If Apple sucks so much, how are they so successful?

[Covart]

Would 30% be respectable? Android has that now: Android now at 30% of tablet market - Phone Arena

That's non-iPad tablets manufactured, not atually in customer hands, nor returns taken into account (which are likely many), and that is why you rarely, if ever, see anyone with a non-iPad. Of course, you might see a Samsung 10.1 and think it is an iPad. This is also why Motorola has cut production of it's wifi version of the Xoom, and nearly every company is cutting production of their tablets. They simply don't sell.

What we do know, and reported from Apple, is that 9+ million iPads made it into customer hands for the quarter. What we don't know are return rates for those iPads.

 

[LoyalServant]

I have observed more galaxy tabs than iPads in my town.
Mostly with college students.
This is not to say they are more popular, perhaps they stand out more? I don't know.

*waits for rabid apple fanboy to pounce*

 

[lunatic59]

People see what they want to see.

If you are in an airport and there are three iPads, two Kindles, a Galaxy Tab, a Xoom and a Barnes & Noble Nook Color, Apple fans will say iPads are everywhere. Android fans will say Android outnumbered the iPad. Amazon fans will say the Kindle outsells the Nook 2 to one and Nook fans will claim Kindle not to be a "real" tablet.

When Apple announced the first million iPad sales, detractors cried foul because it wasn't units sold, per se, but shipped from the manufacturer. When Microsoft announce phenomenal adoption rates for Windows 7, detractors cried foul because it included number of licences bundled with new PC's not units actually sold. Claiming that the 30% figure for Android tablet market share is somehow a misrepresentation is all just part of the fanboy game.

Anecdotal information isn't proof of anything. There are too many factors that can influence data. That said, in the last three months, at least in the Mid Atlantic region of the U.S., every electronics store and office store I have stopped in had Android tablet displays in one form or another. And, there are always people at the displays trying them out.

 

[JunBringer]

Just to comment on the thread title:

I feel like it has to do with making a very dumbed down experience. Simplicity is what sells. A lot of people are either not computer savy or are just too lazy to learn how to use a different mobile OS. Apple capitalizes on this bigtime. Which is funny considering how many super nerds are into Apple products in addition to casual folk.

 

[WBMc36]

Apple is successful because people want to pay for the name. You can easily build a computer that would trump any of the newest macbooks, or all in ones for hundreds of dollars less with a lot more to offer, including choice of OS, and expansion options for the future. As far as phones go you can get a phone with better specs all around minus screen resolution, for a lot less. People would rather buy a product as a status symbol, than maybe learn something about competitors products and go with the more advanced device/computer.
The iphone is for people who think they have the best thing and show it off to everyone. When in reality their best thing just happens to be the most expensive, not actually technologically advanced at all.

 

[JunBringer]

Very true. It's sad considering it's so easy to research on the internet about basically anything. I've become the smartphone guru for my friends and family because I do lots of research on it.

Dad is going to be upgrading from his Droid 1 soon, and he's complaining cause he can't get something awesome for free. Lol silly old people.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Apple is successful because dumb people want to pay for the name. You can easily build a computer that would trump any of the newest macbooks, or all in ones for hundreds of dollars less with a lot more to offer, including choice of OS, and expansion options for the future. As far as phones go you can get a phone with better specs all around minus screen resolution, for a lot less. People are stupid and would rather buy a product as a status symbol, than maybe learn something about competitors products and go with the more advanced device/computer.
The iphone is for people who think like a middle school child. They want to think they have the best thing and show it off to everyone. When in reality their best thing just happens to be the most expensive, not actually technologically advanced at all.

That's a ridiculous oversimplification. I work with a guy who is a very skilled computer tech. His skills are far above mine. He wants an iPhone. I mentioned that he could get an Android phone, spend some time with it and get a far better experience than you can get with an iPhone. He didn't care. He said he screws with computer stuff all day long and doesn't want to screw with technology on his off time. He just wants something to work. That's the appeal of the iPhone. It's soemthing that just works. Is it limited? Yes. Can you do more with an Android? Yes. Do people want something that just works though? Yes.

 

[A.Nonymous]

That's actually really shocking to me. I've never seen another person use one in public before. I definitely have seen a lot of iPads around. What I had in mind though were the dedicated Honeycomb tablets like XOOM, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and so forth and not Android OS put onto a tablet computer. I've seen a good amount of marketing thanks to Verizon but other than that... none in public... which would explain the <1% that Honeycomb tablets have.

