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Ipad, therefor I am Ping!
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Posted on 08/06/2010 1:27:38 AM PDT by Swordmaker
I'm taking time out tonight to share my iPad purchase story. My experiences in buying this device provide corroborating anecdotal evidence as to why I believe Apple will achieve $20 billion in revenue this quarter and blow away most revenue and eps estimates.
My $1,000 iPad Purchase
At the end of that day I had made a $1,000 iPad purchase (accouterment and sales tax included). I spent $1,053.60 to be exact and $960 before CA sales tax was added. The pre-tax amount is a nice even number because Apple doesn't do the silly ninety nine cent thing on hardware devices. The purchase odyssey required an eighty five mile round-trip trek along the highways and byways of Southern California and visits to two extraordinarily busy Apple retail stores on a Sunday afternoon.
I have nothing against Best Buy per se and certainly not when the store is located conveniently in my home city of Santa Clarita. On this Sunday afternoon the local store had the 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad in stock. It's not the model I wanted and I was determined to purchase the desired iPad accouterment at the same time. My list of accessories included the external keyboard, AppleCare, additional power cable and the Apple iPad case. I also wanted the 32 GB iPad and wasn't willing to fork over the additional $100 for the 64 GB model. Off to the Apple store in Glendale we go.
Glendale Apple Store
My wife and I arrive at the Apple Store in Glendale about 3:30pm and the store is absolutely packed. Every digital device on display has someone tending to it and every store staff member is busy with at least one customer and another waiting impatiently for their attention. The store also has absolutely no iPads in stock. Being the resourceful person she is, my wife grabbed the first seat that became available by a Mac on display, took out her iPhone, Googled store numbers and started making calls. The Best Buy in Burbank had no iPads in stock, the Best Buy in Santa Clarita still had the 64 GB model available and the Sherman Oaks Apple Store had the 64 GB model in stock but only if we hurry.
Not to leave the store empty handed and just in case the Best Buy in Santa Clarita was the only option remaining by the time we drove to Sherman Oaks, I bought all of the iPad accessories I wanted at the Glendale store. The accessories were easy to find. An available sales person to handle the sales was the challenge. Finally we get a staff person's attention. While processing the purchases he recommended we get on the waiting list for an iPad purchase at the store. Estimated wait time was three weeks. I reluctantly signed up as the purchase mode of last resort. We made a beeline for the Sherman Oaks Apple Store. By the time we made the 20 minute drive I had already received my confirmation email from Apple of my reservation at the store for the 32 GB iPad I wanted. I grumbled all the way to Sherman Oaks I didn't want to spend the extra $100 for the 64 GB model, but I had resigned myself to that fate if I wanted the iPad that day.
The Sherman Oaks Apple Store
Similar to the Glendale store, the Sherman Oaks store was packed. Not a single device on display was unattended. We did quickly find a store staff member and explained to him we were told 64 GB iPads were available. As he went to check, I mentioned to him I really wanted the 32 GB model just in case one was available. A few minutes later he comes out from the back of the store with a 32 GB iPad and two small, square boxes. He was intent on selling me MobileMe and AppleCare. I told him I had purchased AppleCare for the iPad in Glendale and had been a subscriber to MobileMe from its early days as a free service called iTools. He didn't want to relent. He said we could get a $30 discount on our MobileMe renewal. I told him my subscription renews in January and I was spending enough that day already. I told him the sales pitch was a good one. If it wasn't a hot day in July and wasn't so far from my January MobileMe renewal, I might have taken him up on the offer.
Purchase Complete!
To complete the purchase we had walk back by the Genius Bar. I took out my iTunes Rewards Visa Card. The sales person was curious about the nondescript black card. I explained it's an iTunes card and I was getting 2% back on the purchase in iTunes dollars. He seemed bewildered. I told him after he swipes the card he'll have the option of sending me an email receipt and the address is already encoded. I told him I wanted an email receipt and a paper receipt for the bag before I walked out of the store. He smiled and obliged.
I looked around and said to him and my wife, "Just look at this store. It's as busy as the Glendale store. No wonder Apple will report record revenue in eight days." Again, he looked bewildered and asked me if I was a stockbroker. By then two other store staff members were listening. I told him I wasn't a stockbroker but I follow Apple, publish revenue and earnings estimates for the company and believe it is and will remain the most amazing enterprise of our times. He smiled again. I think we both enjoyed the encounter.
