New iPad Sales Top 3 Million in Under 4 Days

[inkswamp]

Interesting interpretation but it's totally your own invention. Just read Wikipedia article about it. Here is an excerpt:

"1984" used the unnamed heroine to represent the coming of the Macintosh (indicated by her white tank top with a cubist picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer on it) as a means of saving humanity from "conformity" (Big Brother)

Well, god forbid I challenge the authority of Wikipedia on something as subjective as that!

The general consensus about that ad (that I've heard) is that Big Brother represented IBM (the blue tones in the ad being the most glaring hint referencing IBM's nickname, "Big Blue") and the people are workers bound to the IBM PC. If you're looking to expand it to social commentary, it's more about the computer being a personal tool rather than the exclusive domain of business and big corporations.

I've never read that ad as being about social conformity. And considering that 1984 (the novel) is less about conformity and more about powerful interests controlling the behavior and thinking of the masses, I'm at a loss to understand why anyone would interpret the 1984 ad in any other way.

Since we're kicking around Wiki links, here's the one for Orwell's novel. Note that the summary does not talk about social conformity but rather a "world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and incessant public mind control...."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

If Apple had intended the ad to be about social conformity, they would have been better served basing the ad on Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

 

[9699624]

funny you see all these samsung ads insulting apple but you don't hear samsung saying we sold 3 million in 4 days of x product this is insane.

 

[ldominguez1986]

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I keep reading the posts on this thread that Apple sold 15 million iPad 2's last quarter, but what I remember reading on bgr was that Apple shipped 15.4 million. So my question is does shipped mean sold?

 

[KPOM]

funny you see all these samsung ads insulting apple but you don't hear samsung saying we sold 3 million in 4 days of x product this is insane.

Samsung delivered 3 million iPad Retina displays over the weekend. (Assuming, of course, that LG and Sharp displays haven't yet found their way into the production chain).

Seriously, though, you are right. Samsung would love to have a launch weekend 1/4 as good as Apple's when it comes to their core products.

 

[TheBronx]

funny you see all these samsung ads insulting apple but you don't hear samsung saying we sold 3 million in 4 days of x product this is insane.

Their next commercial will make fun of successful companies instead of their customers...can't hurt right?

 

[ldominguez1986]

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Quick question, if Apple doesn't count what they shipped to resellers as sold than why is there still a wait of 2-3 weeks if you buy online. I was at my local Apple store on sunday and they still had stock. Why does it still say 2-3 weeks though? My thinking is they do count what they sold to Walmart, target, etc... As sold or there wouldnt be a couple weeks wait on the iPads. I am not stating any fact so please dont kill me on this. Is there anyone that could clear this up for me?

 

[lilo777]

funny you see all these samsung ads insulting apple but you don't hear samsung saying we sold 3 million in 4 days of x product this is insane.

But... saying that would be quite opposite to their message, right? They are making fun about people waiting in line. It's quite possible that Apple actually wanted to make sure there are no lines for iPads this time around because of the effect achieved by Samsung commercials. And companies absolutely do not care how many devices they sell in any particular 3-day period. Samsung does report the facts like selling 32 million smart phones in Q4. BTW, you do no expect that iPad sales will keep at this rate for the next 3 days... and the next, or do you?

 

[Burger Thing]

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Hilarious to see one beloved forum member winding in pain because of *yet another* successful Apple product lunch and trying to dispute things. Ha Ha.

It must hurt to be a hater these days

 

[69650]

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I keep reading the posts on this thread that Apple sold 15 million iPad 2's last quarter, but what I remember reading on bgr was that Apple shipped 15.4 million. So my question is does shipped mean sold?

Depends. If you ship 100 items to a retailer they count as sold coz the retailer probably didn't buy them on sale-or-return. I'm not sure how Apple would know how many of them actually get sold onto customers and how many are on the shelves at any one time.

 

[TheBronx]

But... saying that would be quite opposite to their message, right? They are making fun about people waiting in line. It's quite possible that Apple actually wanted to make sure there are no lines for iPads this time around because of the effect achieved by Samsung commercials. And companies absolutely do not care how many devices they sell in any particular 3-day period. Samsung does report the facts like selling 32 million smart phones in Q4. BTW, you do no expect that iPad sales will keep at this rate for the next 3 days... and the next, or do you?

You're saying the point of the samsung commercials was so Apple would realize they need to make enough supply for the demand? This is entertaining.

 

[DeathChill]

But... saying that would be quite opposite to their message, right? They are making fun about people waiting in line. It's quite possible that Apple actually wanted to make sure there are no lines for iPads this time around because of the effect achieved by Samsung commercials. And companies absolutely do not care how many devices they sell in any particular 3-day period. Samsung does report the facts like selling 32 million smart phones in Q4. BTW, you do no expect that iPad sales will keep at this rate for the next 3 days... and the next, or do you?

No, no they don't, actually.