Maybe I'll be seeing Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 ones since they're equally priced and considered to be the top or one of the very best Honeycomb tablets out right now. I had one for a while but due to certain issues... I returned it for an iPad 2.

I spent the past weekend travelling. I spent many hours in airports and saw many iPads. I think I might have seen one Android tablet. It looked to be a 7 inch version, but I couldn't get the make from where I was. There's a theory going around that the general public doesn't want tablets at all, they just want iPads.

 

[lordofthereef]

People are grabbing ipads for games (at least those that travel often). It IS a better gaming tablet (if for no other reason, the sheer number of games available). On an iPad I can read a book, surf the web, or play street fighter if I so choose. If I traveled often, I would be looking into an iPad as well.

 

[lordofthereef]

That's a ridiculous oversimplification. I work with a guy who is a very skilled computer tech. His skills are far above mine. He wants an iPhone. I mentioned that he could get an Android phone, spend some time with it and get a far better experience than you can get with an iPhone. He didn't care. He said he screws with computer stuff all day long and doesn't want to screw with technology on his off time. He just wants something to work. That's the appeal of the iPhone. It's soemthing that just works. Is it limited? Yes. Can you do more with an Android? Yes. Do people want something that just works though? Yes.

I am not sure I follow. What doesn't "just work" on an android? out of the box you get email sync, market, and internet. That's basically what the iPhone has, except they require you to sync all media rather than drag + drop it. IMO the difference with Android is that you CAN tweak, not that you HAVE to.

 

[Frisco]

I think it's just great marketing and design.

Thinking back to the iMac, they were a concise, candy-like computer in a world of beige. They sold like hotcakes, and we even began to see them take over in schools (in the U.S.) and libraries, etc.

They died off, but that marketing gimmick of "concise," for want of a better word (perhaps "uniform" fits, as well), is here again with the (first) iPod, iPhone and now iPad.

Marketing of that little "i" is one clever schema in a world of everything else.

 

[LoyalServant]

Marketing of that little "i" is one clever schema in a world of everything else.

There were quite a few companies doing it long before Apple.

 

[Frisco]

There were quite a few companies doing it long before Apple.

You may have misunderstood the portion of my post you quoted.

iThis, iThat is Apple's exclusive marketing gimmick. That's what is contributing largely to their success (besides making fine, top of the line, cool looking-all alike products).

 

[lunatic59]

You may have misunderstood the portion of my post you quoted.

iThis, iThat is Apple's marketing. That's what is contributing largely to their success (besides making fine, top of the line products).

I think LoyalServant's point was that the little letter in front of a common word or name had already been done as a marketing tool prior to Apple's adopting the "i". During the dot-com boom, it was "e" everything and Apple had toyed with the idea of eMac, but it was too close to emacs, the unix/linux command line text editor. The first "i" device was the iMac introduced in 1998 followed by the iBook in '99. The original blue and white iMac bubble was very successful but the iBook, not so much. In any case, at that point the "i" names were used for consumer level products while the commercial and professional grades retained their original names.

The perfect example is iOS, a name Cicso Systems has been using for their switch/router operating systems since the early '90s and has since licensed to Apple so they can continue their recognized "i" naming convention.

 

[lordofthereef]

And I think Frisco's point was that he never made claims that Apple started the tred, just that it is working for them.

 

[Vihzel]

I spent the past weekend travelling. I spent many hours in airports and saw many iPads. I think I might have seen one Android tablet. It looked to be a 7 inch version, but I couldn't get the make from where I was. There's a theory going around that the general public doesn't want tablets at all, they just want iPads.

When I was flying to NYC from Atlanta a few weeks back, there were a lot of businessmen on my trip and a lot of them were using iPads as well. It's always iPad here, iPad there... Apple definitely doesn't need to do really any marketing with the iPad because it'll simply sell itself. It reminds me of how everyone wanted Nintendo this, Nintendo that. Everything was Nintendo before the PS came along.

It was just surprising to see so many people use it in areas where I didn't expect to see so many people use them. My real estate broker told me that a lot of her colleagues in her branch office use them.

 

[lunatic59]

And I think Frisco's point was that he never made claims that Apple started the tred, just that it is working for them.

Okay, I may be a little overly literal but what was said exactly was:

Frisco: Marketing of that little "i" is one clever schema in a world of everything else.


LoyalServant: There were quite a few companies doing it long before Apple.


Frisco: "You may have misunderstood the portion of my post you quoted.

iThis, iThat is Apple's exclusive marketing gimmick."

