Some context for 1 million iPads sold in 1 month

[Dammit Cubs]

When i went home to Chicago. I know that all my friends wanted to see the iPad. And after seeing it, they considered it ALOT better than originally expected.

 

[J R R]

The iPad is only available in the USA. Recent iPhone sales data has shown that the US is becoming a smaller percentage of Apples sales. The EU alone has the potential to be twice the market size that the US is. India, China - enormous.

3G and iBooks have got complications wrt licensing and bandwidth provision - but not basic wi-fi iPads. So sales growth of home based wi-fi iPads outside of the US is likely to be quicker than the iPhone, even without considering use of existing applications, more experienced users etc.

The US only has 4.5% of the world population. The richest 4.5% (hence still a big market) but slowly the US will become less pivotal and more niche if Apple continues its trend of global success.

 

[wombat888]

I agree with your general point, but I don't think the EU is (or "has the potential to be") twice as large a market for anything that's of general interest in both places. The EU population is about 500 million and includes some economically challenged areas along with affluent ones, the U.S. population is about 310 million, and while some parts of the U.S. are economically challenged, they're not where most of the population is. I think the markets are probably about equal for the iPad.

 

[iPhoneHome]

To bad it's not a real tablet computer, it's a media consumtion device with a few added abilities. Until it can do true parallel processing (not half-assed multi tasking), and has a true file system, it's really not a computer. It's
It's like saying a calculator is a computer.

How do you know what a Real Tablet computer should be? As far as I know, this is the first Tablet device to be overwhelmingly accepted by a mass audience.

Maybe, just maybe....this is what a tablet computer was supposed to be in the first place.

 

[gnasher729]

Eventually Apple will product a product that is a flat-out dud. Those Apple bigots will parade around triumphantly proclaiming that they were right. (ignoring the fact that before that point they had been repeatedly wrong.)

What about the Apple boom box (was it called Apple HiFi? can't even remember it).

 

[Esoom]

Dunno how to tell you guys this, but it ain't 1 million iPads sold, it's actually 2 million.

http://labs.chitika.com/ipad/

I'm an Apple investor, and have noticed Apple isn't above a leak or two, but when they do press releases, they play very conservative so they can blow away Wall Street with the quarterly results.

 

[kas23]

As Apple pointed out in its press release, it only took 28 days to sell 1 million iPads. It took 74 days (more than twice as long) to sell 1 million iPhones in 2007. It took Apple almost two years to sell 1 million iPods.

What isn't anyone talking about the 3 days it took to sell 1 million iPhone 3G's or 3GS's?

When the 1st gen iPhone or the first gen iPod came out, they were totally unknown commodities. They were totally, 100% new devices. The iPad is not. It's running an OS that has been out for years and for the most part, running apps that have been available for months to years. Therefore, why aren't we comparing the iPhone 3G/3GS numbers to the iPad?

 

[wombat888]

What isn't anyone talking about the 3 days it took to sell 1 million iPhone 3G's or 3GS's?

When the 1st gen iPhone or the first gen iPod came out, they were totally unknown commodities. They were totally, 100% new devices. The iPad is not. It's running an OS that has been out for years and for the most part, running apps that have been available for months to years. Therefore, why aren't we comparing the iPhone 3G/3GS numbers to the iPad?

I think you have it backward. The iPhone was a smartphone. There had been smartphones for years. How it would fit into a buyer's life was clear. The iPad is a) more expensive, b) a less obvious fit for buyers' lives.

 

[Trek2100]

I know several people who never considered an Apple product until buying an iPhone and have since become Apple devotees. It would be interesting to know how many iPad owners are first time Apple product buyers, and will the experience "bring them into the fold" so to speak.

I would almost be willing to bet that there are a many more non apple fanboys buying these things than one might expect. Look at the number of newbies on these threads. I work with a woman who is a MS fangirl and she bought the WiFi version immediately and loves it.

 

[Esoom]

I would almost be willing to bet that there are a many more non apple fanboys buying these things than one might expect. Look at the number of newbies on these threads. (snip)

Add me to the list, I've had a couple of 1st gen iPhones unlocked/jailbroken on TMobile, now using a Nexus One and hating it, but I've wanted a tablet for a long time, got a WiFi on day one, and have a 3G coming this week.

I also noticed how Apple's stock has been blowing the doors off everything else and decided they must be doing something right. I lived through the Apple/PC wars round 1, and landed on the PC side, ever since the iPhone I've been considering a switch.

I love my iPad, slickest device I've owned in forever.

 

[PCClone]

To bad it's not a real tablet computer, it's a media consumtion device with a few added abilities. Until it can do true parallel processing (not half-assed multi tasking), and has a true file system, it's really not a computer. It's
It's like saying a calculator is a computer.

