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.
iPad Drives Apple to New Highs in U.S. Customer Satisfaction Survey for Personal Computers
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
People aren't going to spend $1200 on a computer and say it sucks.
I can't imagine a niche market giving themselves a low score, so these rating are irrelevant to me. A person with an HP computer couldn't care less if their next computer was a different brand, while many Mac users, being such a small group has more a war against PC mentality, so that's why I never take these scores seriously. Human nature.
Ok so almost everyone who has actually used and/or owned the iPad absolutely LOVE the thing. I think everyone has figured that out by now. Even the haters realize this but as the saying goes.... "haters gonna hate". That's what they do. Especially when they turn out to be wrong.
I got one as a gift recently and I'm not really sure what to do with it. We already have a MacBook and an iMac at home. Typing on it/holding it is awkward at best.
Some of the apps I wanted to use haven't been rebuilt for the iPad, so using them is kind of hokey. Obviously, this will change given time. And iOS 4 will improve some things.
But overall, I am failing to see what advantage it has over a Macbook, unless it is for niche situations- e.g. on a plane, traveling light, etc. Otherwise it is just an extra device on top of an iPhone and a MacBook.
Some of the apps I wanted to use haven't been rebuilt for the iPad, so using them is kind of hokey. Obviously, this will change given time. And iOS 4 will improve some things.
But overall, I am failing to see what advantage it has over a Macbook, unless it is for niche situations- e.g. on a plane, traveling light, etc. Otherwise it is just an extra device on top of an iPhone and a MacBook.
Considering there really aren't any iPad competitors, it is priced infinitely higher. That's just ridiculous!Even though Macs are generally more expensive, it just goes to show you, you get what you pay for. In Macs case, a whole lot of happy.
So the opinions of people who actually care about something are meaningless? Funny, I'd rank them higher in usefulness. That's why I look for such opinions when contemplating a purchase. Such opinions have influenced the computers I have, the A/V equipment I have, the lawn mower, music, my kids' school, etc.
Pretty happy with my "irrelevant" choices.
Given how most companies treat us consumers these days it is not a surprise.
We are used to going into encounters with companies when they should do the right thing knowing 99% of the time they will not do the right thing.
With Apple you can go to them even when you did the wrong thing, and there is still a chance they might help you out.
It is head and shoulders beyond pretty much any other experience I have dealing with companies, and I have been having a whole lot of bad interactions lately.
Yes a lot of Apple products cost more, but there is a value to that cost, one that is pretty worthwhile.
We are used to going into encounters with companies when they should do the right thing knowing 99% of the time they will not do the right thing.
With Apple you can go to them even when you did the wrong thing, and there is still a chance they might help you out.
It is head and shoulders beyond pretty much any other experience I have dealing with companies, and I have been having a whole lot of bad interactions lately.
Yes a lot of Apple products cost more, but there is a value to that cost, one that is pretty worthwhile.
The opinions of people who will praise a company no matter what is irrelevant to me. Just the same as the opinion of a hardcore republican or democrat is irrelevant to me, because no matter how absurd the position might be, they're never going to go against their party. Being a niche product, a large percentage of Mac users become hardcore lovers.
And for the record the PC is much more useful to me, I can find virtually any programs that I need, and unfortunately OSX couldn't do that for me. If I would have used to to just browse the internet, that would have been fine, but when you have no replacements for many programs, deal breaker.
There are few of those blinded in favor of Apple, here. But since you are blinded in opposition to Apple, you probably don't see that.
So, why chat about Apple customer service? Talk about meaningless.
Now that's pretty funny - you can easily see that Apple makes less products than their competitors so support is much easier, you can also see that they use the higher quality parts when givent he choice which makes their hardware more reliable. Now, given that, you choose to think that it's fanboyism? I can't take that seriously.
What I really don't understand is calling these things a niche market, though. Overall, consumer and enterprise, Apple is less than 10%. Yet they are in the top 5 producers. That's not niche, especially when it comes to only consumers.
I think the opinion of someone who has determined a product can't be good because it has fanboys is just as if not more irrelevent. Niche products do not make people hardcore lovers of those products....that's absolutely absurd. If that were the case, Creative Zens would be known as the greatest MP3 player on the planet. Fact is, people try these products and are satisfied or happy with them...repeatedly. That's what makes people hardcore lovers of products.
