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Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King
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Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus

By | March 29, 2010, 7:11am PDT

Summary: Apple’s iPad lands at Apple stores and Best Buy’s distribution will be riding shotgun. The double-barreled distribution channel for the Apple iPad may change the calculus behind Wall Street’s unit guessing game.

Special Report: Apple iPad
Apple’s iPad lands at Apple stores April 3 and Best Buy’s distribution heft will be riding shotgun. The double-barreled distribution channel for the Apple iPad may change the calculus behind Wall Street’s unit guessing game.

Just in case anyone in the tech world forgot, Apple issued a statement noting that the iPad lands April 3. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that company couldn’t “wait for users to get their hands and fingers on it this weekend.”

None of that is new, but the key line in the statement boils down to three words. The iPad will be available in “most Best Buy stores.”

Best Buy means a bigger mass of consumers for the iPad—even if you assume some supply problems out of the gate. It’s unclear how many Best Buy shoppers will pull the trigger on a purchase at first sight, but it’s likely that:

  • Folks will visit Best Buy out of curiosity;
  • They will get to play with the iPad;
  • They will tell their friends;
  • And Apple will expose the iPad to a lot more people than it would if the device merely went through the company’s retail channel.

To wit: Having the iPad at Best Buy changes my personal calculus. For instance, I don’t have an Apple store all that close to my home. It’s Easter weekend, the weather is supposed to be good and there was no way I was going to travel far to go to an Apple store. When it’s 70 degrees and sunny vs. a gadget, the nice day wins every time. Enter Best Buy. I have one of those 5 minutes away. My time investment is minimal and I’ll definitely check out the iPad.

Simply put, it’s all about distribution. The big question is whether this distribution is lumped into Wall Street’s iPad guesstimates. The short answer: Probably not.

  • Morgan Stanley via Digital Daily expects Apple to ship 2.5 million iPads between March and May. That’s up from an estimate of 750,000 for the June quarter. Morgan Stanley now expects 8 million to 10 million iPad shipments in calendar 2010, up from 5 million.
  • Barclays Capital expects Apple will sell about 5 million iPads in calendar 2010 with 1.2 million in the June quarter.
  • Macquarie Research estimates 4 million iPads to be sold in calendar 2010.

All of these iPad estimates will move dramatically higher with Best Buy, which just reported strong earnings. Macquarie analyst Richard Choe wrote in a research note on March 19, well before the Best Buy plans came to light over the weekend:

While Apple has noted some sales through select authorized resellers, third party distribution will be limited early on and we do not model any sell-in units for F2Q10 (March qtr).

Best Buy changes all of that. Just based on distribution and Best Buy, Apple will move a lot more iPads. While analysts are raising Apple’s estimates, they may want to increase Best Buy’s targets too.

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Topics

Best Buy Co. Inc., Apple Inc., iPad, Barclays Capital, Sales Strategy, Games, Investment, Sales Force Management, Sales, Personal Technology, Finance, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

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Other tablets multitask
gypkap@... 3rd May 2010
Tablets have been around for years, but they're used for real work, like taking inventory (grocery stores, for instance), collecting vital signs in hospitals and clinics, and so forth. Playing games on a crippled tablet isn't very useful.
View in thread
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Estimates of
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh 29th Mar 2010
5 - 10 million, take that nay-sayers.
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Sounds right.
Sleeper Service 29th Mar 2010
I'd go for the higher end myself. Don't think there's much doubt about that.

And then it'll stagnate.
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If by stagnate you mean low double-digit growth
frgough 29th Mar 2010
like the iPod Touch and iPhone, then you'll find a lot of companies lusting
for that sort of stagnation.
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ipad = Epic Fail
gtatransam@... 29th Mar 2010
Why the ipad is an Epic Fail:

1. 1024x768 = No Widescreen ? Oh real cutting edge... SVGA has been out of date for quite a few years now.

2. No Multi-tasking. What ? Seriously ? Lame !

3. No Flash Support. This is the real deal killer. Try going to youtube, facebook, myspace, yahoo or COUNTLESS other sites without flash...

4. No Java Support. Another deal killer. If a site doesn't use flash, you can just about bet it uses java. Haa.

5. You have to use itunes. It is only the WORST program in the history of programming. There's no way I'd ever put that on my computer.