Up until the word "exclusive" was used, everything was perfectly accurate. The "i" names are relatively clever and VERY successful for Apple, but hardly exclusive. Another example in the "i" marketing genre would be imax theaters ... the first film was made in 1967 and first film using the imax name was shown in 1970. Just making sure we all don't end up like Napoleon.*

* "Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it."
&#8212;George Santayana

 

[Frisco]

lol .. Little "i" big next letter.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Up until the word "exclusive" was used, everything was perfectly accurate. The "i" names are relatively clever and VERY successful for Apple, but hardly exclusive. Another example in the "i" marketing genre would be imax theaters ... the first film was made in 1967 and first film using the imax name was shown in 1970. Just making sure we all don't end up like Napoleon.*

As I recall, it has always been IMAX, not iMax.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Apple is successful because they offer truly great products. They have legions of fans and the ability to convince Joe Average that Apple is better. Apple is extremely well managed, they employ a killer design and engineering staff, they exert careful control over their market, and they have the ability to come up with world-beating products.

Apple fanboys know this but Apple's billions in profit do not come from fanboys; the general public fills their coffers.

Apple is a shining example of an American corporation that gets it. They understand their markets and they create demand, they supply products to meet this demand, and a way to effortlessly sell digital media.

It is too bad that so many people post how much they think Apple sucks without knowing anything past a few quick Google searches. Apple does not sell products that suck. they are not the most costly products out there, either.

Apple is a great company offering great products, get over it.

 

[NightAngel79]

Removed a couple posts and edited TONS more.

Guess what... I hate apple, FOR MY OWN REASONS. Calling someone who uses an iphone stupid/ignorant/etc will NOT be tolerated as according to the Site Rules/Guidelines.

Attack issues, not each other. Consider this the last warning before thread closed and infractions are handed out.

I'll remind everyone to keep that in mind moving forward

NightAngel79

 

[A.Nonymous]

When I was flying to NYC from Atlanta a few weeks back, there were a lot of businessmen on my trip and a lot of them were using iPads as well. It's always iPad here, iPad there... Apple definitely doesn't need to do really any marketing with the iPad because it'll simply sell itself. It reminds me of how everyone wanted Nintendo this, Nintendo that. Everything was Nintendo before the PS came along.

It was just surprising to see so many people use it in areas where I didn't expect to see so many people use them. My real estate broker told me that a lot of her colleagues in her branch office use them.

I frequently have customers tell me they want to use iPads in their businesses. When I ask what they plan to use them for they rarely have any ideas. They just say they want to use an iPad and that they would like me to figure out how they can use one in their business. I usually can't come up with anything at all since if you have a small laptop, an iPad doesn't offer much advantage at all. For a doctor needing to type up patient notes, an iPad (or any other tablet for that matter) is useless just because it doesn't have a physical keyboard. Apple has somehow sold people on this idea that everyone "needs" an iPad even if there is little or no practical use for one in that particular person's life.

 

[Stuntman]

That's non-iPad tablets manufactured, not atually in customer hands, nor returns taken into account (which are likely many), and that is why you rarely, if ever, see anyone with a non-iPad.

I reread that article a few times to see if I misinterpreted it. As far as I know, that 30% is not just non-iPad tablets. Nothing in that article indicates what you said. I'd like to know how you interpret that as 30% of non-iPad tablets.

Of course, you might see a Samsung 10.1 and think it is an iPad. This is also why Motorola has cut production of it's wifi version of the Xoom, and nearly every company is cutting production of their tablets. They simply don't sell.

My small sample size (which doesn't mean a whole lot) includes people with Android tablets. I'm pretty sure I can tell an whether a tablet is an Android one or iOS by looking at the screen.

What we do know, and reported from Apple, is that 9+ million iPads made it into customer hands for the quarter. What we don't know are return rates for those iPads.

I'm well aware that iPads sell well. That doesn't show that Androids aren't selling. I'm still surprised at the 30% number. The article doesn't go into details on exactly how they are getting that number. I certainly don't have the info to confirm or disprove those numbers. I'm actually waiting to see if any other source can confirm the article I linked.

 

[lordofthereef]

I'm well aware that iPads sell well. That doesn't show that Androids aren't selling. I'm still surprised at the 30% number. The article doesn't go into details on exactly how they are getting that number. I certainly don't have the info to confirm or disprove those numbers. I'm actually waiting to see if any other source can confirm the article I linked.

This obviously isn't anywhere near indicative of worldwide numbers, but I kow Best Buys in our region (Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri) sell something like 3 iPads for every Android tablet. I only know this because my Fiance is in management at the local BB.

 

[fourgee]

It