Φυσικά, τα 15 εκατομμύρια iPad που πωλήθηκαν σε μόλις 9 μήνες (Απρίλιος – Δεκέμβριος 2010) αντιστοιχώντας σε μερίδιο αγοράς μεγαλύτερο του 90% αλλά και οι διάφοροι τίτλοι και διακρίσεις που κατέκτησε για το 2010, όπως “Εφεύρεση της χρονιάς από το TIME“, “iPad: Gadget της χρονιάς από το T3“, “Το iPad στην 2η θέση των ερωτημάτων με τη μεγαλύτερη αύξηση για το έτος 2010” δείχνουν μία διαφορετική πραγματικότητα από αυτή των αναλυτών…
Η λίστα των εκπληκτικών αυτών δηλώσεων είναι πολύ μεγάλη, όσο μεγάλη άλλωστε είναι και η λίστα των αντί-Apple αναλυτών και "ειδικών" του τεχνολογικού χώρου οι οποίοι πασχίζουν να μας πείσουν για την ανωτερότητα των ανταγωνιστικών υλοποιήσεων, παραθέτωντας σεντόνια με ξερά specs και αδιαφορώντας για το τι πραγματικά ζητάει ο χρήστης. Όσο αυτοί συνεχίζουν τις προσπάθειες τους και για το 2011 εμείς θα διαβάσουμε τα παρακάτω "μαργαριτάρια", ελπίζοντας ότι και φέτος οι "ειδικοί" θα παραμείνουν το ίδιο γλαφυροί στις δηλώσεις τους ώστε και του χρόνου τέτοια εποχή να έχουμε αρκετό υλικό..
* "The recent launch of Apple, the iPad tablet, has won the award for the second edition of Fiasco Awards delivered this Thursday in Barcelona. From the more than 7,000 people who voted via the website www.fiascoawards.com, 4,325 have considered it the fiasco of the year." Fiasco Awards, 2010 (11 Μαρτίου 2010)
* "Don’t Believe the iPad Hype. Apple has sold out pre-orders of the forthcoming device, but it could all be a marketing tactic. By not manufacturing enough iPads for the initial launch date, is this a case of Apple shooting itself in the foot?" Mike Schuster, Minyanville.com (29 Μαρτίου 2010)
* "The iPad will remain an expensive, niche device compared to all-purpose netbooks.I think that one of the iPad’s most important uses will be for reading ebooks and publications. Even so, though, when it comes to the marketplace, netbooks will sales still far outstrip those of the iPad." Preston Gralla, PC World (30 Μαρτίου 2010)
* "As far as what this means to Apple, one thing to keep in mind: Even if the iPad sells more than the iPhone did in its first year, it’s still only around 5% of the company’s revenue. So it’s a very small slice. From there, it probably doesn’t grow as large as the smartphone market. So, if you’re buying under rumors, keep perspective in mind. The iPad’s a great product, but it’s probably not a game-changer." Eric Bleeker, Analyst, Fool.com (31 Μαρίου 2010)
* "I don’t get it. It costs $500 for the basic model, when you could get a laptop with a lot more functionality for about the same price. The iPad hype machine has been in full effect this week, and I still think it’s just that—hype." Alex Cook, Frontier Outlook (3 Απριλίου 2010)
* "The first troubling sign is the fact that you can still get an iPad today. They didn’t sell out. The pure slate form factor has failed all these years because, other than for vertical applications, people want and/or need a keyboard for regular use. The fact of the matter is that a touch screen or bluetooth keyboard just doesn’t compensate.” Jonathan Yarmis, Ovum, part of Datamonitor Group (6 Απριλίου 2010)
* "Which means I end up on the iPad — and tablets more generally — where I started. Tablets will not create a new category, but will supplant (or merge with) one or more of the current substitutes: smartphones or netbooks.Here I am less optimistic about the iPhone and webOS than I am about Android. " Joel West, professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, College of Business at San José State University (30 Μαϊου 2010)
* "Not only is Apple typically lost in the enterprise, but it focuses very little of its time there. And with a new, potentially more compelling tablet coming — the Cisco Cius — the iPad’s success in the corporate world could be short-lived.” Don Reisinger, Channel Insider (5 Αυγούστου 2010)
* "Our tablet will be better than the iPad." Chang Ma, VP Marketing, LG (20 Αυγούστου 2010)
* "For those of us who live outside of Apple’s distortion field, we know that 7″ tablets will actually be a big portion of the market and we know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want a real web experience." Jim Balsillie, Research In Motion (20 Οκτωβρίου 2010)
* "There could literally be millions of first-generation iPads gathering dust in people’s home offices already. This product is the tech industry’s biggest MacGuffin yet." Paul Thurrott, Windows IT Pro (23 Οκτωβρίου 2010)
* "Steve Jobs never says anything without thinking through it carefully. But I think in this case he may be a little afraid of this category. And he’s finding whatever he can to attack because he sees [seven-inch tablets] as a challenge to the dominance of the iPad." Adam Hanin, VP Marketing, Viewsonic (1 Νοεμβρίου 2010)
* "We hope our tablet PCs can reach a global market share of 10-20% initially, and become the market leader in two to three years." Gianfranco Lanci, CEO/President, Acer (26 Νοεμβρίου 2010)
* "I can’t imagine anyone under the age of 30 wanting an iPad. A PS3, Wii, GameBoy, or even a useful laptop maybe, but an iPad? Furthermore, I do not recall ever seeing anyone under 30 actually using an iPad." John C. Dvorak, PC Mag (13 Δεκεμβρίου 2010)
[best quotes from asymco]