Exactly what can't you find on OSX that you can find on the PC that is a necessity? I own only a Mac Mini that I use as an HTPC and there's nothing I'm left needing on the PC...the same could be said for a work PC as even Microsoft makes their most needed products for Mac.
I paid something like $350 extra for a Macbook model made with plastic that cracks. A model that I couldn't even type on because the batteries get swallon, which presses hard against the track pad and the keyboard.
It's a niche market, what's wrong with that?
At this rate, in a few years AAPL will be trading at an iPad a share! base model... but still! Lol, then again, who knows what pricing scheme apple will be using by the time they're trading at 500$ a share
base model... but still! Lol, then again, who knows what pricing scheme apple will be using by the time they're trading at 500$ a share Where did I say that I product can't be good because of its fanboys?
Basically Apple has more fanboys, as most people have no reason to be an HP, Dell fanboys. And naturally those fanboys are always going to cause Apple to do great in such survey. Being an HP or Dell fanboy would be like being a Coca Cola or Pepsi Cola fanboy. They just don't exist, while Apple has passionate fanboys.
I cannot even begin to describe how impossible it would be to replace all the programs I use on OSX. But the same can be the same for a life long Mac user to go to Windows.
AFAIK, there are few things you can't do with a mac anymore. The #1 thing that you can't do is play every game there is to play. However, you can't do that on PCs either, there are a few mac-only games and many console games out there. Games are a rather unique category in that you can't just get one and have it do all you want it to do, and at the end of the day, the only reason you can't get every game on a mac is due to which platforms companies choose to program for. Same could be said for every platform out there. Outside of games though, I can't think of a single thing that a mac falls short at.
Plus, you didn't give any dates. There was a time when, yes, there wasn't much available for OS X, but that certainly is no longer the case.
Wow, this is such a genuine post, I couldn't have said it better myself!
It's funny, because "90%" seems to be a common theme here, including the previous poster who referred to it as a bit of a toy, then went on to say that his family uses it for "90%" of what they would normally use a computer for!
And I myself have uttered that same number, on too many occasions to count. It's true, my iMac sits dormant, mostly lonely, and neglected these days, although I do still enjoy it immensely, don't get me wrong! I just wish I had more time...
And when time is such a limited commodity for so many in this modern age, when I come home from my day job I grab the iPad for all of my day-to-day "computer stuff" that needs to get done. It accomplishes everything quickly, easily, and quite enjoyably because I can usually relax on the couch while I'm doing it (who said iPad doesn't multitask?), and I'm not seated at a desk or hovering over a laptop. I do lots of creative things too, because it's always just a 5 second click and switch from email/web/reading, to drawing, writing, or making music.
Looked at in this light, it's really quite amazing that 1.5 lbs. of half inch thick computing slab can do so much with so little, and fit in the palm of your hand. This thing is f'in sweet!!!
Kinda makes the iPad-complainers we read on these forums sound like spoiled brats.
And now with these published statistics, there is empirical evidence to prove it.an iPad is clearly not a "personal computer". If that were the case, this survey should have taken into consideration the iPod Touch and iPhone lines...as well as the Sony PSP.
Please don't reply with your lecture on how "personal computing" has instantly changed and my view of "personal computers" (the traditional, 25+ year view of a keyboard/mouse/computer/monitor setup) is out the window.
As I've said numerous times: the iPad will blossom like the iPod...call me when Rev 3 or 4 is ready and the price is 1/2 cheaper than the ridiculous $499. Till then, I'll love my iPhone 3GS and my PC and Mac Mini.
-Eric
Please don't reply with your lecture on how "personal computing" has instantly changed and my view of "personal computers" (the traditional, 25+ year view of a keyboard/mouse/computer/monitor setup) is out the window.
As I've said numerous times: the iPad will blossom like the iPod...call me when Rev 3 or 4 is ready and the price is 1/2 cheaper than the ridiculous $499. Till then, I'll love my iPhone 3GS and my PC and Mac Mini.
-Eric
When you wise up and make the switch, you will see how that is not really the case.. Nice thing about a mac though is you can run windows on it for those few things you have to run, but as time goes by those things become fewer and fewer as you find better ways to accomplish things.
I had the same thoughts before I moved over to the mac, but never looked back. I have vmware fusion now, which covers 99.9999% of the time I ever need to use windows, so I don't even need to reboot into boot camp. Beyond that, I rarely need to use windows for any reason at all.
