i really want to know what category of covetous iPad fanboy i fall into. the only reason i didn't preorder is because i want the 3G version. cheers :grin:
To some degree Microsoft has done the opposite by building negative equity in some users. Apple's brand equity, to me, is as more a function of user experience than it is sheer marketing. In my eyes, Microsoft suffers for that exact reason, user experience. It's not just about cool factor. My mother-in-law had a windows PC for years and hated using her computer. I built her a PC and loaded with Ubuntu and she rode that out for 5 years, happy as a clam. This past February, I upgraded her to an iMac and she has never been happier with a machine before. She constantly raves about how easy it is to use and how things just work. She completely prefers the user experience Apple provides. So much so, that she picked up an iPad yesterday. Why? She wanted a net book or ereader for around the house use and to take on the job and with the iPad she feels she gets the best of both with Apple experience and reliability integrated with her desktop usage. Now her sister is all about marketing and showing off her latest gadget. But she tends toward Sony products.
Awesome, now we're recycling arguments from 2004. Next you'll be telling me that transparent-cased one-button mice are superior input devices. (the funny thing is that if I bought a Netbook I'd probably be loading Linux on it anyway).
Double post. An early beef is the lack of features in the early software. The iWork programs miss small features of great utility, things like header and footer management and auto generating tables of contents. I get the sense that Apple doesn't want to make this a full fledged laptop replacement, but at least, for me this thing can handle it. Now, with respect to reading: I downloaded a bunch of Project Guttenberg texts and really the glossy screen can be a pain to read in direct sunlight. But otherwise, i enjoy the reading aspects. For video: I think the ABC app is great, though they are cleaning out bugs right now. Many apps are buggy since most developers had no access to hardware unti Saturday. Overall, the video experience has been fantastic. The integrated speaker is loud and clear. The images crisp and vibrant. And the experience, the built in widgets provided by iPhone OS, is slick, fast, and smooth.
JeopardE, the iPad isn't meant to replace a notebook...they have different uses. For one, a notebook sucks as an e-reader. So asking why you'd buy an iPad if you can get a cheap notebook makes no sense. Its like me asking why I would buy a Benz if I can get a $18,000 boat.
Then what are you argueing!!! You want to know why people want a Ipod, Ipad, Macbook instead of a zune/sandisk, slate (jury is still out), Asus cheap ass netbook? Because It's easier to use and the apps are great. At least I can't stay angry at you since you uses Linux. Ubuntu?
JeopardE, I was referring to the device REEB posted, not the Asus. If you honestly don't understand why someone would buy a $500 iPad instead of a $350 netbook, then simply put, you're not the target market (you have no need for a tablet device, or you don't like Apple products/service). Either way, I wouldn't worry yourself with it.
The Asus I posted is a GREAT netbook, with outstanding features and great build quality (and very high customer satisfaction ratings). You slight it because it isn't expensive like an iPad, but the reality is that it is a great device and great value for the money. It's not a "cheap a**" device. I get the iPod. It's got iTunes. I get the iPhone. It runs all these great apps you can find in the app store and it fits in your pocket. The iPad concept is what I don't get. Again: why should I spend a whopping $500 on a device that has limited portability -- I can't carry it everywhere like I can do with a smartphone, and yet does not offer me any more functionality than my smartphone does, other than a nice big screen and a big battery? It doesn't have any kind of videoconferencing ability. It can't do Flash. It can't multitask. I can't use it to do any kind of typing beyond a paragraph or two without getting uncomfortable. Did I mention it can't multitask? $320 gets me a device that has none of these limitations and gives me more. The Apple experience is great, I agree. I just don't get the value proposition at all. At $200 or $250, this might be worth it. At $500? I don't get it. @Donny -- oh, never mind.
I think this is the difference. Someone will define functionally better as 'product 1 can do A, B, & C, product 2 can only do A & B'. But if I evaluate it, I might say 'product 1 only does A & B...but I like how it does it better than product 2 and A & B are more important to me anyways'. In other words, I'll take the steak knife over the Swiss Army knife for dinner. And some think Apple is just an over priced steak knife on a shelf full of other steak knives, and that's reasonable too. We all get a different amount of utility out of our experiences.
I think the Kindle is too expensive myself, but at least it does offer something other devices don't: e-Ink. (That I believe is the #1 reason people buy it).
you You don't get why a company can sell its product for more than its perceived value? I think it's simple business economics.
While I do think this is true to a large degree and it's where product differentiation caters to consumers' subjective requirements, there are certain features (currently) omitted from the iPad that are objectively confusing when you consider how the device is being marketed.
I think OS 4 will allow multitasking but not on a grand level like real laptops and computers. This of course will continue to be a divide with the people that lamented the iPhone/ipad for not having the ability to multitask ("see y'all still don't have true multitasking! Android FTMFW!") and the people that wants to believe that it's real multitasking ("yay! Now we get to have TWO apps run at once! Life is grand!!!")
Yes, I know what price differentiation and skimming are. I've done business school. What I don't get is the value proposition to me as a consumer: I do not understand why an iPad should be worth $500 of my hard-earned money. I actually do think that despite its shortcomings, the iPad is a well-executed product that does what it does really well. But it doesn't offer me any kind of value proposition over other available personal computing devices that makes me think, "Wow, that's cool. I should consider spending a $200 extra to get this." In fact, it really doesn't offer anything new other than being a big slate device with a nice battery. And that's the problem. It's a great device, but why is it worth the premium? The iPod gave us iTunes and 99 cent songs. The iPhone gave us apps. The Kindle introduced instant books and e-Ink. What is the iPad introducing? $18/mo WSJ subscriptions?
