The final time I took a snapshot from the iPad demise view it was March 9th, 2010. Practically a year in the past. The now-classic quotes are reproduced here. Last Might I wrote:
Apple retains a good lid on new items to ensure that rivals do not get a head-start on copying, but in the situation of your iPad, advance information wouldn't have had any influence. Competitors look on the iPad and see practically nothing. They’ll only react once the marketplace explodes plus they begin to experience belated pain.
I considered that would be that. Since the accomplishment with the merchandise would become self-evident, predictions of imminent demise would path off. The ache of reveal loss would prompt a wave of challenger copycats. Imitation will be the the most effective type of flattery.
But no.
Critics were not silenced. One particular year, fifteen million models, and $9.two billion later I went again to the supply of the quotes and found the following (revealed quotes dated right after March 9th 2010). (Cited from aaplinvestors.web with some editing for brevity and relevance):
“Problematically, the Android competitors is just as costly since the iPad lineup, so Apple clearly feels totally free to carry on gouging shoppers on iPad pricing.” Paul Thurrott, Windows IT Pro, three March 2011 “Apple’s iPad 2 might be ‘magical’ however it nonetheless should’ve been much better … It needs more G’s. It’s still just a toy” Zach Epstein, Boy Genius two March 2011 “11 reasons NOT to buy an iPad two … Reason 5: Competitors David Gewirtz, ZDNet, 23 February 2011 “Given what I’ve seen of Honeycomb and Motorola’s excellent tablet, Cupertino will have some serious catching up to do with their iPad two.” J.P. Mangalindan, Fortune, 4 February 2011 “We very carefully chose our tablet processor, the Nvidia Tegra two, and to really compete it will take [Apple] some time. You know, [Nvidia] is well known for graphics.” Jonney Shih, Asustek Computer, 3 February 2011 “If you were to ask me in two years time, will Apple have less than 50 percent of your global tablet marketplace, I think that’s a certainty. Neil Mawston, Strategy Analytics, 31 January 2011 “We have an extreme focus on the innovation of LePad and LePhone because these merchandise will dominate the future market. Though Apple is winning a significant reveal inside the Chinese marketplace, it has not gained a clearly leading position yet. Our advantage is we know this marketplace better.” Liu Chuanzhi, Lenovo, 27 January 2011 “The iPad may possibly still be the lone leader, but with 100+ rivals on the way, it won’t likely keep its majority market place share unless the pending next generation iPad really addresses all the complaints about the current version,
Office 2007 Enterprise Key, like a missing camera and a lack of a USB port, and the company has to add those features without a major price increase – a tall order, to be sure.” James Brumley, Investopedia, 13 January 2011 “Hands-on PlayBook demonstrations at CES showed its differentiation in multitasking and performance, which may be difficult for Apple/Android to rival.” Mike Abramsky, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst, 11 January 2011 “Apple Inc.’s popular iPad is getting its strongest opposition thus far as consumer-electronics manufacturers unveil tablet computers with bigger screens, front-facing cameras for video chatting and more.” Rachel Metz, AP Technology Writer, 3 January 2011 Apple could be simply trying to get in ahead of Research in Motion’s aggressively priced PlayBook or combat the early success of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.” Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Street, 29 December 2010 4. Opponents are coming. Brett Arends, Wall Street Journal, 22 December 2010 Reason 6: WiFi is nonetheless unreliable David Gewirtz, ZDNet, 16 December 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 December 2010 “We hope our tablet PCs can reach a global industry share of 10-20% initially, and become the marketplace leader in two to three years.” Gianfranco Lanci, CEO and President,
Office 2007 Ultimate Key, Acer, 26 November 2010 “It’s a nice-to-have product, for those of us who really do not have a budget,
Windows 7 Professional, but is it a must-have product? I really don't think so.” Ashok Kumar,
Cheap Office 2007, Analyst, Rodman & Renshaw LLC, 12 November 2010 “Steve Jobs never says anything without thinking through it carefully. But I think in this circumstance 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 for the dominance of your iPad.” Adam Hanin, VP Marketing, Viewsonic, 1 November 2010 “There could literally be millions of first-generation iPads gathering dust in people’s home offices already. This products is the tech industry’s biggest MacGuffin yet.” Paul Thurrott, Windows IT Pro, 23 October 2010 “I cannot see a need for the thing.”John Dvorak, MarketWatch,
