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iPad stronger name than Apple?

spiderman0616

spiderman0616

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Original poster
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
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I found this interesting:

I have noticed more and more people on the train to and from work using tablets and e-readers. (mostly Kindles and iPads) I have also noticed a lot more people TALKING about buying tablets or e readers.

So yesterday, I heard a lady talking to her friend about whether to buy a tablet or not. She kept saying she wanted a Sony iPad. It was driving me crazy, but I didn't intervene. I wanted to hear if anyone ever corrected her or if I could figure out why she thought it was made by Sony. I never did hear the end of the conversation because I fell asleep on the train. :)

Anyway, I have to wonder if for some people the Apple brand is not nearly as recognizable as the name of the product. Like if a 50 year old lady is buying an iPad, does she think Apple or does she just think iPad? Does she think every tablet is an iPad, like it's a synonymous term? You can win iPods in the claw machine at the grocery store now. Do people still really care that it's Apple, or do they just care that it's an iPod?

Anyone have any thoughts? I think for a long time while Apple was coming back from near death, it was a lot bigger deal to people. Now that Apple products are household items, it seems to be a different story.
 
Yeah, I'm sure people are well aware of the Apple name simply because the iPod became so famous. But if you notice most of the Apple ads put the name of the product out there, but not the name of the company. Instead you just see the Apple logo and they know you know what company they are talking about. That's how much Apple is now known.

But the end result is the word that gets pushed onto the public's consciousness is "iPod" or "iPhone" or "iPad."

With estimates that Samsung may have 10% of the tablet market, and all the other wannabes might combine for another 10%, Apple must have 80% of the tablet market now. That's dominance along the order of their MP3 player dominance. So it's not surprising if like people talk about Xeroxing something, people talk about getting a Sony iPad. We don't have a tablet market, we have an iPad market.
 
spiderman0616 said:
So yesterday, I heard a lady talking to her friend about whether to buy a tablet or not. She kept saying she wanted a Sony iPad. .
Click to expand...

I'd hesitate before making too many broad conclusions from a single anecdotal incident. The person you overheard may not know which company makes the iPad, and may have mentally substituted Sony for Apple.

At this point, among the general gadget-buying public, I'd have to believe Apple was better known than iPad. People have been buying Apple computers since the lates 1970s, iPods since 2001, and iPhones since 2007. There's probably close to a half billion various bits of Apple hardware knocking around. Compared to twenty million or so iPads.

Is there the possibility that the word iPad becomes a synonym for "touchscreen tablet computing device" in the way that "Coke" and "Xerox" became generic words? Possibly, but doubtful. Companies are much more protective of their trademarks and tradenames. On the other hand, the people at Apple must be somewhat satisfied that the iPad has achieved such a dominant "mindshare" position.
 
To be clear, I'm not drawing any conclusions from one conversation that I overheard. It just got me thinking. I also had a lady ask me on the train one day if my iPad was a Kindle. People just don't seem to have the tech straight and I'm just interested to figure out why.
 
Generally speaking, older people who didn't grow up with all the technological advances we've seen today, find it difficult to adapt themselves to such rapid growth. Perhaps that is why that lady said it was a Sony iPad. To answer the question, no, more people know what Apple is than what iPad is.
 
spiderman0616 said:
To be clear, I'm not drawing any conclusions from one conversation that I overheard. It just got me thinking. I also had a lady ask me on the train one day if my iPad was a Kindle. People just don't seem to have the tech straight and I'm just interested to figure out why.
Click to expand...

People aren't nerds like u and I

And people call android phones Droids

Is that the new Droid EvO?
 
I would say iPod is a stronger name than Apple. The number of people who refer to Sony MP3 players etc. as iPods is extraordinary
 
I understand where the OP is coming from. Yes Sony has a tablet coming out. So it wouldn't surprise me if she was speaking of buying the Sony tablet and thinking of iPad in general.

It also wouldn't surprise me to hear non techies speak of all tablets as iPads. Is iPad stronger than Apple...I don't think so, but it is something to think about.
 
Facial Tissue = Kleenex

Adhesive Bandage = Band-Aid

Cotton Swabs = Q-Tips

People associate products with a Brand Name even if the product they are using is not. So I guess the general public is starting to associate any Tablet looking device as an iPad.
 
Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy when I refer to my e-reader as my "nook." They have this look on their face like "WTF?!" Then I always have to say, "you know, it's like a kindle.." "OHHH." It's so annoying, it made me think about switching to a kindle, lmao. And my dad asked me if it was an iPad... "no, but if you wanna buy one for me go ahead."
 
Back in the day, any portable tape player was pretty much called a walkman. So it's entirely possible that people call any portable music player an ipod and any tablet/e-reader an ipad.
Considering how many companies have copied apple's styling cues, it wouldn't be surprising that someone thinks that sony is capable of designing a ipad looking tablet.
Anyway, if the lady went to the store and asked for a sony ipad, I'd like to think the person would get her an ipad--especially if she walked into the apple store.:D
 
The lady was referring to the Sony e-reader. A better but lesser known e-reader than the Kindle, but available almost anywhere Kindles are. Sony's tablet hasn't shown up yet. They are probably waiting to see how Apple vs Samsung turns out, and they would also be likely to make their tablet as much like an iPad (thin, light) as possible.
 
ratzzo said:
Generally speaking, older people who didn't grow up with all the technological advances we've seen today, find it difficult to adapt themselves to such rapid growth. Perhaps that is why that lady said it was a Sony iPad. To answer the question, no, more people know what Apple is than what iPad is.
Click to expand...

I think your generalization is off by a generation or more. People in their 50's were in their 20's or 30's when the personal computer revolution took place (along with other tech markets such as CD's and ripping their own CD mixes, the Internet, and all that other stuff).

But back on topic: I believe the last relevant poll showed that Apple was the most recognized brand in the world - so, there must be some recognition, even if it's subconscious (I'm sure if the person in the OP were asked, they would most likely know the connection from Apple to iPad). I do acknowledge, though, that "iPad" could becoming generic, as iPod did.
 
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In my family many just call MacBooks or iMacs "an Apple". I started calling their laptops "a Microsoft" now, since they are unwilling to learn.
 
My parents still call any video game console a nintendo even though the nes was the only one with that name. Same with any mp3 player as an iPod. Wouldn't surprise me if everyone just starts thinking about any tablet being an iPad.
 
I think you're right, that the brand name is stronger than the company name for sure.

People call all MP3 Players, iPods.

People call all tablets, iPads.

That's where the story ends but still definitely true. Sony missed a huge chance, we used to call all CD players, Walkmans. ;)
 
This is both good and bad.

It would not matter at all if Apple were aiming for people on these forums as we all know what's what.
But someone who'd got zero knowledge about computers.

Normal people :D

May well just think, like walkmans, record players, cassette players, tvs, etc etc that are all the same thing really.
Go to buy an iPad and come out with a tablet from anyone.
Yes they saw the iPad adverts, but all tablets are the same are they not?
 
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I know where you're coming from. I work for Officemax and a customer was looking at a charger for a Sony Reader and she asked "since it says Reader, is that for all book readers?" I then went on to explain that Reader is Sony's product name.

Hence the trademark logo next to the word Reader.
 
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