The iPad Effect On Other Devices
By Despite the fact that the iPad has been positioned as a device mostly designed to consume content (web, videos, music…), and was initially seen as a “niche” product by many, a Resolve Market Research (RMR) report looking at how people are using their iPads reveals that the device is popular with a much larger base than other Apple products, and that the iPad is getting used in more ways than initially thought.
RMR found that 37 percent of people who owned or were about to buy an iPad were new Apple customers, and that despite the success of other Apple products such as the iPhone or the Mac product line, the iPad seems to have managed to “conquer” a much more diversified audience than other Apple devices.
RMR also discovered that the iPad is helping Apple slowly but surely take business away from other, more specialized device makers, as 49 percent of iPad users said they would not be buying an e-reader now that they own an iPad. Same goes for the portable consoles and laptop/netbook markets, with a whopping 38 percent of iPad users not interested in buying a portable gaming device and, a 32 percent of iPad owners not in the market for a laptop or netbook because of their iPad.
Overall, it is clear that the iPad is increasingly perceived as a converged device, able to combine functionalities that were until recently only reserved to more specialized devices, such as e-readers and portable consoles – a trend that likely make both Amazon and Nintendo cringe.
