Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Best Buy CEO Claims iPad Cannibalizing Notebook Sales By 'As Much As 50%'
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
edit: removed comment because about 100 people already made the same point...
...
I had to laugh at the low TV sales "despite the rollout of new 3D models"... It always seems like the TV business is kidding itself about how much anyone cares about 3D TV. Maybe it will move beyond the gimmick stage at some point, but I've never seen anything to make me think people are clamoring for this. Certainly not enough to upgrade the TVs we just upgraded over the last couple of years...
I wager the netbook's demise will take longer to come about. There are many tasks for which the iPad (and any Android tablet) will be ill-suited, and as clumsy as netbooks are, they are the smallest way of accomplishing these tasks on the go. As tablets move into these areas (little steps, like the iPad gaining built-in print support) this may come about.
Yep. Eventually.
This guy is spot on:
http://www.marco.org/980434663
(Note that we're specifically talking about NETbooks. The full-featured laptop does not factor into this argument.)
Overall, just netbooks. The high-end laptops will be just fine.
But Best Buy sells a lot of cheap laptops. The kind of laptops that aren't much different from Netbooks in how people will use them. I could totally see how those laptops would be affeted the same as netbooks will. So Best Buy's perspective may be different than everyone else's.
Probably, but I think Android's impact in the tablet sphere is going to be insignificant and on the low-end. HP's WebOS and Microsoft's WP7-based offerings might have more impact.
Netbooks are passable network/media devices, and barely passable general purpose computers. They're not great at anything; the concept was stopgap and cobbled together, and its death is overdue.
Mind you, there will still be cheap, poor quality tablets built to fill the space of cheap, poorly built netbooks
.
Well, I can tell you that for me, I sold my netbook (an Asus EEE PC 1000HE, pretty nice as far as netbooks went) when I bought my iPad. For my needs, the iPad does everything I was doing with the netbook, which was essentially: email, Facebook, YouTube.
Could the netbook have done more things than the iPad? Of course: run arbitrary Windows apps, install other OS' like Linux or even OS X, use USB ports, card readers, webcams, play games, all that stuff. But in practice, I didn't need all that stuff, and given the trade-off between a machine that can do all those things, or a machine that can only do a subset of those things, but damn, is it ever sexy and fun... the choice was obvious.
Sounds like there are plenty of other people who were in the same boat.
Could the netbook have done more things than the iPad? Of course: run arbitrary Windows apps, install other OS' like Linux or even OS X, use USB ports, card readers, webcams, play games, all that stuff. But in practice, I didn't need all that stuff, and given the trade-off between a machine that can do all those things, or a machine that can only do a subset of those things, but damn, is it ever sexy and fun... the choice was obvious.
Sounds like there are plenty of other people who were in the same boat.
No.... best buy is most likely seeing more sales as a result of the ipad. ask them if they would rather not sell it due to netbooks not being sold as well and id venture they would say no way, they want the ipad
And I'm guessing that Best Buy would rather sell an iPad in place of a 'traditional notebook'. There is so much competition and choice in that segment of the market that Best Buy's margins are probably minimal, plus they run the risk of having an oversupply at the end of the holiday season if they project their sales incorrectly.
On the other hand, with the iPad, BB can predict their margins (it may not be much more than a 'traditional notebook', but at least it's predictable) and they can be confident that they won't get caught with excess inventory at the end of the season that they need to sell off at a discount. If Apple even allows them to discount prices at all.
And I agree, that the BB fellow was talking about 'cannibalizing' their own sales. Best Buy wants a customer to come in and buy an iPad at Best Buy instead of buying a notebook at a competing retailer. Coming into a BB and buying an iPad instead of a notebook at BB is cannibalizing your own sales. Especially if you have signed agreements ahead of time to purchase those notebooks. If so, you still gotta move 'em somehow. I expect some pretty good deals at BB on notebooks as they try to sell as many iPads as possible and all those notebooks too.
On the other hand, with the iPad, BB can predict their margins (it may not be much more than a 'traditional notebook', but at least it's predictable) and they can be confident that they won't get caught with excess inventory at the end of the season that they need to sell off at a discount. If Apple even allows them to discount prices at all.
And I agree, that the BB fellow was talking about 'cannibalizing' their own sales. Best Buy wants a customer to come in and buy an iPad at Best Buy instead of buying a notebook at a competing retailer. Coming into a BB and buying an iPad instead of a notebook at BB is cannibalizing your own sales. Especially if you have signed agreements ahead of time to purchase those notebooks. If so, you still gotta move 'em somehow. I expect some pretty good deals at BB on notebooks as they try to sell as many iPads as possible and all those notebooks too.
Bs!