 

[brock2621]

I think a LOT of these iPads will be returned once scalpers (resellers) realize there isn't a market for marking up iPads when Best Buy and Wal-Mart still have stock!

"... A lot of these iPads?" Like, a considerable amount will be returned? Like, you thinkin 2.8 billion "of these?"

No? Maybe just 1.5 billion then, right?

 

[Vtwo]

Shipped vs Sold

I think Apple's figures are shipped numbers as well because I think besides their retail stores and online store, they probably aren't going to get the sales figures from all their resellers so they will count those at resellers as sold.

The reason other vendors get called out for using shipped numbers is because they usually only release the numbers 1 time and not on a per quarter basis and this is a big difference.

Let's use iPad 2 as and example.

Say for the 1st quarter it was for sale, the number shipped was 6M. They could have sold 5M and 1M was 'in-channel'. Now second quarter they shipped 10M. Now, assuming the 'in-channel' number is similiar (which is likely unless they expand their vendor list), then we can deduce they actually 'sold' 10M. Although they did not sell all the 10M they shipped in Q2, they did 'sell' the 1M that were 'in-channel' which was reported in Q1.
And with 1M in channel in Q2, it cancels out.

Also, Apple often times also report their 'in channel' numbers which most other vendors do not.

 

[lilo777]

You're saying the point of the samsung commercials was so Apple would realize they need to make enough supply for the demand? This is entertaining.

yeah, something like that. The point was to explain people that they are waiting in long lines for inferior products (and look stupid in the process). Apple was scared that Samsung commercials started having an effect and people would recall those commercials if they saw the lines at Apple stores and decided that they "were not as stupid as those freaks in commercials" (and opted not to participate in this hype).

----------

I think Apple's figures are shipped numbers as well because I think besides their retail stores and online store, they probably aren't going to get the sales figures from all their resellers so they will count those at resellers as sold.

The reason other vendors get called out for using shipped numbers is because they usually only release the numbers 1 time and not on a per quarter basis and this is a big difference.

Let's use iPad 2 as and example.

Say for the 1st quarter it was for sale, the number shipped was 6M. They could have sold 5M and 1M was 'in-channel'. Now second quarter they shipped 10M. Now, assuming the 'in-channel' number is similiar (which is likely unless they expand their vendor list), then we can deduce they actually 'sold' 10M. Although they did not sell all the 10M they shipped in Q2, they did 'sell' the 1M that were 'in-channel' which was reported in Q1.
And with 1M in channel in Q2, it cancels out.

Also, Apple often times also report their 'in channel' numbers which most other vendors do not.

Once again, for every other company out there except for Apple (and to lesser degree Sony) "shipped" numbers and "in-channel" numbers are identical. They simply do no do retail. Apple does and by SEC rules they have to report the sales.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Depends. If you ship 100 items to a retailer they count as sold coz the retailer probably didn't buy them on sale-or-return. I'm not sure how Apple would know how many of them actually get sold onto customers and how many are on the shelves at any one time.

Most Apple products don't sit on the shelf for very long... especially not a recently launched product like this 3rd generation iPad.

Every iPad that leaves the factory will have an owner almost immediately.

Has a retailer ever shipped an iPad back to Apple because it didn't sell?

 

[Vtwo]

And companies absolutely do not care how many devices they sell in any particular 3-day period.

Of course they do, especially if it is the launch period. Of course, the total number for a longer period is more meaningful but to say they don't care about launch numbers at all is just ignorant. First, having a high numbers shows that there is a high demand. And the demand can be used to projected future numbers.

Also, it also give the app devs a big incentive to update their apps to support the Retina display quicker. Knowing there are already 3M potential customers out there.

 

[TheBronx]

yeah, something like that. The point was to explain people that they are waiting in long lines for inferior products (and look stupid in the process). Apple was scared that Samsung commercials started having an effect and people would recall those commercials if they saw the lines at Apple stores and decided that they "were not as stupid as those freaks in commercials" (and opted not to participate in this hype)

Well, thank goodness for the Samsung commercial! They really helped Apple get this launch off without a hitch.

ROTFLMAO...I've now heard it all!

 

[aristotle]

I actually "own" a new iPad 4G LTE and I still own an iPad 2 Wifi so I am speaking from "experience".

All iPads have to be "activated" before they can be used and because Apple is the only brand of iPads, Apple knows how many new iPads have been purchased and activated by customers. They also know how many iPads were sold through their stores.

Apple has detailed records on which iPads were sold at their stores, which iPads were sold and activated through third party reseller and which iPads are still unaccounted for as unsold in the third party retail channel.

Because of all of this data, they can accurately account for all "known" sales which is what they are reporting. This is not the same as reporting "shipped" or numbers sold the the retail channel.

 

[ldominguez1986]

I actually "own" a new iPad 4G LTE and I still own an iPad 2 Wifi so I am speaking from "experience".

