MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - An editorial on iPad sales and competition

GlennD · 08-18-2011, 12:24 PM

I see the iPad as being somewhat similar to the Nintendo Wii. When the Wii was released all of the hard-core gamers and gaming magazines said it would fail because it wasn't HD and was a lower powered system than the XBox 360 and PS3. But, it was so accessible that it sold like gangbusters. Grandparents who would look at an XBox controller and not know which way to hold it were able to play Wii games with the grandkids.

The iPad is similar (although it's not lacking in power compared with other tablets). It's very accessible to non-techs, the App Store is a very consistent experience (despite all of the complaints about Apple controlling everything) and it "just works". More advanced users can jailbreak if they want to, but for Average Joe User it's fine the way it is.

I do wonder about some of the sales estimates for Android tablets. I have yet to see one "in the wild". At church I'll see 8 or 10 people pull out iPads during Sunday School, because they have ecopies of scriptures - but there's not a single Android device in the room. Not a scientific measure of sales by any means, and highly localized - but it makes me wonder who is buying them.

08-18-2011, 12:24 PM	#90
GlennD Wizard Posts: 2,119 Karma: 17500000 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Pacific NW Device: sony PRS350, iPhone, iPad	I see the iPad as being somewhat similar to the Nintendo Wii. When the Wii was released all of the hard-core gamers and gaming magazines said it would fail because it wasn't HD and was a lower powered system than the XBox 360 and PS3. But, it was so accessible that it sold like gangbusters. Grandparents who would look at an XBox controller and not know which way to hold it were able to play Wii games with the grandkids. The iPad is similar (although it's not lacking in power compared with other tablets). It's very accessible to non-techs, the App Store is a very consistent experience (despite all of the complaints about Apple controlling everything) and it "just works". More advanced users can jailbreak if they want to, but for Average Joe User it's fine the way it is. I do wonder about some of the sales estimates for Android tablets. I have yet to see one "in the wild". At church I'll see 8 or 10 people pull out iPads during Sunday School, because they have ecopies of scriptures - but there's not a single Android device in the room. Not a scientific measure of sales by any means, and highly localized - but it makes me wonder who is buying them.