6. ATT Network (Need I say more?)

I hope you like your iCannotSurfPad.
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Would you like...
RocketEater 29th Mar 2010
fries with those words when you have to eat them.

I've already got a Netbook so I won't be getting one but I bet these will sell like hotcakes. Or is that hot cross buns since Easter is approaching?
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To whom and why?
xuniL_z 29th Mar 2010
If you have an itouch, you already have the portable version. People in this country and elsewhere really have the disposable income to own an itouch and an ipad cause so many already do.

Backlit screen will be horrible for reading...i think people will find that out and word of mouth will point them to the superior Kindle. I would never trade my Kindle, i could read it in a tanning bed if I used such a thing.

It will suck for keying....did you see Jobs all knock-kneed trying to peck away at the one during the demo with his neck hanging and looking straight down? That will last about 10 minutes before anyone is suffering from strain and who will want to carry a keyboard under their arm.

It's Apple so the hype is huge, but the reality is going to hit hard on this one.
The only thing anyone gains is a larger screen for movies and who has the time to watch movies on the go unless you are business traveler, and even then you probably would want to have a lightweight laptop, like the HP 311 mini, which is awesome and has full Windows 7 home premium, 3GB RAM and video RAM all coming in under 3 lbs.

I know the Apple fanatics who need 3G will probably buy one out of the gate, and then another with the 3G model arrives. There is no doubt that will happen in numbers large enough to help make U.S. citizens look even more stupid in the eyes of the rest of the world.

If wifi arrives on April 12th, does that mean it's being released w/o wifi?

The iphone was feasible that it could be big, even on a horrible carrier, cause, well, it's a phone...but this thing sellin in the same or larger numbers can be nothing more than device lust that will soon wear off, as will the sales for this product.
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The Publishing Industry
norgate 29th Mar 2010
If you endorse the Kindle, you endorse the idea of electronic
publishing. If you endorse the notion of mobile computing in the form
of a laptop or netbook, you agree that the role of a computer is to
integrate with a mobile life. You may very well disapprove of the iPad
based on cost or feature set, or battery life, that's fine. Don't buy it.
Also be sure to let us know you won't be buying it, even prior to it's
release. We'll decide to take your opinion under advisement and
consider the source.

That's not what we're hearing however. As usual, the statement isn't
"that's probably not for me". It's more like "how could anybody ever
need this" or "this is more fanatic-driven hype".

Current publishing has some requirements. The building of logging
roads into forests, the harvest of trees, the mastication of wood into
pulp, and a toxic bleaching process. It requires transport of pulp to
paper mills, the transport of paper to printers, the printing of books
and magazines and their subsequent distribution. If there is a reader
that obviates the need for this massive output of human, mechanical,
and fossil fuel energy, it will eventually be a net win. It is a simple
energy equation. this includes the Kindle. Hooray for it. But If that
device also is a platform for games, email, texting, it's another win. If
it is a fully realized data client with best in class internet browsing,
that's another feather. If this device is connected to a thriving
marketplace, it may do even better. Oh and you know what, you may
watch a movie once in a while too. Here's the mind blower... it's
actually part of a larger computing platform, so do you really think
phone functionality and video won't be in the cards down the road?
D'ya think Apple may be holding a little something back for rev b? Rev
c?

So stick with that Kindle, and duct tape it together with the netbook
and the handset that makes it fully functional. In the meantime you
might want to reign in the Apple scorn. Fanaticism works both ways.
People will be looking hard at this device. No one will be forced to buy
it. Believe it or not, but not everyone who will buy it will be a brick
short. They won't be "you", but try not to hold that against them.
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So what it boils down to is ...
brian ansorge 29th Mar 2010
Rabid Redmond fanboiz and shills (like xunil_z) are *already* crying in
their corn flakes over the harsh (to them) reality that the iPad is going
to be a *huge* success. That's their point, if they have one

That really bothers them.

Maybe they need to get a life.

