Vast majority of consumers are aware of the new device and many plan on buying it this year
According to a new poll conducted by ORC, an Infogroup Company, the vast majority of US consumers (71%) are familiar with Apple’s iPad tablet computer. Six percent plan on buying one within a year, equating to a sale of about seven million units, and one percent said they will purchase one as soon as it becomes available, which would translate to a sale of approximately one million units. The iPad is slated to hit shelves on Saturday, April 3rd.
The findings in
ORC’s survey correspond closely with market analyst predictions that five million iPads will be sold in 2010. Based on the results of ORC’s research, it is clear that a significant number of tech-hungry consumers are interested in an iPad in the short-term, but what does this mean for the long-term success of the product?
“Adoption of new technologies is often a slow and gradual process,” said Kevin Wood, Vice President and Senior Analyst with ORC’s technology practice. “It wasn’t that long ago when the Blackberry smartphone was only used by executives and road warriors. Adoption of the iPad will likely increase when consumers begin to grasp the extent to which the new technology will integrate with and enhance the way they work and play.”
The study also examined the types of technology an eventual iPad purchase would replace. Four in ten respondents (39%) said they would not replace anything, indicating an augmentation of their existing technology with the iPad; however, 35% cited that an iPad could eventually replace a laptop or desktop computer running Windows.
“Just as the iPhone aided Apple in winning new Macintosh users, the initial data surrounding the release of the iPad suggests that the introduction of a fresh technology will once again create a new equilibrium in Apple vs. Windows users,” Wood said. “When it comes to capturing the hearts and minds of prospective customers, the creation of innovative and exciting personal computing options may prove more successful in the long run than improvements to features and functionality.”
ORC, an Infogroup company, is a leading global market research firm with offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific region. ORC offers the unique ability to integrate primary and secondary research, competitive intelligence and expert insight to address the business challenges of its clients worldwide. The company has been a partner of CNN on the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll since 2006 at
www.opinionresearch.com.
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About the Author
John Gaudiosi
Editor-in-Chief
John Gaudiosi has been covering videogames for the past 20 years for outlets like The Washington Post, CNET, Wired Magazine and CBS.com. He has focused on the convergence of entertainment and videogames for outlets like Video Business, Home Media Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Gamerlive.TV and is also a freelance game columnist for Reuters and writes for outlets like Forbes.com, NVISION, Official PlayStation Magazine, EGM Now, Geek Monthly, PrimaGames.com, and Yahoo! Games. John also serves as the video game expert for NBC in Washington D.C. and has produced videogame documentaries for The History Channel and Starz Entertainment. John was named one of the Top 50 Game Journalists in the world by Next-Gen.biz in 2007. He is the co-author of Scholastic Books' How to Get into Videogames, Prima Publishing's Madden: Twenty Years of Videogame Football and Electronic Arts: The Official History.
