People want tablets 130 percent more today than some other day, apparently


Apple Insider reported today that a survey of 3,034 consumers shows that Apple’s iPad as well as the Kindle Fire from Amazon are poised to be the only two players in the tablet game this holiday season, capturing 65 percent and 22 percent of the entire market, respectively. Samsung captured the third spot with a measly 4 percent of those surveyed.

Among the total number of customers polled, 2 percent indicated they have already ordered the Kindle Fire, while another 5 percent said they are “very likely” to purchase the device, and 12 percent indicated they are “somewhat likely.” The launch of the Kindle Fire helped to push overall tablet demand to 14 percent indicating they plan to buy in the next 90 days, 8 points higher than a similar survey in August, and more than triple the level of a year ago.

The survey from ChangeWave tallies the number of users who are somewhat likely to purchase a tablet as well as those who are very likely to purchase one this holiday season. That basically means that the numbers are pointless. Every time I take a survey that asks me how likely I am to purchase a product, I always indicate I’m extremely likely to take the plunge. Somehow I doubt Lamborghini has ramped up their production schedules to account for my, and others’, interest in their cars.

No other tablet manufacturer scored over 1 percent  in this survey, outside of the aforementioned companies. It will also be fun to see how demand for the Kindle Fire fairs after the initial wave of customer interest dies down over the coming months and after the holiday season.

A thought on the source article

I don’t get how someone can deduce that there is a 130 percent increase in demand based on the source material. The title would have you believe it’s this groundbreaking revelation, yet there are no numbers supporting the claim. There is no reference to the 130 percent increase in specific, and the only thing remotely relating to the point at hand is this:

The launch of the Kindle Fire helped to push overall tablet demand to 14 percent indicating they plan to buy in the next 90 days, 8 points higher than a similar survey in August, and more than triple the level of a year ago.

What’s AppleInsider’s definition of demand? Where are they getting their numbers? If it was just meant to be an eye catcher and held no real value, why not make it 5000 percent and say you based the comparison on sales from 2001?

No matter what the stat is referring to at this point, it’s fair to say that tablets are taking over and seem to be setting a course for phasing out those cheap netbooks. The naysayers may argue this, cornering tablets into a niche, but with the world becoming more open to cloud solutions, laptop computers aren’t offering too many advantages over their new competitors.

Source: Apple Insider

Josh is the Social Media Director and Sr. Systems Engineer for a startup toy company. He is freakishly into just about anything tech related. When he's not writing, he can be found inventing products at Quirky, or doing 3D renders… Full Bio