Don't like Apple [painfully obvious they *hate* Apple] products? Don't
buy any *more* of their products than the iPod you are almost sure to
already own. Why so sure? After all, it was *easy* to save up money for
*that* "overpriced ... [yada yada] ...'POS'"by living in your mama's
basement.
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RE: So what it boils down to is ...
chefp 29th Mar 2010
"reality that the iPad is going to be a *huge* success. That's their point, if they have one"

If you are so good at predicting the future, you should be filthy rich by now. What are you doing trolling these discussion boards?

There's no guarantee the iPad will be a "huge" success. Maybe it'll sell well on opening day, maybe not. Will it continue to sell after people figure out it doesn't do what they expected? We shall see. It's has some good features, the question is: Will enough people justify paying the hefty price tag and buy enough books/apps for recurring revenue? I really don't know at this point.
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And yet...
WarhavenSC 29th Mar 2010
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/27/apple-has-run-out-of-ipads/?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin
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This is an artificial marketing shortage.
Scubajrr 29th Mar 2010
Whip up the excitment and anxiety. "OH MY DUCK!! THEY'RE OUT OF iPADS!!! You'd better hurry if you want to get one!" All you have to do is announce you've run out of the first run and delay orders a couple of weeks. It doesn't matter if you have warehouses full of the product. Nothing spikes demand like a perceived shortage. De Beers does it with diamonds, Oil companies do it with Gas and Apple doe it with gadgets.
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500,000 iPad preorders/reservations vs 135,000 Nexus Ones(launch+ 74 days)
Davewrite Updated - 29th Mar 2010
It's estimated (from tracking numbers) that there are 250,000 + Apple
preorders for home deliveries and an equal number for in store
pickups.

That's BEFORE people get to touch the device, before launch. Before
any hands on reviews (all reporters have seen of the iPad is from the
Steve Jobs presentation).

Compare to:
Nexus One the Google superphone hyped by very site sold 135,000 in
74 days after launch.
The Droid sold maybe 1 million also in 74 days AFTER launch. The
Droid is supposed to be a super big hit and Motorola Verizon spent a
$100 million on the ads. (iPads already got half Droids sales BEFORE
launch!)

Artificial shortage of iPads?
Can you name one Tablet PC that has more pre orders?

(by the way Apple sells as many iPhone OS devices as
all the netbooks put out by all the manufacturers)
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Bigger story
Graham Ellison 29th Mar 2010
There's a much bigger story here.

@Davewrite, what you've done here is compare a mobile phone running a
free, open source operating system with a non phone device running a
'locked in' proprietary operating system.

On the face of it, the iPad is as different in many ways from the nexus
one as chalk and cheese. And if you listen to the majority of anti Apple
commentators and fake journalists on here, any device running a 'locked
in' proprietary operating system is bad and it won't sell.

But the facts simply don't bear this out.

One of the reasons Steve Jobs gave when he announced the iPhone, as
opposed to a dedicated games device, was the size of the mobile phone
market - much bigger than the games console market. Obvious, but true.

So any mobile phone, especially one with a 1 GHz Processor, 512 MB
Flash, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB Micro SD Card (Expandable to 32 GB) and
Google on it, should in theory be selling a lot more than a still yet to be
released device that's being variously dismissed as: "Epic Fail", "Another
Toy" etc.

Bt on the basis of pre-orders alone, the iPad from Apple, a device that
clearly does a lot of things, but surely doesn't qualify as a must have on
the same level as a mobile phone, is outselling Google's flagship nexus
one by 27% - over ten weeks after the latter was launched.

We need phones, we don't need book readers, or another net surfing
device. So it's obvious that Apple have a winner here. Why, because a
device that can do everything the iPad can, in a form factor smaller than a
laptop, that can outsell a very well equipped phone, and therefore should
be highly successful, is already a winner.

What it says about Google, Android and nexus one is another matter - for
another day.
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IPad = Everyone will copy!
tymiles 29th Mar 2010
1. 1024x768 (What most people use as standard on a PC monitor.)

2. No multi-tasking (This issue will be fixed soon but has not stopped iPhones from selling. Its not a PC remember. Plus most normal users will not care)

3. No Java support. (Most sites use Java Script not Java and the iPad does support that. So does the iPhone. Also You Tube has and App, Facebook has an App, MySpace has an App, Yahoo has an App! Flash has not at all slowed the sales of iPhones)

4. No Flash. http://gizmodo.com/5504402/how-the-ipad-is-already-reshaping-the-internet-without-flash (Who cares)

5. iTunes is debatable. I like it and I love the fact that I can back up my old iPhone, plug in a new one, do a restore and its like I am still using the same phone but faster. People are going to pull their hair out when they go to upgrade to new Android phones and devices. It's not going to be nearly as easy.