Denouement
We drove home. I cancelled the purchase reservation at the Glendale store and unpacked the iPad. That was three weeks ago and when at home I hardly ever put it down. It's the most immersive Apple device I've ever owned.
All told I spent over a $1,000 at the Apple stores on that Sunday and about 25% of the iPad's purchase price on accessories and services. That's not including the $30 I immediately spent from home on the iPad versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote. The Apple iPad is a revenue and earnings monster and these days the Apple retail stores are jammed with foot traffic. I reiterate my early 4th fiscal quarter revenue estimate of $20 billion and my share price forecast of $400 by early May 2011. The law of large numbers be damned.
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Since Jailbreaking is now Legal in the USA, Comex released his Jailbreak for the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 with no need to plug the device into a computer. This was achieved by a Security hole found in the OS which the jailbreak uses to root the phone and apply the necessary patches. Now this may sound good, but as this is a PDF exploit found in the OS, anyone with the correct skills could take advantage of this exploit and gain root access without the user’s consent.
Apple has confirmed that the fix will be included in the next update to iOS but has not revealed when this update will be released.
Do not open any PDF files until then. At least MickeySoft releases security patchs as they are found and fixed instead of Apple taking months to do it.
My rationale for this prediction is simple. As future generations of the iPad is released, all those already owning a previous generation of the iPad will want the newer one. Overall, the customer base will expand as each new generation is released, each of those new customers buying future generations. Sort of like an inverted pyramid.
Within a few years, most American homes will feature several iPads, of varying generations, lying around the house. In 2017, you could probably find a couple of older iPads under the seat cushions of most American homes (along with a couple of remote controls). Eventually, iPad will be our remote control as well as just about everything else. Most people will own several and many people will own more than just a few. Not just in America but all over the world.
In fact, I might be underestimating 1,000,0000,0000 iPads. The true number could run into the tens of billions.
You are making an unwarranted assumption. My guess is that it will be closer to days to weeks rather than months, Wooly. Apple is usually on top of these security issues.
That is his forte!
The phrase...”Stuck on Stupid”...comes to mind.
As a proud Apple shareholder ... I thank you for your purchase.
I made a trip to the ‘local’ apple store yesterday. To those that harass me about being a fanboi, I made a pilgrimage to the holy land.
My nearest apple store is a 2 hour drive away. That in and of itself is a crime. I wish there were one closer. As I was walking in I noticed more blue shirts than I was expecting...a lot more, seemed like 12-15...and the store in Des Moines isn’t all that big.
I walked in to take a look - I wanted to see what they were highlighting/featuring. iPads...13” macbooks...a couple 15”, couple 17”s...older iMacs (they didn’t have a 27, still a 24? - seemed odd). And the new trackpad all over the place. I had a couple questions about it, and it was then I realized that all 12-15 blue shirts were busy with people...over the next few minutes I was able to ask a couple questions and have them show me the couple things I wanted to see...I collected some more opinions on different products...
A lot of fun. Didn’t buy anything, not ready to pull the trigger...but I sure wanted to...
I need an apple store closer...my daughters would be great working at that place...
Unfortunately, so will the liberal Democrats that are historically the overwhelming majority of the recipients of Apple's political donations.
I have found Keynote on the iPad underwhelming.However Goodreader is outstanding.
I hope that is not becoming the norm. I've never had a pushy Apple Store salesman. It's going to hurt the stores if Apple starts alienating customers by being pushy about added services. That's one reason I stay away from the Best Buy computer section.
It’s kind of like reading a story about an addict having a hard time finding crack.
When I bought my new MaqcBook Pro several months ago [my fifth Mac] I also wanted to buy some Bose speakers. I chose the ones I wanted. The salesperson told me there were cheaper Bose speakers but I stuck to my choice.
But I have never had a pushy salesperson in an Apple store.
Kind of a stretch to suggest that Apple users are Liberal. There are plenty of us Conservatives who love them. I won’t bore you with a list as I know you already know.
I just wish the people who like another OS would let us enjoy our choice of platform without feeling so insecure that they must put Apple users down.
Perhaps you can help.
Yeah, the closest I have had to a push salesperson is one trying to talk me down from spending as much as I wanted to.
Seems like an awful lot of running around to avoid spending $100 for double the memory. Especially if you are investing in things like a case and an extra power supply.
Care to check on Bill Gates donor list?
We get our hardware from Dell. Shall we check on theirs?
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