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Memo to Apple: You Might Want to Dispatch an iPad Team to Stanford U ASAP!

January 29, 2010 at 2:22 am PT

Earlier this week, BoomTown dispatched intrepid All Things Digital intern Drake Martinet to the campus of Stanford University–located in the heart of Silicon Valley and where he is a student–right after Apple launched its new iPad tablet computer.

His mission: To find out if fellow students at the famous institution of higher learning–presumably one of the big consumer targets for Apple (AAPL)–were going to go out and get the mobile, multimedia device asap.

While there were no dopey jokes about the iPad name, it turned out: Not so much.

Here’s the video:

Tagged with: All Things Digital, Apple, Apple Tablet Feature, asap, BoomTown, computer, consumer, digital, Drake Martinet, hardware, intern, Internet, interview, iPad, joke, Kara Swisher, learning, multimedia, name, Silicon Valley, software, Stanford University, student, tablet, video

comments so far. Add yours.

Kal1Kap2

Hi Kara,

I'm a big fan of allthingsd and check it out a few times a day diligently. I have a few observations on the stanford university video survey of ipad. I have a few observations.

I think Stanford geeks are probably a wrong crowd since they all like “open” systems and google android stuff. I bet if you ask any of them if they own a kindle, the answer will be a clear NO.

the right demographics for this kind of device is the kindle user (an ebook reader) or someone who travels for work or leisure. These Stanford students probably never leave the campus and have access to desktops and laptops everywhere they turn.

The other demographics would be the high school and college kids (there were probably some graduate students in the crowd). Clearly, this will not be as prevalent as the iphone or the itouch but if they can get 5% of iphone+ipod touch users to try this out, thats 3 million units right there. Then you add 25% of e-reader market share (thats another 0.5M units), so you get 3.5 M units. Then you add another 5% share of the netbook market (thats another 0.5M units), you easily get to 4M units.
majorplonquer

As far as students are concerned the iPad is not a failuer. It is utterly useless. Consider this:

1: The lack of a pen interface means that you can't write notes into an ebook. Sorry but I always thought that a pen interface was the whole point of a (keyboardless) tablet.

2: The lack of multitasking means that you can't read a book and take notes (even with the keyboard) at the same time. OK. Just how many students would actually like to take notes alongside the materials they read I don't know. But Apple's decided its not important enough to include.

And this is just the start of where this device just fails. Other than its display it doesn't do one single thing well.
http://www.r4cards.co.nz/ cheap r4 dsi

The iPad Is Not Going To Save Newspapers Get A Sneak Peek At Publisher Apps For The Apple iPad Apple's Insidious Plan To Force Advertisers To Use Apple's Ad Technology .
majorfailure

You spelled failure wrong.

Interestingly, your spelling is almost as bad as your predictions. See you in 3 years when the iPad will have sold over 100 million units.
majorplonquer

Sorry kiddo, but unlike Apple I've never experienced failure before. Don't forget the Newton. Look back at Steve Jobs introducing that. Remember what he said? Go on, dig it up, I dare you.

100 million units? There aren't that many idiots on the planet.
http://sisyph.us/ ErikSchwartz

While I too am skeptical about the iPad's market segment you are wrong about the Newton.

The Newton was released in 1989. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985 and did not return until Apple bought Next in 1997.