Office 2010 Standard Key, 22 October 2010 ”For those of us who live outside of Apple’s distortion field, we know that 7″ tablets will actually be a big portion from the marketplace and we know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want a real web experience.” Jim Balsillie, Research In Motion, 20 October 2010 “iPhone and iPad have been amazing products that have opened new markets. But I do not think they will own either market in a few years. Android will.” Fred Wilson, AVC.com, 18 October 2010 “The constant search for an ‘iPad killer’ and the sheer multitude of tablet computers launching in the next 18 months should make Apple aware that its opposition is fierce and will only become tougher.” Barbara E. Hernandez, PCWorld, 5 October 2010 “HP’s New Tablet Could Be an iPad Spoiler HP’s decision to bundle a tablet computer with its new $399 printer could make trouble for competitors.” Cliff Edwards and Aaron Ricadela, Bloomberg Businessweek, 23 September 2010 “Our tablet will be better than the iPad.” Chang Ma, VP Marketing, LG, 20 August 2010 “Not only is Apple typically lost from 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 achievement in the corporate world could be short-lived. Here’s why:… 10 The power of Windows” Don Reisinger, Channel Insider, 5 August 2010 “I really do not think there is one size that fits all…I’ve been to too many meetings with journalists who spent the first 10 minutes of your meeting setting up iPad to search like a laptop.” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft, 29 July 2010 “ [...] It nonetheless isn’t the device that I’d take to a meeting because it has no input.” Bill Gates, Microsoft, two June 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 from 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 May possibly 2010 “The iPad is useless. Beautiful, but useless. The iPad is too heavy. It’s awkward to hold and view in public. It’s fragile. It requires high-priced accessories to protect it and extract more functionality. ”Josh Belzman, MSNBC.com, 20 Might 2010 “Mum, the iPad is not ‘amazing.’ It’s just marketed very well, both by Apple and its culpable partners in mainstream media. ” Paul Thurrott (in response to comment by Mum), Paul Thurrott’s Super Site for Windows, 26 April 2010 “In short, I do not get the ‘magical and revolutionary’ vibe that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs touted with the iPad’s January unveiling.” Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post, nine April 2010 “The first troubling sign is the fact that you can nevertheless get an iPad today. They didn’t sell out. The pure slate type factor has failed all these years because, other than for vertical applications, people want and/or need a keyboard for regular use. The fact from the matter is that a touch screen or bluetooth keyboard just doesn’t compensate.” Jonathan Yarmis, Ovum, part of Datamonitor Group, 6 April 2010 “I do not 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, three April 2010 “As far as what this means to Apple, a single thing to keep in mind: Even if the iPad sells more than the iPhone did in its first yr, it’s nonetheless only around 5% with the company’s revenue. So it’s a very small slice. From there, it probably doesn’t grow as large because the smartphone market. So, if you’re buying under rumors, keep perspective in mind. The iPad’s a great item, but it’s probably not a game-changer.” Eric Bleeker, Analyst, Fool.com, 31 March 2010 “The iPad will remain an expensive, niche device compared to all-purpose netbooks.I think that one particular with the iPad’s most important uses will be for reading ebooks and publications. Even so, though, when it comes for the marketplace, netbooks will sales still far outstrip those of the iPad.” Preston Gralla, PC World, 30 March 2010 “Don’t Believe the iPad Hype. Apple has sold out pre-orders of the forthcoming device, nevertheless it could all be a marketing tactic. By not manufacturing enough iPads for the initial launch date, is this a circumstance of Apple shooting itself inside the foot?” Mike Schuster, Minyanville.com, 29 March 2010 “‘iPad Killer’ Might be Palm’s Previous Hope”Tom Bradley, PC World, 20 March 2010 “Even if your company has relented and now supports the iPhone, as growing numbers of businesses do (70% of the Fortune 100 are at least testing it, says Apple) you’ll want to say “No” to the iPad and other tablets. Here’s why: 8. Speaking of money, there is no money within the company budget to pay for iPads. nine. Not supporting iPad will be the enterprise norm. Robert McGarvey, CIO Update, 16 March 2010 “This morning, the fool’s parade gets started. Apple is taking online “pre-orders” for its iPad tablet, which is supposed to begin shipping on April three. Buying a new kind of products sight unseen is foolish. Especially given how mysterious Apple has been on what the iPad can do and what restrictions on capabilities and media access it will place on users and content providers.” Galen Gruman, InfoWorld, 12 March 2010 “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 your yr. Fiasco Awards, 2010, 11 March 2010 “I think I’ve mentioned this once or twice before, however it bears repeating until it sinks in: the Apple iPad is not unique, nor necessarily the most effective of breed inside the media tablet sector it is spearheading. And it ain’t gonna help Apple shareholders any.’” Anders Bylund (TMF Zahrim), 11 March 2010
From this critical review, it looks like 2011 will indeed be the yr from the iPad 2.