Gee, first time anyone mentioned this, not. Go buy yourself a Slate or Courier. Oh, you freaking can't. What a fail of a post you troll.

 

[fishkorp]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.4 Mobile/7D11 Safari/531.21.10)

As Apple pointed out in its press release, it only took 28 days to sell 1 million iPads. It took 74 days (more than twice as long) to sell 1 million iPhones in 2007. It took Apple almost two years to sell 1 million iPods.

What isn't anyone talking about the 3 days it took to sell 1 million iPhone 3G's or 3GS's?

When the 1st gen iPhone or the first gen iPod came out, they were totally unknown commodities. They were totally, 100% new devices. The iPad is not. It's running an OS that has been out for years and for the most part, running apps that have been available for months to years. Therefore, why aren't we comparing the iPhone 3G/3GS numbers to the iPad?

Because the iPhone 3G and 3GS were launched world wide on the same day. Not a fair comparison at all.

 

[TallManNY]

As far as the comparison between 3G iPhone and iPad, I have to say the 3G iPhone wins. So does the original iPhone. Phones are just more useful than computers to the average person during their day to day life. The iPhone was so much better as a personal computer and phone combination that it had no comparison. I used the Treo, for example, before the iPhone and no comparison between the two. My two month old Blackberry Bold is still lame compared to the first generation iPhone (except that work gives it to me for free). That is how big the gulf was between the iPhone and what was out there. That gulf was still there when iPhone 3G and GS came out. Now Android has caught up, but that is another story.

So far Tablet Computers haven't proved themselves to the masses to be useful. Jury is out as to how useful they will turn out to be. But I remember when people didn't realize how useful cell phones were and I remember when people didn't want DVRs on their TVs (I remember trying to explain to people that having a Tivo was like someone gave you a super power ability to stop time and it only cost $20 per month, it was illogical not to spend $20 to be able to control time, especially when you consider the amount of time people spend watching TV). By the time the 3G phone came around, people "got it" about how useful it was to have the internet in your pocket (that is the iPhone's killer app and something that Blackberry still doesn't get). So the iPhone 3G sold itself. If the iPad proves as useful (I haven't bought mine yet and I'm waiting for the novelty to wear off when it comes down to glowing reviews from friends), then the Version 2 sales will be equally through the roof like iPhone 3G. The question is are these initial sales to fanboys who don't really like this device, or is it the vanguard to a new market like when DVR and cellphones started becoming common.

 

[RawBert]

To bad it's not a real tablet computer, it's a media consumtion device with a few added abilities. Until it can do true parallel processing (not half-assed multi tasking), and has a true file system, it's really not a computer. It's like saying a calculator is a computer.

Gimme a break! you just posted that to get a reaction.

Gee, first time anyone mentioned this, not. Go buy yourself a Slate or Courier. Oh, you freaking can't. What a fail of a post you troll.

LMAO

 

[gatearray]

The first couple of millions iPads are not indicative of anything (well that's not entirely true, obviously that they prove that iPad is not an utter failure). Apple has enough very enthusiastic fans to sell the 2 million units of any new gadget. The real story will start after those fans are done buying. Then we'll see how the regular public accepts the device. Remember most of these 1 million units were pre-sold (i.e. people bought the gadget without even seeing it).

That 1 million were pre-sold? And what, it took Apple a month to make enough for these pre-orders, while folks who "walked in" are SOL? That makes absolutely no logical sense if you think about it...

Nope, it is safe to say that the 300,000 sold on launch day were the people who bought "without seeing it"... Then those people went out into the world with their iPad and showed their family and friends, and then those people decided they had to to have one as well. And then these one million will expose their friends and family and the cycle will continue.

Virtually everyone who actually sees one of these things in action or better yet, uses it for 10 minutes in their own two hands, has an urge to buy one. Unless they can't afford it or harbor some irrational prejudice towards Apple or all the attention it has received, they will go purchase one themselves either right now on their lunch break or in the very near future.

This thing is just getting started, and no amount of schadenfreude from the sourpusses of the world will stop it, no offense to you personally.

 

[GamecockMac]

The first couple of millions iPads are not indicative of anything (well that's not entirely true, obviously that they prove that iPad is not an utter failure). Apple has enough very enthusiastic fans to sell the 2 million units of any new gadget. The real story will start after those fans are done buying. Then we'll see how the regular public accepts the device. Remember most of these 1 million units were pre-sold (i.e. people bought the gadget without even seeing it).

Keep chugging that haterade, pal. Too bad no one here is buying your incessant FUD spreading anymore.

 

[uraniumwilly]

Thread title idea for troll fools:

Was Trolling the iPad Sites a Waste of Time or Just an Epic FAIL?