoming iPad, with demand even exceeding that for the original iPhone in 2007. According to the survey, 13% of respondents are either somewhat or very likely to purchase an iPad, compared to only 9% in a similar survey conducted prior to the launch of the original iPhone.

    The survey also provides an interesting glimpse at model preferences for potential iPad buyers, with the highest percentages of buyers planning to purchase the low-end 16 GB Wi-Fi-only model at $499 and the high-end 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model at $829. Demand for the various capacities among the two iPad lines clearly shows opposing relationships, with budget-conscious customers focused on the Wi-Fi-only model opting for only 16 GB of storage while those springing for the added 3G connectivity are also preferring to max out on storage at 64 GB.


    The report also notes that only 8% of customers have balked at iPad pricing, significantly lower than the 28% who were unwilling to pay Apple's prices for the original iPhone prior to its launch.

    In examining probable cannibalization of existing Apple products, the RBC/ChangeWave survey found 25% of respondents planning to delay purchasing one or more other Apple products in favor of obtaining an iPad, with the iPhone, iPod, and Mac notebooks all seeing potential hits in the 9-10% range. Cannibalization appears significantly lower for Mac desktop machines and the Apple TV.


    Percentages of planned iPad buyers delaying purchases of other Apple products
    (Sums to 33% due to some respondents delaying purchase of more than one product)

    While the survey results suggest possible strong early adoption of the iPad and upside compared to previously-estimated customer purchasing plans, RBC continues to predict a base case of five million iPads sold for calendar year 2010, adding $2.4 billion in revenue and an additional $0.33 per share of earnings to Apple's bottom line.

    Source and Charts: http://www.macrumors.com/2010/02/23/...pple-products/
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Apple iPad - The whatever it is begins started by Hands0n View original post