Apple iPad to fail but 50 million tablets to sell in 2014?
The iPad may be a success or it may be a failure; it’s really too early to tell. However, Apple’s tablet is just one of many being released over the next year or so, and that is an emerging market that is expected to grow massively.
You’re all now aware of the iPad I presume. You can’t help but be aware of it considering the amount of hype surrounding the unveiling and the amount of copy written about whether it will succeed or fail. But hype isn’t always a good thing, and it appears the unveiling of the iPad actually had a negative effect on consumers. Regardless, it’s predicted that 50 million tablets will be sold in 2014, and the iPad will be the genesis.
Retrevo conducted two surveys of 1,000 American consumers to gage feelings on the iPad before and after Steve Jobs unveiled the new device on Jan. 27. The two surveys looked at side-by-side suggest a lot of people were very disappointed with what they saw.
Before Apple unveiling, 48 percent had heard of the iPad. That rose to an impressive 80 percent afterward. However, the amount of people sure that they wouldn’t buy one also rose from 26 percent to 52 percent. What’s more, most people don’t think they need an iPad, with 49 percent thinking that before rising to 61 percent afterward.
Retrevo co-founder Manish Rathi told Computerworld:
There was too much hoopla. There was so much [hype] that afterward, people were underwhelmed because they expected it would slice bread.
Maybe we all were expecting too much. It’s not like the iPad is a bad product, it just isn’t the one many of us were expecting.
However, according to In-Stat’s report, ‘The Rise Of The Internet Tablet: The Keys To Success’, it isn’t all bad news for Apple or the tablet market. According to ChannelWeb it predicts 50 million tablets will be sold in 2014, and the iPad will be the spark that boosts the tablet market into a hugely important and profitable one.
The truth is that it’s too early to tell on any of this. Will the iPad flop? If so, will another company lead the way or does it suggest the tablet market is doomed as whole? These questions will only be answered once the iPad is actually out on the street and we begin to see how it sells.
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February 8th, 2010
Any survey conducted immediately after the ipad announcement has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It took a couple of weeks before I began to realise that the Ipad and it’s ilk will have many uses that are not currently best performed on a phone or laptop.
I think the moment it changed for me, was when Stephen Fry, a techhie commentator and very intelligent man, made a throwaway comment about how it might be in Jack Bauer’s car, or Jason Bourne’s car, when they’re in a car chase. Don’t be surprised to see this thing pop up in the next bond movie as a SatNav and device for downloading top secret instructions and files. It’s this combination of sexiness and applications that is going to sell it, people just didn’t get it at first, but believe me, they will….