Saturday, March 6, 2010

iPad Craze: Just Warming Up

Once Apple announced iPad pre-order on March 12 and availability on April 2nd, the stock took off.  I don't understand it.  It's been known for about a month already that the Wi-Fi only iPad will be available at the end of March, and the 3G version a month after that.  So, that alone doesn't explain why the stock price was propelled to an all-time high.

I've got a theory.  There is suddenly a realization that the iPad is something special.  In the last few days, there have been a lot of talk about iPad spawning a whole new segment of mobile computing.  One or two posts even went as far as to suggest that the iPad will change the PC market for ever.

One school even made available to its students the option of getting and iPad or a Macbook.  iPad or Macbook?  Wow, and the iPad isn't even out yet.

Furthermore, a survey released suggests that there is a lot of pinned up demand for the iPad in the ebook market.  Changewave's survey suggests the iPad will likely outsell the Kindle even though it is more expensive but definitely not as revolutionary as the iPad in terms of technology, OS, and app store contents.  Over the next 90 days, 40% of respondents will buy an iPad while 28% continues to look at the Kindle.

I think that's a good sign in pointing to a potential success of iPad.  Fine, what I'm about to say may be taken as that of an Apple mobile fan but it's safe to say that the iPad will sit comfortable at the top of Amazon's best seller list, outselling the Kindle (and yet, the Kindle will magically continue to occupy the position as the single best seller at Amazon).

What's more, the same survey indicated that more than 50% of those who own an ereader will switch to an iPad or aren't so sure they made the right bet in an ereader-only device.

Plus, we're still one month away from the general public getting their hands on the iPad.  Apple's publicity machine will go into hyper-gear starting next week, drumming up a media frenzy not seen since the original iPhone's debut.

I'm almost positive we'll see a new media event to talk about the iPad as well as new features on the next iPhone OS.  And this will escalate interest in the iPad even more.

If a similar survey is conducted two or three weeks from now, we will likely see greater interest in the iPad.  I would also suggest another survey be taken after the iPad's release and see if this has also created another halo effect for other Apple products.

There was a lull the last few weeks of Apple rumors and updates.  That just ended with today's iPad pre-order news and a new party is just about to get started next week.  And we're all invited.

More at Appleinsider.

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