And you thought that Apple shoppers had no budget. That infamous and adored iPad is on sale, and people are snapping up the cheap ones.
Data collected by AAPL Sanity [via] outlines the orders of iPads thus far: more than two-thirds WiFi only, and an even split among the storage options. To be certain, this data is not perfect, but it is certainly illuminating. We have included the pertinent graphs at right.
When the iPad was announced, many in the world of technology suspected that most purchasers were going to skew towards the higher capacity and 3G versions of the gadget. After all, if you can afford a third computer (in between your smartphone and PC), you can tack on a few extra dollars to at least get the 32 gigabyte option, right?
We were wrong.
If you contemplate for a second on the data, you will at first notice what few top-price iPads are being sold. The 3G version is most costly, as is the 64 gigabyte option. Looking at the percentages, we can expect one-third (33%) of 3G iPads to have the highest capacity, meaning that one third of 31% of iPads are the top-level. What does that work out to? 10.23% according to my little calculator application.
Flip it around and go the other direction. We can against expect one third of the WiFi only gadgets to be the lowest capacity, 16 gigabytes. Do the math again, 33% of 69% is 22.77%. That means that nearly one-fourth of all iPads sold are the dead lowest tier.
While this might show broad consumer demand for the device, it is hardly heartening to Apple that so many people are selecting the cheapest iPad. More than twice the percentage that are selecting the highest priced (and most capable) iPad.
What is the price differential between the two? A grand total of $330, or some 66% of the cost of the cheapest iPad (at $499). Long live cheapskates looking to use cloud based services and their home WiFi to dodge the more expensive SKUs.
Of course. I knew the instant they said $500 thatd be exactly the one people would want.
People love shit they don't need. Many people NEED a laptop or desktop computer (so they will shovel out more money for what they need), no one NEEDS an iPad (therefore spend just enough to own one). It's less important than any other device they own and it does almost everything that all the other devices can, but they (and me included) still want one because of a few things such as reading books and news, so why the hell would I (and they) want to spend nearly 1,000 (after taxes) on something I could get a MacBook for or an iPod Touch (no contract either) for?
Of course. I knew the instant they said $500 thatd be exactly the one people would want.
People love shit they don't need. Many people NEED a laptop or desktop computer (so they will shovel out more money for what they need), no one NEEDS an iPad (therefore spend just enough to own one). It's less important than any other device they own and it does almost everything that all the other devices can, but they (and me included) still want one because of a few things such as reading books and news, so why the hell would I (and they) want to spend nearly 1,000 (after taxes) on something I could get a MacBook for or an iPod Touch (no contract either) for?
Alex, I'd be willing to guess that many of the guys buying the 3G versions were indeed springing for higher spec models. It would be interesting to see the breakdown of 3G versus wifi only by model.
Another perspective is that some people are purchasing what will be available first (April 3 WiFi versions) and are not willing to wait. In contrast, other people will purchase the 3G versions when they become available.
I'm sure part of what's factoring into this is that very few people are willing to pay another 30 dollars a month for an additional data plan, so why bother getting the 3G version?
I see this mostly being used as a reader, at home in bed or on the train, and the apps that are used for that can be used offline.
I just don't see the point of an iPad really. I can use those reading apps on my iPhone. The other stuff I'd rather just use my laptop for.
Dodgy math my friend. Just because 33% of all iPads are the 64GB model, that does not mean 33% of the Wifi models are the 64GB model. I would expect a higher percentage of the 3G models to be 64GB.
It's because only the WI-FI models (without 3G) are going to be available on April 3rd. The 3G-enable models will be available a few weeks later. So obviously, more customers who want the WI-FI only model are pre-ordering now.
You should wait until the devices actually become available before attempted such analysis (and with questionable data to boot); people who keep up on the tech industry (and Apple fans) are informed about the iPad, but more typical consumers (who will ultimately make up the bulk of iPad's customers) do not know or even care about a product until it actually becomes available. The pre-orders are coming from the usual Apple early adopters – the same folks who paid $499 for the first iPhone; they are only a small fraction of the eventual user base.
I have a feeling people are buying the cheapest versions because they are easier to justify. People who are married have a hard enough time trying to talk their spouse into believing $500 is ok to spend on a toy. I know it can be used for more but to a person that isn't in to gadgets it will look like an oversized ipod. Also you have kids or teenagers trying to talk their parents into getting one for them. Getting a $500 gift is something that very few parents can afford let alone $800 or more. Your basically left with single men or people with high incomes that will shell out the bigger bucks for the better versions. I know because I'm currently trying to talk my wife into letting me buy the 64gb version, hahaha!
http://www.PrePaidConvenience.com has iPads starting at $199.
No membership fees!!!
No BIDDING!!!
NO BS!!!
Just the cheapest prices on the web.
prepaidconvenience.com is a scam (see https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/Disputes-and-claims/prepaidconvenience-com/m-p/71364)
anybody offering brand new products at well below half price is attempting to scam you – I don’t know what the reseller mark-up is for iPads, but it costs Apple $300 to produce each 16gb wifi-only iPad. In general, Apple products are sold (retail) for about 50% more than the unit production cost.
I just bought the 64GB wifi-only version. Here’s my reasoning: I was afraid of running out of storage space (even though I probably won’t need it). I have 15gb of photos, but I wouldn’t need to have it on the iPad. I have another 15gb of documents – but that’s going back 10 years!
But…
- I have kids, they’ll load up the iPad with dozens of movies and hundreds of songs!
- I am developing language learning products for iPad/iPhone, so I might need the working space.
- I have dozens of audiovisual courses that I’d love to download onto the iPad
I don’t need 3G at all. I can’t see the advantage of it when regular wifi seems to be fast enough (I already subscribe to a ‘hotspot’ service that gives me a 2Mb connection to the internet when I’m not at home). It’s just a speed issue, and I doubt I’ll be streaming videos all that often, particularly when I’m travelling. (I’ll have too much I want to just read – which is primarily why I bought the iPad in the first place!)
However, I very nearly didn’t buy the 64gb version when I realized how much that extra 48gb of storage space costs… $200! A 16gb micro SD card only costs $35, for 32gb it’s about $80.
I really don’t see why there isn’t an SD memory slot built into the iPad. Apple is being greedy and insulting. With an external memory slot, I can buy extra memory when I need it at a more reasonable price – as capacity goes up and prices come down. It affects the sleekness of the design not one little bit – it’s just a tiny slit at the bottom of the device (or inside a flap at the back).
I very nearly decided simply to wait to see what the competition comes up with (probably including memory slots) – and already I see there are a few interesting contenders. But then I realized that I’m wasting time and, for me, $200 isn’t such a big deal – and I don’t want to end up with a device that’s constantly full and I have to juggle data in and out.
For others, just wanting a simple device for portable web browsing, a few (dozen or hundred) ebooks, a few hundred songs and half a dozen movies, 16gb is more than adequate.
The other thing that really struck me as odd. When I tried to buy the iPad from ‘discount’ stores online or ebay or amazon – the prices were always MORE THAN the retail price at the Apple store. How is that possible? Is Apple not able to fulfill the orders or something? Are people so desperate or impatient that they will pay MORE than the retail price to buy it from somewhere else????
Even if you consider that the iPad isn’t available everywhere in the world, it is so easy to ship the device to a friend in the US (or Canada), free, and then send it by USPS ($50). And with facebook, who doesn’t have at least ONE friend in the US?