
Hope you reserved your iPad. Apple just ran out. - Flemlord
http://www.9to5mac.com/ipad-april-12-452393863
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rudyfink
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise. Apple running out of a new product on
release just seems to be a given at this point.

~~~
Batsu
It's almost like they plan on this issue...

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pavs
Scarcity is a good business model. When it happens all the time its not a bad
sales projection, its a business model.

Apple marketing is very predictable these days.

1) Create a new product.

2) Release controlled leaks and rumors.

3) Make a well orchestrated, public release in front of media.

4) Announce a release date and allow pre-order.

5) Announce inventory ran out, regardless of the volume of sales, before the
official release date.

~~~
Batsu
Yes, this was pretty much my thought. I guess sarcasm doesn't come out well in
short sentences, but no big deal.

There's no reason for Apple or anyone to oversupply on opening day. In Apple's
case, by shutting down preorders they generate press just because they're
declaring it full. If you open a site to beta traffic with signup, then get
coverage at a place like Techcruch, and shut down signups with only 10 users
but don't delcare it, the press will think you're a hot item if you don't
provide numbers.

That isn't exactly the case with Apple, of course -- they are a hot item.
Without numbers, though... they could have sold 10 or 10 million. I'm sure the
other estimates made in the thread circling 250,000 are close though.

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gahahaha
Terrible planning! How could that possibly be in Apple's interest? Oh wait:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influence_Science_and_Practice>

""" People tend to want things as they become less available. This has led
advertisers to promote goods as "limited availability", or "short time only".

It has also been shown that when information is restricted (such as through
censorship), people want the information more and will hold that information
in higher regard.

Items are also given a higher value when they were once in high supply but
have now become scarce."""

~~~
hartror
Is it intentional or just the fact that ramping up production on a (almost)
completely new product is a difficult ask?

Either way I'm reminded of this comic from the PS3 vs Wii days.
<http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=212> which I present without comment.

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dotBen
I beg to differ with the hype that 'everyone is getting one'. I know LOADS of
people (tech people, even ObjC devs) who are not getting one - either they
don't want one from the first production run or they don't want one at all.

I'm building an iPad-orientated site for launch but I'm happy using the SDK
and don't have any interest in actually owning one.

~~~
Qz
I'm not getting one, and it's not just because I barely earn enough to pay
rent. I don't know what I would do with it. I have a laptop that I haven't
even booted up in a year. I might get around to making some apps for it once
Flash CS5 comes out with iPhone app export. I'd rather not bother with
objective-C if I don't have to.

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jkincaid
Stores will still have extra stock for people who didn't reserve one (just
called Apple Store SF, though they didn't know how many they'd have). Also,
Best Buy is apparently going to be selling them on launch day, though that
isn't confirmed yet: [http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/27/leaked-image-says-
ipad-la...](http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/27/leaked-image-says-ipad-lands-
at-best-buy-on-launch-day/)

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spudlyo
I want an iPad for browsing leisurely from my couch or bedroom. I don't want
to see web advertisements though, and I won't be able to install Firefox +
adblock or some kind of ad filtering proxy on the machine. I suppose I could
configure a transparent proxy on my network, but that sounds like a pain. For
me the closed nature of the device might be a deal breaker.

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emehrkay
I reserved two -- the first being a 16 and then I thought maybe I'd like a 32,
so I reserved that last night -- I'm only getting one, so someone will be
lucky.

Its wild though, the 32 is about 635 with tax + 43 for a case + 76 for apple
car, that is a good 750 for the thing.

~~~
johnwh
Given the limits of the iPad (it running a stripped OS), are you at all
nervous about the worth of the purchase. I really love the idea, and the OS
will make it lightning fast vs a typical computer that you wait for programs
to load, but 750 can buy you a great lightweight 13inch laptop, or 2 netbooks
with 3g. (I hope this is not insulting at all, I am just interested about the
hype)

~~~
emehrkay
I have two laptops and a desktop, not looking for another full-featured
computer. I love the idea of a "big iphone" or simplified computer that does a
few things well. I guess I'm a tech whore. Im interested in the JooJoo and
Norton Adam too, its just that the iPad has a huge lead when it comes to
software.

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maxharris
It certainly seems that the iPad will be a hit. I'm planning to spend most of
April 3rd at the Apple store in my mall. I can't wait to just touch one!

But I'm not going to buy one until the 3G version is out later in April. (The
cheap 3G service is just too compelling to pass up.)

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spitfire
Apple isn't taking reservations for ipad V2 or V3 yet, so no worries here.

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alanstorm
Oh not, I'll have to wait a few weeks for the next production run and suffer
with owning a device that's had the inevitable Object 1.0 hardware fixes!

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aresant
The best estimates peg 250,000 sold to date:

<http://aaplmodel.blogspot.com/>

Today's news would seem to validate this - given a few weeks back they
estimated that preliminary run would be limited to 300,000:

"An unspecified production problem at the iPad's manufacturer, Hon Hai
Precision, will likely limit the launch region to the US and the number of
units available to roughly 300K in the month of march, far lower than the
company's initial estimate of 1,000K units."

[http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?threadid=10742...](http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?threadid=107425)

Assuming that means 50k in the retail channel, should be interesting.

