Apple's iPad has had tremendous success among Apple enthusiasts and early adopters, but many consumers beyond that seem to be waiting to see what all the fuss is about.
According to a survey of 1,600 consumers (500 of whom were already iPad owners), YouGov.com found only 7% said they had an interest in purchasing an iPad. A similar percentage said they had an interest in buying a tablet built on Google's Android operating system.
"A lot of the people who have bought [the iPad] are tech enthusiasts and Apple loyalists," Katy Mogal, senior vice president of YouGov tells Marketing Daily. "There's definitely room for someone to come in if they offer something different."
Of those who have already purchased an iPad, 90% already own one Apple product and more than half of them own two, according to the survey. And while those owners are mostly satisfied with their purchases, they aren't really generating any more buzz than for other products; 80% are talking about the products with their peers, and 69% say they would recommend one to a friend.
Both of those percentages are about on par with Android-powered devices and lagging behind the Kindle and the iPhone 3GS.
That lack of buzz may be keeping non-owners from pulling the trigger on a purchase. According to the survey, 41% of non-iPad owners said their biggest barrier to purchase was not knowing what they would use it for. Eighteen percent said they were waiting to see what other brands came out before buying it.
Those who own the device are generally using it for content consumption. According to the survey, 70% of owners are using it to read e-Books, while two-thirds are using it to surf the Web and about 40% are using it to watch television and movies. Only 18% are using the tablet for business applications.
"It's still a niche product; it's constrained to being a media consumption device," Mogal says. "If it can become more of a productivity device, it can really threaten netbooks -- and to some extent, notebooks."
COMMENTARY: I have always contended since the Apple iPad was released three months ago, that the iPad was a "nice to have" type of product. I assumed that hardcore Apple evangelists would be the first adopters, and this has proven to be the case.
In spite of the recent announcement that Apple has sold 3 million iPads in the first 80 days, which is quite an impressive number, you have to wonder if Apple will be able to sustain those kind of numbers over the balance of the year. Not very likely, because this would forecast out to something like 12 million units by the end of 2010.
Steve Jobs originally said that he thought he could sell 10 million iPads, but many analysts scoffed at that prediction. The adoption issue from non-Apple computer and smartphone users is still very strong. Many are wondering what they would use the product for?
The marketing buzz has definitely waned since the iPad was first introduced. YouGov.com's survey bears this out with only 7% of the individuals being polled saying they were interested in buying a iPad. To date, I have seen only three iPads, and this leaves me wondering who owns one, and why haven't I seen more of them if they are such a hot product.
I think there are a lot of other tablet computer choices, expecially from HP, Sony, Dell, Amazon (coming soon) and others that are based o the Windows 7 Mobile operating system or Android OS from Google. Switching costs are also high, since users want to use an iPad as a productivity tool using Windows-based software products, something you cannot do. All software apps for the iPad are designed around the iPhone touchscreen OS. Windows users are not going to be easy to convert unless switching costs are very low.
Having said this, Steve Jobs is still the innovative product picker and visionary, and Apple has some of the best marketing minds around. However, Apple needs to keep the product hype and buzz high, spend more on marketing, and making improvements in the product that makes migration from Windows to Apple OS easier and less costly.
Courtesy of an article dated June 29, 2010 appearing in MediaPost Publications Marketing Daily
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