Tim Dyson, CEO of NextFifteen, on reaching beyond its core market:
"Anyone that doesn’t know this product exists, probably never will. Now it’s up to the iPad to actually sell to the masses and not just the Apple faithful. That said, the Apple faithful is an awfully big market these days."On whether the PR from the noisy launch will be sustainable, WeissComm's Neville Hobson adds: "I guess a major key to long-term success for Apple, and all those predictions on how many units Apple will shift in the coming year or two, is how quickly the iPad scoots out of the trough of disillusionment – inevitably, that’s where it will end up at some point post launch – and onto the slope of enlightenment."
Beyond the PR hype, Hobson also pulled this nugget from the Financial Times:
"Spurred in part by iPad anticipation, shareholder enthusiasm has more than doubled Apple’s market capitalisation in the past year, driving it past Google and Walmart. At $214bn, Apple is worth more than every US company but ExxonMobile and Microsoft."
Sparkpr took advantage of the Apple fanatics who waited in line last weekend to get some attention and ink for their application developer clients.
Spark's Michael Selvidge also reviewed the device for Mobile Industry Review, gushing: "Apple has another winner on their hands, period. And just as they did with the personal computer in 1976, and the GUI in 1984, the music industry in 2001 and the mobile industry in 2007, Apple is showing the world where we are headed."
Ruder Finn West chief Howard Solomon is enamored with the device, but did point out two disappointments -- typing and multitasking. The latter will make it difficult to replace a laptop with an iPad, he said.
Hill & Knowlton's Rowland Jack sizes up the iPad's potential impact on sports media and sees a major boost for live streaming and online highlights of events, as well as increased audiences, and the likely creation of new, subscription-based online sports magazines.
Finally, Bite Communications' Matt Wright sees the iPads success in the hands of the software developers.
"Early opinion on Apple’s latest gizmo has been polarized. Some tout the iPad as the coming of a new age. The experience of simply touching it being akin to bathing in the good Lord’s holy light. Others shrug it off as basically an iPhone for giants. What seems clear is that the iPad’s fate will be decided, like the iPhone, by the quality of its apps."
(Image via Guardian)