6. ATT sucks I will admit, but is Verizon or TMoble or Sprint better? Not. And since a lot of people are getting the Wi-Fi version ATT wont matter.

I don't even know why people compare netbooks. With a couple hour battery life and cheap parts. They are just small toy laptops.

Apple does not care about tinkerers and techs like us. They care about mom and pop and the college student and the early adopter. Thats it and that is where the money is.
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Um... what?
PollyProteus Updated - 29th Mar 2010
-> 1024x768 (What most people use as standard on a PC monitor.)

Dude, I don't know what kind of monitor you have but 1024x768 is so 1990s.

Depending upon what you buy, native resolution for most notebooks is 1280x800 (wide screen 720p capable). And most monitors of any reasonable size are actually 1920x1080 (1080p capable).

The simple point is that the iPad is:

1. An oversized iPod touch.
2. Really not worth the money given it's limitations on what real computer users need for daily use.

That said, these facts still hold true:

1. If Steve Jobs says it's magical, then the Apple fanatics will agree and buy these toys in droves.
2. The only thing this device really provides that makes it somewhat okay for consideration is larger text for those of us with "old people eyes".
3. It will support iPod Touch and iPhone apps, but those apps aren't designed for the larger screen so the experience will be less than optimal.
4. In order to do anything more than use it as a toy and show it off to your friends to get more "cool points", you need to purchase the Apple accessories (things like a USB port, etc).
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LOL! Say what?
tymiles 29th Mar 2010
First off I never said that a monitor could not go higher then 1024x768 and I didn't say anything about laptops.

And if you read my post one of the main things I said was its not a computer!

Also I am sorry but you can't say that Apple fanatics bought 70 plus million iPhones and iPod touches. So once you get out that 1 to 2 million early adopter level then what will explain the rest of the buyers?

Also if you have been paying attention there will be a LOT of iPad native apps at launch. More iPad native apps then iPhone apps when the iPhone launched.

Also I will be able to do most things that most people will do with stupid netbooks out the box. I mean what do most people do with iPod touches? Listen to music, watch videos, play games, read and shop at the iTunes store. Hummmmmm. You will be able to do all that out the box. Well they have sold iPod touches like hot cakes. The iPad has a bigger screen. Hello. Better for more of the same.
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1024 x 768... let the statistics speak for themselves
brentroger 29th Mar 2010
http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php

as of Feb 2010.

I'm a PC have been and will always be... but what I acknowledge (and you don't seem to be able to for whatever reason) is the fact that Apple is ran by some really really smart people who wouldn't arbitrarily decide on a screen resolution without some market share statistics to back it up...
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Polly wanna ... clue?
brian ansorge 29th Mar 2010
>> "Apple fanatics will ... buy these toys in droves"

Glad you're smart enough to realize that, Polly. What you might not
realize is that it was *not* so-called "Apple Fanatics" that made the
iPod *and* the iPhone such incredible and continuing success stories;
it was "converts" who had never?until the advent of the iPod and
iPhone?been even *remotely* considered "Apple fanatics."

Get it? Probably not. Most Apple Haters have a hard time
acknowledging the pure, heart-felt joy that both Apple Fanatics and
Apple Converts alike are known to experience over the use of
products that are genuinely sublime.

It's not the "Kool-Aid," dear Polly; it's the *product* were talking
about, silly. Now, come on, put down that Zune, take off your nerdy
clothes, grab yourself a Cold One and get into the hot tub with us; you
don't know what you've been missing?living in your parent's
basement!

Mas vale tarde que nunca.

Aloha . . .
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iPad does multitask
perronne 29th Mar 2010
Actually, the my iPhone already multitasks as does every other iPhone
OS device in the world.

Lots of processes run in the background as iPhone OS is a kind of
MacOS X. Just look at Mail and iCal.

But it is right that Apple does not accept third party applications to run
in the background - though I would happily had allowed Pocket
Informant and OmniFocus to do just that.