I know someone who was afraid of not having access to "many" programs, but they switched as well, and it turned out it was not that big of deal and did not regret it at all. No reason to be held back from enjoying your computing experience, because of a few programs.
Have your cake and eat it too!
Paul Therott in a review of the iPad said that it was so bad it didn't even deserve to be reviewed.
Talk about a misquote! Here's what he actually said:
Is this thing even worth reviewing?
Right off the bat, I'm glad to see that my initial reactions to this thing were accurate. Anyone who believes this thing is a game changer is a tool. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. The iPad is nice, as we knew it would be. But it's bigger and much heavier than I'd like for a movie player or eBook/newspaper reader, and those were my own personal primary use cases.
Source: http://www.winsupersite.com/alt/ipad_firstimpressions.asp
Right off the bat, I'm glad to see that my initial reactions to this thing were accurate. Anyone who believes this thing is a game changer is a tool. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. The iPad is nice, as we knew it would be. But it's bigger and much heavier than I'd like for a movie player or eBook/newspaper reader, and those were my own personal primary use cases.
Source: http://www.winsupersite.com/alt/ipad_firstimpressions.asp
In other words, it's what he expected it to be nice but not without issues.
Me too. I'm guessing you owned the m15x? I had it and it had the worst build quality known to man. Hinge broke thrice and vidoe card burnt out once before I finally gave up on it. My mid 2010 MBP on the other hand
Huh?
Not a personal computer? I'm an airline pilot for a major carrier. The iPad has fully replaced my laptop. I can generate the reports I need to, through my company's web portal. Access all company documents and references for our operations through the same secure portal. Download and store all my aircraft manuals and training documents as PDF's as well as annotate and mark them up. Access and communicate through our intranet-company mail system. Check flight, equipment and crew statuses. Additionally I manage my investments, bills and banking accounts through my iPad (critical in an industry that can have you on the road 50% of the year), receive my magazine subscriptions, read my books, and enjoy movies and TV while commuting on aircraft. And yes, enjoy gaming that bests a DS or gameboy (and I have owned both).
I just can't come to understand how you must define personal computing. Unless you can't break from a mouse, or only consider personal computing to involve programs such as Turbo CAD and Adobe Suite 5, you are simply wrong. The iPad, for me, has actually put the "personal" back into computing. In my hands, on my couch, in bed, on a plane or in my grandmother's hands as she looks effortlessly at photos of her great-grand children, doing all of the things I most regularly do. That IS personal computing. To say otherwise is either disingenuous or simply ignorant. Which is what a review is when based on no personal experience. And your post makes clear you do not own one. Any movies you haven't seen or unread books you would like to additionally review while you are on a roll?
The iPad can run an emulator for a Commodore 64, one of the best selling personal computers of all time. That makes the iPad at least a personal computer if not a lot more.
iPad Drives Apple to New Highs in U.S. Customer Satisfaction Survey for Personal Computers.
.
.
.
.
I guess it depends on your perspective, because the column to the right of the highlighted column reveals a different story!
.
.
Overhyped not one iota. Bought one with 3G, and yes... It changed my life, work wise. I don't think I have barely picked up my Air since the iPad came. I can be out and have access to all my work emails, using the Dropbox app I can have access to my files, using the Photos app I can keep work samples for a portfolio or to show a client mock-ups. We took it with us on vacation to Maine and Quebec and the built in Maps app and the nav app Motionx HD worked great. I haven't used our regular GPS since, and love the huge screen.
I use AirVideo to stream movies from our library, and also love the ABC tv app. NPR app gives access to almost all their shows, Pandora is great for music. FlipBook is a great peek into the infancy of a new interface for content perusal. Ok... Maybe it is a little magical.
Cheers,
Michael
Not sure what exactly you define as "serious" work, but it is no mere toy. No... I don't use it to work in Aperture to do my imaging, or do I produce ads or publications on it... But I don't do that stuff on my laptop either. My desktop has a 27" screen, 16gb of ram, and about 10tb of file storage, so it is a no brainer. I pretty run my entire business through email, and so for me that qualifies as work. I can do word processing if needed, work on spreadsheets, access my work files through DropBox, I use ToDo for daily planning and Corkulous for keeping track of ideas and concepts for campaigns. It is more valuable work wise than my laptop, 3G acesss is the tipping point, size is what makes it killer.
Cheers,
Michael