Right.....and marketing has nothing to do with it?
Never said it didn't. Goes on in every industry, too. Marketing is certainly important for getting the word out on a company's product. And all of this is on the companies creating the machines, not the buying public which is what I was responding to as far as who is responsible for creating a competitive market.
I know plenty of people who've bought iPhones and/or iPads *because*. Because they were told it's "what they have to have", and they're "better". What do they actually use them for? Not much.
Some people just have money to burn and don't know what to do with it. Certainly sounds like what's going on with these folks. I bet they also have a bunch of other expensive things sitting around they don't use, too.
Apple's got 10 commercials playing every evening when I watch TV. It's ridiculous. Obviously that generates appetite for the products. When I see 5 Apple commercials in an hour, at some point I just want to pitch my coffee mug at the TV. I mean....ok, I get it. I should want to buy it. It's a magical product that will turn my life around, and make a better cup of java, to boot. I got that message from the last 1000 times I saw the commercial.
To continue my point, this is in no way the consumer's fault if Apple is all they know about depending on how much they are paying attention. Another company needs to jump in and start grabbing just as much airtime with a better product. One has yet to come along.
But Apple absolutely kills it in the apps, and that, I think, is the big difference. Android is just not there with ecosystem. Google's making improvements....if you're living in the U.S. For the rest of us, no, the ecosystem is not there. My tablet absolutely doesn't have the choice in apps I'd have on an iPad. No question. But it's got a lot of great ones.
However.......I've never seen a commercial for my tablet in a year. I've probably been exposed to commercials for the iPad a good 2000 times in the last year. And for my own tablet, the only commercial I've seen is when I went to the manufacturer's website.
And this is completely on the company that makes your tablet. No? It certainly isn't the consumer's fault that companies aren't getting their machines airtime and publicity.
Many people I've talked with won't even TRY something different. It's just "I want an iPad". If I point out they can have one that costs less, has a longer lasting battery, a keyboard that can be attached to it, expandable memory, full control, USB ports to connect to other devices, and a higher resolution screen........they want an iPad. It's just not rational. Same thing with iPhone. They go all giddy over Facetime for the first week, and then never use it again. You ask what apps they have and....they haven't really downloaded any. I've got an iPhone, and easily have 140 apps on it...but the people I know who speak more positively about the phone than I do barely have any. Why is that? Why have the phone if you're not going to use it?
And this personal experience of a massively small sample size makes you think that the millions of iPads that have been sold are handled in the same way? I can counter your experience with one that is nearly opposite. I've had loads of conversations with co-workers, friends and random people coming up to me when I'm out at lunch about the iPad's features, what it does and doesn't do and if it could be right for them. And plenty of those conversations veered into other options. My suggestion most of the time: Go to a Best Buy/Verizon/AT&T store and play with a few tablets then go from there.
Neither one of our experiences represents a majority nor can either be taken as anything more than our experiences. That's it.
It's like the Tickle me Elmo craze, but with computer equipment.
That fad came and went due to demand crushing supply. It's pretty safe to say that tablets have passed the fad phase at this point.
Sure it is. The Elmos were in demand because every kid wanted one and every parent wanted their kid to have one and there was buzz behind it during the insane holiday shopping season. It's wiggled and giggled and was cute. Kids really dig that stuff.
And I get your point: You are claiming that millions of people are blowing $500+ a pop for the privilege of having an iPad that will end up in the closet after playing with it for a few weeks. I'd say it's that assumption that isn't logical. All you need to do is poke around the web for all the different things people are using their tablets for. And yes, most of them are iPad users.
I'm not saying that the iPad is bad. It's not. It's a great device. But I AM saying that the case for it being better than its rivals, and that there is really only one viable option for tablets is incorrect. But the public is blasted with so much Apple PR that they don't know the difference. Having $100 Billion or whatever in the bank lets a company buy ALOT of ad time....which only reinforces the problem. They're basically at the point where the success of the product guarantees the further success of the product. Instead of the continued optimal quality of the product guaranteeing the success of it. In the long run that'll hurt consumers.
First, it will only hurt consumers if it's a crummy product that doesn't give them their money's worth. Second, other contenders (Amazon comes immediately to mind) will emerge to keep Apple honest. It's already happened for the 7" eReader market in the form of the Kindle Fire. It's one of the worst-kept secrets in the tech world that Amazon is already well into development of a 10" version to compete directly with the iPad.