But maybe it will be allowed in the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0. In that
way the individual user would be able to set which of his installed apps
should be allowed this.

But an easy way to switch between the foreground process and any of
the background process - I simply don't see how that could be done
with the present UI. It's simply not part of the tablet concept.
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Other tablets multitask
gypkap@... 3rd May 2010
Tablets have been around for years, but they're used for real work, like taking inventory (grocery stores, for instance), collecting vital signs in hospitals and clinics, and so forth. Playing games on a crippled tablet isn't very useful.
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Win Phone 7 has no copy paste, no multitasking, no....
Davewrite Updated - 29th Mar 2010
and it's not even out yet!
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Do you enjoy the taste of crow?
Vatdoro 29th Mar 2010
I get the impression you think you're a very intelligent person, but
your arguments show you are quite misinformed and ignorant.

1. The iPad is not an HD TV or a monitor sitting on your desk. It is a
hand held tablet device. The aspect ratio of the iPhone is much more
"non-standard" than the iPad. Are you going to try and say the iPhone
is a failure?

2. The current iPhone OS lets you switch between apps no problem.
Most users don't even know they are missing "true multitasking".
There are some "credible" rumors that iPhone OS 4.0 this summer is
supposed to allow "real" multitasking.

3. This is the one that makes you sound REALLy ignorant. The iPhone
OS has supported youtube since day 1. Vimeo (the #2 video hosting
site) also works on the iPad. Brightcove (another large hosting service
for flash ads and video) now supports the iPad. I'm not sure why you
mention facebook in your flash argument, but the facebook web site
works beautifully on mobile safari. Oh, and there is a custom facebook
app made for the iPhone OS that many people prefer to facebook.com.
Myspace? Ummm, are you in junior high?
People don't need to worry about web video on the iPad. I fully expect
netfix and hulu to have an iPad app by Christmas, probably before.

4. Java? Are you kidding? The iPad isn't meant to replace your
notebook or your desktop. The iPad is by design a walled garden,
which makes it very stable, secure, virus free, etc. Java (and flash)
would ruin that.
(I can think of one site I would like to use on the iPad that requires
java, but I'm more than willing to miss that site for the iPad's
convenience.)

5. iTunes is the worst program in the history of programming? So, the
first program you ever wrote was superior to iTunes? As a
programmer myself I know there are A LOT of badly written programs
out there, but to say iTunes is the worst is completely ridiculous.
iTunes (and iPods) completely changed the music industry because
hundreds of millions of people use it. If that many people can figure
out how to use the program, it can't be that bad. If iTunes is the devil,
how about you write something better.

6. A recent independent review found AT&T to have the best wireless
network in the nation.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/189592/atandt_roars_back_in_pcwor
lds_second_3g_wireless_performance_test.html
Oh yeah, and if you are just an AT&T bigot, then don't get the 3G
version. For some people, there are better alternatives to the iPad with
3G.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10470656-233.html

So yeah, all your arguments against the iPad basically make you sound
stupid. I'd suggest you try out an iPhone (or even an android phone)
and experience web browsing on a multi-touch device while you're on
the go. Let us know what you think about multi-touch web browsing
after that.
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Well...
Ceridan 30th Mar 2010
1: it's an oversized iPod, what did you expect...

2: See point 1.

3: See point 1, furthermore, it has a youtube app to get h.264 version of youtube videos.

4: See point 1, furthermore, Apple is aggainst the fact that anny programming language exept xcode can touch their iPod XL

5: iTunes is ok... the multiple services associated with it is not. and the fact that you cannot sync via bluetooth is idiotic.

6: Canada is lucky, Rodger(and fido) is a bad network, but Bell and Telus will have have the iPod(and probably the iPad acess) with their new 3g/4g network.


PS: iPod XL, i have yet to find a use for that thing that is not covered by my iPod touch or my laptop.
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Have you ever tried...
hill60 Updated - 30th Mar 2010
...to sync 20-30 GB of files via Bluetooth?

It would take all day and would be truly idiotic.

Syncing via USB is hundreds of times faster.

