the iPad

an “impact of new media” case study

“It was hyped and ripped before it even had a
name, and after it was announced, it was
both praised and panned. Apple’s iPad has
been the subject of debates about the future
of technology and media, and massive
speculation about whether people will really
want to buy and use it.”
“It’s a product in a category
—tablet computers—that
has been a flop despite
nearly a decade of hype.”
“Anyone who believes this
thing is a game changer is a
tool.” Paul Thurrott, winsupersite.com
first, some numbers
 h Go o gle
yo u s arc
e
whe n rns
d ,
” it re t u
for “ i Pa

45,100,000 results
 n i Pa d
s m e a y
o rd e r rs t d a
i ti a l i ts f i
in out on
s o l d
in 2001 the iPod sold 129,000
units in its first 3 months on sale

...2,451 in its first 24 hours

www.technewsdaily.com, 30/03/2010
analysts estimate that the
Amazon Kindle probably sold
1,100 units in its first 24 hours
 g le ’s x u s O ne
o
Go around 20,000
N e
sold f i r st we e k
unit s i n i t s
Apple sold 15,484 units
of the popular iPod
Touch in the first 24
hours
XBox 360 sold 36,222
in its first 24 hours
Nintendo Wii: 74,186 in 24 hours
 Motorola’s
Droid sold
100,000 on its
first weekend
because of online pre-orders, Apple
shifted 240,000 iPads in one day
 o re i t w a s
eve n b e f Pa d
c e d, t h e i b ate
a n no u n io n ate de
a t e d p a s s
gen e r
tag cloud based on Twitter
conversations during announcement
after the
a n no u n ce m e nt,
reaction fell into
two camps

“it ’s ju s t a b ig iPo d To u c h”

“it’s an entirely new type

of device”
John Grube r, o f d a rin g f ire b a ll .n e t,
divided the t e c h n o lo gy in d u s t r y
between t h o s e w h o “ g e t it ” a n d
those who don’t
a lot of “techies”
focused on
features missing
from iPad
 o ro w
D o c t e d
r y lo s
Co likes c ith
i s
d tem ghts s w
y s
s ital R i nt
g
Di nagem e
M a
 t h e e n te r ta i n m e nt
although u s of A p p l e,
indu s t r y i s s u s p i c i o
y c a n s e e t h e i P a d ’s
the
p o te n t i a l
 the newspaper
industry is desperate
for something to
generate some
income
consumers are excited by the
way it works
 Doctorow believes iPad
will stifle creativity:
“If you can’t open it, you
don’t own it.”

Source: BoingBoing (: “why-i-wont-buy-an-ipad-and-think-you-shouldnt-either”)

This is because iPad is a
“leaning back” device — not a
lean-forward device
“I would buy and use something as free and
open as Ubuntu if I actually thought it worked
very well. I am completely receptive to its story
but absolutely repulsed each time I try to get
anything done...”

Source: Andre Torrez , CTO Federated Media ( blog: “why-i-will-be-buying-an-ipad-this-weekend”)

techies tend to
focus on
hardware featu
consumers on re s —
what you
can do with it
 e d s i m i la r
Ap p l e f a c
s o v e r t h e
cri t i c i s m
i n a l M a c
orig
 the first iMac
was criticised
for not having
a floppy drive,
or serial ports, or
SCSI, or expansion slots...
Apple is now the 4th largest US company

$320 billion
$315.05 billion

$261.71 billion
$240 billion
$212.19 billion $207.99 billion $202.54 billion

$160 billion

$80 billion

Berkshire Hathaway
$0 billion Apple
Walmart
Microsoft
Exxon Mobil
Source: Wall Street Journal, 24/03/2010
 s t a r t e d w i t h
iPad d e s i g n —
e e t o f p a p e r
a bla n k s h
c o n ce p t i o n s
no pre
you interact
w ith it in a tot
– not a comp a l l y different wa
“ There’s jus uter, not a ph y
in your h t s o m e t h in g differe o n e
ands, rathe nt about ho
or on a tiny r than seein lding that W
iPh o n e s creen. Tapp g i t o n a d e
esktop or la b page
same as cli ing on links ptop PC,
cking on th
em with a m doesn’t feel
ouse. It’s a g the
ood feeling
.”
 u l t i- t as k : y ou c a n
i t d o e s m
l ay m u s i c in t h e
always p e x a m p l e
backgro u n d , f o r
reviewers report 10–12 ho
u
battery life for playing vide r s
o
iPad supports “o p e n ” e - p u b
fo rmat ( D R M - f re e ) – t h e re ’s a l so a
Kindle app.
Apple’s
support for
eBooks led to a
major dispute
between
Amazon and
publishers over
pricing
 controversy has
also raged over
Apple’s refusal to
include Flash
support in the iPad
and iPhone OS
content providers like
and Vimeo already of Yo uTu b e
fer Flash-
free versions
Flash is not required
for the games from
the App Store
movies, tv,
games, music,
books, newspapers,
magazines, comics, web,
email, contacts, maps, productivity, notes
“If you’re a
comic book
fan, buying an
iPad is buying
into the future
of the
medium.”
will it save the publishing industry?
will it match the iPhone’s success?
will Apple have too much power?
will it change behaviour?
will your Gran get one?
will it kill the Kindle?
is this the future of
magazines?
is this the future of
newspapers?