All iPads have to be "activated" before they can be used and because Apple is the only brand of iPads, Apple knows how many new iPads have been purchased and activated by customers. They also know how many iPads were sold through their stores.

Apple has detailed records on which iPads were sold at their stores, which iPads were sold and activated through third party reseller and which iPads are still unaccounted for as unsold in the third party retail channel.

Because of all of this data, they can accurately account for all "known" sales which is what they are reporting. This is not the same as reporting "shipped" or numbers sold the the retail channel.

I see what your saying about how they can tell through activation but why wouldn't they say 3 million ipads activated? I don't understand that because they said last quarter they shipped 15.4 million ipads but every person took that as "sold". I am confused by sold, activated, shipped. So how do we know they mean activated instead of sold? I am not arguing your point just trying to shed some light on my confusion.

 

[aristotle]

I see what your saying about how they can tell through activation but why wouldn't they say 3 million ipads activated? I don't understand that because they said last quarter they shipped 15.4 million ipads but every person took that as "sold". I am confused by sold, activated, shipped. So how do we know they mean activated instead of sold? I am not arguing your point just trying to shed some light on my confusion.

They don't have to say "activated" because, unlike Google with Android, they know the serial numbers/IMEIs of every iPad ever manufactured as well as which channel they were sold through. Google is reporting sales of all of their OEMs as an aggregate.

For iPads sold through Apple stores and www.apple.com, they can simply report those as "sold" to the customer even before they are "activated" while the rest have to be counted only after they are activated unless if resellers have a "return" agreement with Apple where they only pay for the units "sold". Either way, they can report their own "sales" directly and infer sales in other stores through activations.

If they only count "activations" for third party reseller, their actual sales could be higher for the weekend but if they have an agreement with the resellers to only pay for inventory sold then they have all of the accurate sales numbers from all channels.

The reason why Android devices are often reported as "shipped" rather than "sold" is for several reasons:
1. The sales numbers would probably be embarrassing.
2. Reporting sales might compel them to report sales volume in dollars which might reveal sales sold below cost.
3. Many android tablets are "sold" subsidized so the revenue for each tablet is not realized until the end of a year or two whereas Apple iPads are sold unsubsidized.

 

[Can't Stop]

I think the reason for such strong numbers has to do with a few factors... all of the standard ones that you'd expect like: apple fans, people who wanted a new iPad, people who wanted retina, people who wanted 4g, etc.

PLUS... The people who bought 2-10 thinking that this launch was going to be like every single other Apple launch, and that there would be tremendous demand and little supply.

I think a LOT of these iPads will be returned once scalpers (resellers) realize there isn't a market for marking up iPads when Best Buy and Wal-Mart still have stock!

And then Samsung releases something with all that and suddenly nobody wants it.

 

[ldominguez1986]

They don't have to say "activated" because, unlike Google with Android, they know the serial numbers/IMEIs of every iPad ever manufactured as well as which channel they were sold through. Google is reporting sales of all of their OEMs as an aggregate.

For iPads sold through Apple stores and www.apple.com, they can simply report those as "sold" to the customer even before they are "activated" while the rest have to be counted only after they are activated unless if resellers have a "return" agreement with Apple where they only pay for the units "sold". Either way, they can report their own "sales" directly and infer sales in other stores through activations.

If they only count "activations" for third party reseller, their actual sales could be higher for the weekend but if they have an agreement with the resellers to only pay for inventory sold then they have all of the accurate sales numbers from all channels.

The reason why Android devices are often reported as "shipped" rather than "sold" is for several reasons:
1. The sales numbers would probably be embarrassing.
2. Reporting sales might compel them to report sales volume in dollars which might reveal sales sold below cost.
3. Many android tablets are "sold" subsidized so the revenue for each tablet is not realized until the end of a year or two whereas Apple iPads are sold unsubsidized.

I totally see what you mean but how do we know Apple means activated. Was this something Apple has said before when they say sold they mean activated?

 

[RalfTheDog]

These numbers are meaningless. Apple is not doing that well because..... BECAUSE!

 

[hindmost]

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Well this number is not real!
I was at the Soho store in NYC today, there was a huge line of scalpers returning the new iPads! Unopened! All sales folks were shocked. One by one there were people returning 1, 2, 4, 10, etc. iPads.
So I bet the real number of iPads sold to real customers is twice as less.

NYC is a special case. Yes there are 'scalpers' mainly from NYC China Town. They are rounded up given cash and told to 'buy' 2, 4, or more. Then other Chinese function as 'mules' and pack the loot in suitcases and take them to China where corrupt border inspectors give a 'wink' and they go on the Chinese and other Asian countries market.

Point is.....most Apple Stores in the 'Heartland' do not face the Chinese hordes like in NYC.

Why returning so quickly? Easy, supply versus demand....they over-bought at product launch. Just a normal market factor. Ironically, the Chinese communists are the worlds biggest Capitalists!

 

[dejo]

It's in my report; google my friend.

What report? I googled "my friend" but found nothing related.