I don't believe it, unless, the people are that stupid to believe that an iPad can serve them as good as a notebook can, which (I personally believe that) is not true.
Ok, if a big iPod (call it iPad) can "cannibalize" the NOTEbook market, then my next notebook/laptop will be an(other) iPod.. Shuffle!
I don't believe it, unless, the people are that stupid to believe that an iPad can serve them as good as a notebook can, which (I personally believe that) is not true.
Ok, if a big iPod (call it iPad) can "cannibalize" the NOTEbook market, then my next notebook/laptop will be an(other) iPod.. Shuffle!
To be fair, you only absolutely need a computer once to activate the iPad, which you can do in the Apple Store if you ask nicely, or at a friend's house if you don't have an Apple Store nearby. After that, it is possible (though not ideal) to use the iPad without ever again connecting it to a computer. You would be missing out on the ability to back it up and perform OS updates, but that's about it.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. A rough count shows about $75 iPads at $499 a piece is about $37,500 worth of product on one cart.
But, a notebook is a gravy train of upsells: virus protection software, initial setup and crapware removal, extended warranties, printers, $30 USB cables, etc. Then after they take it home you can sell them virus removal services and all kinds of repairs like cracked screen replacements, etc. Don't forget Microsoft Office at $149 and up, and other packaged software at $39.95 minimum.
It doesn't matter how many I have, if I have.
Those people which stepped inside BB went there for a NOTEBOOK (not an iPod), eventually, and they have ended up with an iPad?!! C'mon BB, give me a break.. Sorry, but I just cannot buy this marketing trick.
You are ignoring the fact that a majority of people buy notebooks (esp. netbooks) only for things like checking email, watching a video, or chatting on Facebook.
Sure, the iPad cannot do everything a notebook can do. But it does everything most people bought notebooks to do. And does it better, with more battery life (your notebook is worse than a paperweight when it runs out of juice 3 hours into your flight) and in a lighter, more portable format, to boot.
This whole thing is not surprising. My poor Macbook Pro has been sitting in my desk drawer for weeks thanks to the iPad.
14 months ago I was in the Notebook (possibly Netbook) buying stage...we have a main computer (iMac) and this was for my then pregnant wife who wanted to be able to use a computer anywhere and be able to take to the hospital BUT all for surfing, email, loading photos and other small stuff. We bought a CHEAP laptop for $300...around the price (even less for some) as a Netbook.
Had the iPad been out (and probably cheaper too) that could have been the way to go. the iPad is not a Main Computer but a secondary computer.....what most people actually use laptops for is the small stuff that can be done on an iPad. Netbooks are for crap. As a secondary computer the iPad is teh winner for what you really need to do with it.
**as for TV sales.....many people finally got over the hump of buying a flatscreen LCD/LED/Plasma TV....why run out now just to have 3D which isn't that big yet.
*****on a back on topic post about the iPad. While in Best Buy a few weeks back (day we bought iPhones) I walked over to finally see an iPad first hand. There was a couple looking at the iPad and looked at the iMac next to it and was quite impressed too.....so, I could see Best Buy making more computer sales on this too....mainly Mac sales. People love Sleek/Easy-to-use Apple products.
Had the iPad been out (and probably cheaper too) that could have been the way to go. the iPad is not a Main Computer but a secondary computer.....what most people actually use laptops for is the small stuff that can be done on an iPad. Netbooks are for crap. As a secondary computer the iPad is teh winner for what you really need to do with it.
**as for TV sales.....many people finally got over the hump of buying a flatscreen LCD/LED/Plasma TV....why run out now just to have 3D which isn't that big yet.
*****on a back on topic post about the iPad. While in Best Buy a few weeks back (day we bought iPhones) I walked over to finally see an iPad first hand. There was a couple looking at the iPad and looked at the iMac next to it and was quite impressed too.....so, I could see Best Buy making more computer sales on this too....mainly Mac sales. People love Sleek/Easy-to-use Apple products.
Let's say you have a big old computer at home. Let's also say that all 3 of your kids want their own laptops to play around on. They still have the computer for editing videos on or typing book reports, but 99% of the time they just want to play games or mess around on Facebook.
Last year you would have bought them all cheap little laptops.
This year you'd end up buying them all iPads, wouldn't you? Assuming mom and dad share a laptop that house just went from being 100% laptops to 25% laptops. Just in one house.
And look at the people who walk in to Best Buy. The "dad" demographic is huge at that store. Nerds like us tend to buy stuff online, we're not as important at BB as the typical "dad with family" is. THAT type of buyer shifting his buying habits will certainly affect BB's overall numbers.
exactly!! many people use a NOTEBOOK for Very Simple Things.
not everyone, but many people.