It’s April 3rd 2010 and that can only mean one thing for Apple fans. It’s iPad day.
Well, in the US at least. Those lucky Americans are getting their mitts on the iPad today while the UK – and the rest of the world – is mocked with a release date of “late April”.
ARGH!!!! Just release it in the UK already!
Anyway, I’m not a bitter person, so moving on. Will the iPad be as big of a hit as the iPhone? Well, the queues won’t be as big, that’s for sure. Apple has the ability to draw up huge amounts of interest by doing pretty much nothing and it’s fairly common for customers to queue for hours or even days to get the newest Apple products.
Queues at the 5th Av. store, New York. 15 HOURS before sales begin
Wasn’t there a chap who queued for a week for the iPhone 3G? Or did I just dream that one?
But with the iPad it seems that many of the hardcore fanboys have ordered online, letting the UPS man do the hard work. So if the majority are doing this then the queues will be smaller and not feature on TV news as they have done in previous years. This will at least make the iPad seem less popular than the iPhone, but then it’s already had its fair share of the limelight in the last few days, appearing on American TV more times than I care to list here.
Some analysts have predicted sales of 8-10 million by the end of the year. This is daft. The iPhone sold so incredibly well because it’s a phone, and we all need a phone. The iPad is more of a luxury device that nobody ‘needs’ so buying one is perhaps a tougher decision to make than the purchase of a new phone.
Whatever, I predict Apple to shift in the region of 3 to 4 million units by the end of the year, with an obvious spike around Christmas time. Remember there will be a new iPhone in June/July – widely predicted to be called the iPhone HD – so for many the choice between iPhone and iPad will be a tough one.
iPhone HD mock-up. Ignore the screen. I'd buy this
I’d love an iPad when they launch in the UK, but my iPhone contract ends in June, perfect timing for a new iPhone, and I can’t help but wonder how similar the phone and pad will be, assuming they wil both run the iPhone 4.0 operating system, rumoured to have multi-tasking.
Any comments from you lucky Americans would be very welcome. Enjoy your iPads.
Alistair
Of course buying a phone is more of a commitment and also people have to wait out existing contracts before they can get a new one a lot of the time.
So it’s hard to say!
And certainly I’ll be telling everyone who is “looking for a 400-500 dollar netbook” to consider the iPad.
I agree, a netbook in that price band has to be compared to the iPad. Apple aren’t calling it a laptop or netbook but it clearly is and I think with iWork a lot of people will be buying them for basic computer use.
Alistair
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