(btw the 30 pin dock connector has USB as ONE of it's functions).
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I like you!! You make me Laugh!!
Scubajrr 29th Mar 2010
Your statements;
-->Folks will visit Best Buy out of curiosity;
-->They will get to play with the iPad;
-->They will tell their friends;
are so funny!!!
There's a Best Buy 10 minutes from my house with a large Apple kiosk, complete with a largescreen tv showing the cool things you can do with your new apple, several MacBooks and iMacs and a smiling Apple rep with a large name tag that says TOM!! When the Air came out I wanted to take a look at one. so being unwilling to drive 3 hours to the nearest Apple store I went to my local Best Buy. Was there an Air there?? No, but there were videos of it on the flat screen at the Kiosk and the smiling Apple rep TOM will be happy to order one for me. I can have delivery in 10 days. Want to see and Apple TV? We have a video right here. How about the new solid aluminum chassie MacBook. You got it, "Watch this video." In fact, any new product that came down the pipe was between 7 and 10 months between release of a product and something other than a video actually showing up at the local Best Buy. So I'll be interested to see the COOL VIDEOS of the new iPad that TOM will be showing this weekend.
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So what you're saying?
matthew_maurice 29th Mar 2010
is that the 3 hour drive to the Apple store would have been worth it? Or
just that Best Buy sucks, which is self-evident to most people.

Just curious.
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I'm saying...
Scubajrr 29th Mar 2010
Just that the idea that people will get to play with an iPad at their local Best Buy then tell their friends is laughable. Best Buy might have a few iPads in boxes for sale. But I highly doubt if one will be out on display that customers could touch or try out.
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Ah, see that's where you're wrong.
matthew_maurice 30th Mar 2010
But I highly doubt if one will be out on
display that customers could touch or try
out.

I hope you're giggling,

http://www.tuaw.com/photos/ipad-playbook-for-
best-buy/#2838945

According to the leaked BB documents, each
store is to receive 15 iPads, 4 each of the 3
SKUs (i.e. models) plus a 4th SKU which
represents 1 NFR, Not For Resale, of each model
for display purposes. So, you will indeed be
able to touch AND try out an iPad at Best Buy.
Telling your friends is purely optional.
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
jdb@... 29th Mar 2010
I have both Best Buy and the Apple Store close. I may pop buy Best Buy to see if "Tom" has real units locally or not.

If all they have is Video, that won't make much of a difference in sales. But then my guess is that most of the first weeks sales are going to be pre-orders anyway.

So, IMHO, the real question is: Will Best Buy have units in stock by Mid-April?
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P. T. Barnum
gtatransam@... 29th Mar 2010
"There's a sucker born every minute." P. T. Barnum

"Two fools born a minute..." David Lee Roth

Just ask the icannotsurfpad buyers a few months from now!
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H.L. Menken
matthew_maurice 29th Mar 2010
"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the
American public." - H.L. Menken.

You will certainly make someone a millionaire!
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Your point might have more validity if you weren't so misinformed
DeusExMachina 29th Mar 2010
Not only about the iPad, but about your attributions.
For instance, P.T.Barnum NEVER said "There's a sucker born every
minute."
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
RepTechlic Updated - 29th Mar 2010
Why buy Apple from Best Buy?

Best Buy's restocking fee is 15%, Apple Stores is 10% and usually waived. If you buy at Best Buy you'll have to deal with Best Buy policies and the GEEK SQUAD! An experience I've had and will not repeat.
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Apple Store vs Best Buy
smithrg 29th Mar 2010
My local Apple Store is always busy, yet the experience is far and above Best Buy. The store personal know zip about Apple Products and they rip you on accessories. At the Apple Store, you talk to a mobile sales person who keys in your order on a pda, swipes your credit card, goes to the back and hands you your purchase. Very personal and nice. My kids play on the macs while I complete my purchase and we leave happy.
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
ehyates 29th Mar 2010
I want it at Best Buy, cause I have Reward Zone certs to use!

