New iPad not greeted by rioting mobs – is this the start of the end of apple?
SOMETHING really rather strange has happened over at Apple. They’ve released a new product and yet we have no reports of stampeding crowds or rioting mobs screaming into the stores to get their hands on one.
Indeed, it’s rather the opposite:
Braying hordes of fanbois hungry for new iPads failed to turn up outside Blighty’s Apple stores today despite months of rumour, hype and speculation. Although slab shoppers were nonchalant in London, they were positively wet in Scotland. A queue of hundreds swiftly ebbed away outside the fruity tech titan’s Regent Street outlet, allowing at least one punter who rocked up at 9am to grab the improved fondleslab five minutes later.
The line was much more muted than previous iPad launches during which unlucky fans were turned away empty-handed.
A queue that only lasts an hour after the doors have opened just isn’t what we’ve come to expect from an Apple launch.
It’s possible that this is a sign that the magic is rubbing off. People just aren’t as excited about these new products as they used to be. That has damaging implications for Apple’s future share price.
It’s also possible that they’ve simply managed to get their logistics worked out. Enough stock in enough stores on the day of launch that there’s just no need for long queues.
Of the two I’d tend to believe the first as the second is just too fantastical to ever actually happen.
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Hundreds of people line up in front of a shopping mall in Oberhausen, western Germany, to buy the new iPad at the Apple store, Friday, March 16, 2012. The customary storefront crowds are expected to gather as Apple's latest iPad goes on sale Friday. Long lines are likely even though customers could have ordered the new tablet computer ahead of time for first-day home delivery. The third version of Apple's iPad will be available in the U.S. and nine other countries beginning at 8 a.m. local time. The new model comes with a faster processor and a much sharper screen. It also boasts an improved camera, similar to that of the latest iPhone. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Posted: 16th, March 2012 | In: Technology Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
