Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

In 5 years, will the iPad be viewed a Success or a Failure?

In 5 years, will the iPad be viewed a Success or a Failure?

  • Success

    Votes: 183 88.0%

  • Failure

    Votes: 25 12.0%
  • Total voters
    208
bobob

bobob

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 11, 2008
3,437
2,520
This thread is exclusively for people to state their predictions to the question posed in the thread title:

In 5 years, will the iPad be viewed a Success or a Failure?


Please note:

  • It is not asking whether you plan to buy one or not
  • It is not based on how happy or mad you are with the 1st generation's features
  • It is not asking whether your a dyed in the wool Apple fanboy or a MS supporter for life
  • It is not asking what you think about Flash
  • It is not a poll on whether you prefer LED or E-Ink
  • It is not a forum for you to transfer all the pain or joy that has built up in your personal life for the past few years

It is a simple poll asking when we look back on the iPad on January 30th, 2015, will we view it as a success or a failure?

For those with the courage in their conviction to publicly declare their prediction, please add a one word post with your verdict (Success or Failure) after voting in the poll.

This thread will then be hermetically sealed in a time capsule buried deep beneath the global headquarters of MacRumors and won't be dug up till just before the big thread revival celebration five short years down the road.

See you at the party!

:)
 
Success

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
it'll probably be a hobby like appletv, if they don't open it up a bit......

but who knows
 
I think it has real potential :) I voted success! Can't wait to see what the developers come up with! I think it's a turning point, whether or not you like the iPad, it's generated more media attention than any other Tablet I've seen, and even negative attention brings the product into the public eye! I'm excited :)
 
It will be considered the pioneering device for a whole new market segment that is at the forefront of modern computer going forward...or something like that...


Plus it will have been successful in killing flash so that alone will be worth it.
 
Success.

Perhaps not quite up to the iPod, but it will be another industry changer. I predict that over the next few weeks, there'll be a shift in opinion from some of the naysayers as they figure out what the iPad will do. As was pointed out in another thread, this is so much like when the iPod was released - many just didn't get what it was good for (myself included - and I haven't been without one since).
 
Like Ive Stated before with every Big Apple Announcement There people that over react and then after revisions People act like they cant Live with out the item. Here are a few examples


Switch to intel. intel is the devil apple will be done in 5 years etc etc.

iMac No Floppy discs USB only no other ports.

iPod only 5GB Expensive iTunes only is going to suck no Windows suport.

Iphone Edge only no mms Copy/paste no real 3rd party suport.


now with that said look how time has come and everyone praises these 4 things.
 
Nothing worthwhile comes easy ... Once the dust settles and the product improves this device will ultimately be a success.

I'll take it a step further .. I think the launch 60-90 days from now will also be a success and shock many people.
 
I'll predict that iPad sales will begin to exceed Mac sales in 2011.

It will become Apple's dominant computing platform second to the iPhone.

I imagine there will be even larger iPads in the future too.
 
I think all the noise on the internet (and these forums) is very similar to what it was when the iPhone was initially announced. Due to months and years of hype and rumor it just kind of disappointed. Everyone proclaimed it would fail and terrible it was. Everyone was concentrating on what it did wrong as opposed to what it did right. Not saying it wasn't deserved, the iPhone 2G isn't nearly the complete device that the iPhone 3G eventually became, but it was that let down that caused everyone to yell loud and passionately.

I ultimately believe that's exactly what is happening with the iPad as well. Yes it does some things wrong and people had high expectations which are now shattered, no doubt about it. But it also does many things right and while I haven't had the chance to actually use one, it seems that among people who have, there is a strong voice that "this feels right". And that's exactly, just like with the first iPhone, is what Apple will build on.

I thought it was very telling that this is running OS 3.2 and not 4.0. Many of the issues people are having (mainly multitasking) can be resolved via software. So I'm hoping that those rumors of 4.0 supporting multitasking are still true, whenever that may actually come out. Not having a camera right from the start seems like a "miss" to me but if rumors are to be believed, it is something Apple was working on and no doubt thought about. It will come in the second generation, there's no doubt in my mind. The lack of Flash support I attribute to Apple being a believer in web standards and on that front I completely stand behind them. Flash needs to die, even if that means that I can't watch Hulu on an iPad/iPhone then so be it.


Anyway, what it comes down to, in my opinion, is this: Apple will build on the successes of this device and if history is any indication, the second generation iPad will most likely get it "right". Over a 5 year span, I would guess that the iPad will ultimately be a success.
 
goobot said:
why five? the phone took 2 to become the killer of all cell phones.
Click to expand...

agreed. i think (notice how i said think, it's not a fact, just an opinion) it will take a couple generations of the iPad to be labeled as a successful product line, it will get better as things move along
 
Well, I think success.

One thing for sure, it would be considered the first real Slate device.
It would be remembered for being the best first. I don't know if it will always be the best, but right now, it is.
 
It'll have good initial sales numbers. But I don't think it will be as popular as the iPhone or iPod. Too many people like me. I have an iPhone and a laptop. I really have no need for a device in between. And the e-reader function alone is not enough of a reason for me to get it.
 
I think it will really become a staple item much like the iPod has. One day you expect every one to have an iPad in the living room to look up random things.
 
I voted success with a small "s".

It will rank above Apple TV and the biggest LCD display at the time (which may be 35+ inches by then), but will rank below everything else they make.

I would only call it a failure if it was like the Cube which went into stores and back out, never to be seen again. :)
 
I'd like to clarify my position. In its current form, I have no need for it. I don't see Apple doing anything to it hardware or software-wise any time soon to change that.

That being said, if a third party came out with an app that was something that made me want the device, then I may look into it. But I see nothing right now that would make me want to get it.

Of course, if my school's ebook provider were to sign a contract with Apple, then I'll get it then.
 
ukcolinr said:
I think it has real potential :) I voted success! Can't wait to see what the developers come up with! I think it's a turning point, whether or not you like the iPad, it's generated more media attention than any other Tablet I've seen, and even negative attention brings the product into the public eye! I'm excited :)
Click to expand...

True there usually isn't anything such thing as bad publicity unless your in politics or Jay leno... his show is going to do terribly when he re-airs
 
sumzero said:
True there usually isn't anything such thing as bad publicity unless your in politics or Jay leno... his show is going to do terribly when he re-airs
Click to expand...

Jay will be fine after a few months.

I am starting to wonder if Apple may have misfired by announcing the device 60 or 90 days before release. Rather than letting people get their hands on it right away, they now get to listen to, from what I have seen, generally negative coverage about the device.

Of course, if the reviews were glowing, then it would have worked in Apple's favor. That's the risk you take, I guess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back