$499 turns into $389... What's not to like?
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Those people in the picture at Best Buy need to...
Arm A. Geddon 29th Mar 2010
get outside too. They all look pasty. wink
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Another Toy
joe6pack_z 29th Mar 2010
for the Apple Kool Aid drinkers. Thanx but no thanx. Anything But Apple.
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This is great for the consumer.
andrej770 29th Mar 2010
There are Best Buys all over the place in big and small towns. Apple stores are generally in major metropolitan areas only. So Apple had a three-line way of attack: Online, Apple Store and Best Buy. My only question is, if AT&T is the prefered 3G provider, why isn't Apple allowing them to sell the device? The answer most likely is the fact that it comes in two major flavors. Only one of the flavors benefits AT&T and AT&T would probably prefer not to have to sell the non-beneficial device. Since Apple will require that any reseller sell both, AT&T is out. Just my summation. happy
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
brentroger Updated - 29th Mar 2010
This post was in response to the 500,000 units sold...

The problem is you're comparing apples (lower case "a" and please, pardon the pun) to oranges with the exception of your comments about Netbooks (but as was noted in another post, they aren't even worth mentioning).

Comparing an iPad to either of the Android devices you did just doesn't cut the mustard. Now... when Google comes out with their own touch screen pad device that has similar characteristics as the iPad we'll have something real worth comparing. For the time being the iPad is in a world of it's own, just like the iPhone was when it launched. Kudos to Apple for being first to market!!

I suspect it's going to do very well, others will see what the innovators at Apple did right and wrong and there will be a lot of copycat products on the market in about a year. Unfortunately these will only bolster the position of iPad in the market because they will all suck.

Alas... that's when Google will come out with their own Trek styled device, albeit behind the power curve yet again, like they have been with the Nexus One.

From what I hear and read it is as good a device or better than the iPhone but decisions like no carrier distribution has to be hurting sales. Not to mention, ignoring the largest customer base (Verizon) for months after launch of the product just isn't smart...)
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That'd be the Archos...
hill60 30th Mar 2010
...7 or 8 "coming soon".
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
spikedstrider 29th Mar 2010
I agree with the Kool ade comment. I am drinking some right now and it is good. lol
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
Captiosus 29th Mar 2010
Yeah, I'm sure putting it at Best Buy will instantly make it sell LOADS more ( /sarcasm). I'm sure it'll fit nicely on the little table of Apple product my local Best Buy has in the middle of the walkway which most people simply pass by on their way to the movies or cell phone section.

I'm not exaggerating the term "little", either. My desk is about a foot longer than the table of my local Best Buy's "Apple" products display, and my desk is only 5', end to end.
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
jeff.fostermedia@... 29th Mar 2010
Bestbuy has become a good friend to Apple and I think this is a
smart move. Looking forward, I hope Apple gets started on a
power iPad (mac) that can replace my Macbook Pro. I find myself
wanting to use my iPhone but NEEDING to do serious work. This
seems like round one of gradually fading out the laptop model
and making the iPhone more compatible with a hub that runs the
same software. Right now iTunes is the middle man, but an iPad
line would make syncing unimportant.
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If nice weather wins.
bizcad 29th Mar 2010
Then you are not a geek. Take off that propeller hat.
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And if an Apple product is worth a trip...
colinnwn 31st Mar 2010
...into BestBuy, he's not a geek. A hipster maybe.
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
nigebj 29th Mar 2010
"First off I never said that a monitor could not go
higher then 1024x768 and I didn't say anything about
laptops."

True you did not, you just said it's what most people
use - just as inaccurate.

Notwithstanding any of that - I agree the iPad will
sell in droves - but mostly because Apple gets
marketing better than almost anyone in the computer or
consumer electronics industry NOT due to the power or
utility of any of the many devices they sell.
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Simple statistics
ImpartialObserver 30th Mar 2010
Obviously, you didn't read the earlier quote, so I'll repeat for your edification:

http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php
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30000 free books=killer
???Dilemma 30th Mar 2010
IMHO this is a very good pro to own the ipad:
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/03/exclusive-ipad-ibooks-
features-gutenberg-project-library/
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Calculus?
Ceridan Updated - 30th Mar 2010
So it changes the Calculus right?



So on the iPad, the integral of cosine X is equal to -sine X instead of being sine X like everywhere else...


gotta love Job's iRDF 10.6


PS: in case youre not able to understand humor, or your too inslaved by the "Jobs is God" mantra ... I am joking about the title of this article...
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RE: Apple's Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
tburzio 30th Mar 2010
Microsoft back at the starting line again, as Apple cleans their clock.
.

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