Apart from several sleek enhancements over its predecessor, the iPad 2 will come at the same price tag, forcing new tablet buyers to instead wait for it to arrive and not fall for the first Apple tablet. To make it worth the wait, the iPad 2 will be available in 27 countries within first two months of its launch, compared to the last Apple tablet, which shipped in around 10 country markets during first few months.
Soon after it was announced that the iPad 2 would go on sale in the US from March 11, 2011, there was a mad rush to dispose of used iPads online. A quick search on Craigslist.com and eBay.com reveals that sparingly used 16GB iPads can be had for as little as $200 to $300. At the iPad 2 launch, Apple CEO Steve Jobs also went so far as to suggest that we've moving towards a post-PC world. While not everyone agrees with that, there's no denying that Apple can be credited with the success of the current tablet form factor.
"Sales and enquiries for the iPad 1 have just vanished since the time iPad 2 was announced. I have not sold a single iPad 1 in the last two-three weeks - from the time the rumours for iPad-2 started growing stronger and its subsequent launch. Consumers wanting to buy the iPad have all postponed their decision and are now waiting for the new version of the gadget," said Babli Kripalani, owner of Bang Bang, a gadget store in the Kolkata's AC Market.
Babli was among the first to make iPad available in Kolkata before the official launch in India. "I intend to make iPad 2 available in India sometime next week, when they start shipping," he said.
"Consumers do not want to buy the iPad 1 when iPad 2 is coming with added features, including cameras and a magnetic cover apart from being thinner and faster. It is likely to be made available several months from now, but in the meantime it will start selling in the grey market," said Biswajit Chatterjee, manager retail, Computer Exchange, a fairly large chain of IT gadget of shops in Kolkata.
"While it's true that the iPad 2 launched only a month after the iPad 1 official launch in India, it would be nice if they extended the $100 refund for recent purchases here as well. Also, it would be useful if Apple could give some clue as to when they will launch the iPad 2 in India, to help plan the inevitable future purchase," said Binesh Kutty, a technology enthusiast who recently bought his iPad.
All this only echoes the recent findings of research firm RBC Capital Markets, where they say that only 0.3% people out of the planet's 6.8 billion inhabitants bought a tablet till the end of 2011. Number of tablet users is insignificant even when compared with the 2 billion internet users or 1.3 billion total PCs worldwide. Ergo, the potential for tablets remains huge.
Other tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab , Olive Pad, Dell Streak and ViewSonic ViewPad launched last year - all before the official launch of the iPad. However, things are going to get more interesting since new versions of the Dell Streak and Galaxy Tab, Motorola's Xoom, HTC's Flyer, BlackBerry's Playbook and Acer's tablet range are all set for a 2011 India launch. And for those looking at more affordable tablets, Lava, Zen and G'Five have also been developing tablets of their own, to be priced between 10,000 and 18,000.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us
No comments:
Post a Comment