A ChaneWave survey says that iPad will give other readers a hit and that there is huge prelaund demand. The iPad is expected have a major impact on the e-Reader, laptop and home
entertainment markets. The iPad however is expected to used not only as an e-Reader but for surfing the web.
Consumer respondents were presented a brief description of key
features of the new Apple iPad tablet (scheduled for March 2010
release) and then asked how likely they were to buy one when it becomes
available.
A total of 4% said they are Very Likely to buy the Apple iPad and 9% said Somewhat Likely.
Importantly, the percentage saying Very Likely is the same as in a January ChangeWave survey prior to Apple's actual announcement. And although the percentage saying Somewhat Likely has declined since the previous survey
(from 14% to 9% currently) that's likely due to the fact that the
current survey is the first in which the exact nature of the device is
known.
The current pre-launch demand for the new iPad is greater than the
pre-launch demand at a similar point in time for the original iPhone.
ChangeWave beleives that the
iPad is all but certain to have a transformational impact on the e-Reader market going
forward. While a handful of e-Reader manufacturers -- most prominently
Amazon -- clearly have a major head start, the survey findings show the
iPad is poised to profoundly shake up this market.
Among consumers who already own an eBook Reader, the Amazon Kindle
(68%) towers over its closest rival, the Sony Reader (10%). But to
gauge the potential impact of the iPad on this market, we asked eBook
Reader owners whether they would have purchased their current e-Reader
if the Apple iPad had also been available.
Better than one-in-four (27%) report they'd have bought the Apple iPad if it had been available at the time of purchase.
When ChageWave asked consumers about their planned eBook Reader
purchases over the next 90 days that the full extent of the Apple
iPad's impact on this marketplace becomes apparent.
The survey shows the Apple iPad is now poised to capture an
astonishing 40% of the e-Reader market going forward in the first 90
days after its launch.
Potential iPad users want the iPad for web surfin, better than two-thirds (68%) say they're most interested in using the iPad for surfing the Internet.
Checking email (44%), reading eBooks (37%), reading magazines,
newspapers and periodicals (28%), and watching video (24%) are
additional key ways that consumers are most interested in using the
iPad.
Of course, Apple's success with the iPad is ultimately dependent on the
device being able to turn on and perform up to the expectations of its
new owners. Based on Apple's past history, many, if not most, buyers
are expecting it to successfully mass produce and deliver the tablet of
their dreams.