21. References Apple Pty Ltd. (2010). iPad Available in Australia in Late April. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.apple.com/au/pr/library/2010/03/05ipad.html Apple Pty Ltd. (2010). Apple Launches iPad. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.apple.com/au/pr/library/2010/01/27ipad.html Apple Pty Ltd. (2010). iPad Available in US on April 3. retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/03/05ipad.html Apple Pty Ltd. (2010). Apple – iPad – See the web, email and photos like never before. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/
22. References(con’t) Janacek, S. (2010). Can Apple’s iPad succeed? Just ask Nintendo’s Wii. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.silicon.com/technology/hardware/2010/03/03/can-apples-ipad-succeed-just-ask-nintendos-wii-39745547/ myce.com. (2010). Apple iPad criticized heavily. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.myce.com/news/apple-ipad-from-the-eyes-of-bloggers-and-consumers-25441/ themoneytimes.com. (2010). Apple’s iPad criticized for not supporting Adobe Flash. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.themoneytimes.com/reviews/20100220/apple%E2%80%99s-ipad-criticized-not-supporting-adobe-flash-id-10101132.html
23. References(con’t) Frucci, A. (2010). 8 Things That Suck About the iPad.Retrieved April 19, 2010, from http://gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad Apple Pty Ltd. (2010). Apple Sues HTC for Patent Infringement.Retrieved April 19, 2010, from http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/03/02patents.html Yoskowitz, A. (2010). iPad ban in Israel lifted. Retrieved April 26, 2010, from http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2010/04/25/ipad_ban_in_israel_lifted
Editor's Notes
IntroductionToday I am here to talk about Apple, it’s new product the iPad and some of the concepts that Apple have used to market this fine new product. First up though we will have a look at the current mobile devices market and where this product fit’s in.
As you know will be talking about the Apple iPad, but what is it exactly?Well first, lets look at the current mobile devices market. We have mobile phones and laptop. But what about something in between? Most companies thought it should have been a slow Netbook device. Apple on the other hand had a different idea. The apple iPad. This device has been dubbed by Apple as a Magical and Revolutionary Device.
Think about this. You have a job in the city, you are always busy; replying to emails and working on different documents. Your thinking, where can I use my time more wisely. You spend an hour on the train each day getting to work, but just sit there. You couldn’t be bothered getting out a laptop its to big and annoying, so instead you pull out your apple iPad with a cellular data connection so that you can make better use of your time.
Well first, how many of you have heard of a Netbook, the computers with small screens that sell for about $500.Well, this device is Apple equivalent product for this. The only difference is the comfort and usability. This device has had a massive amount of media attention. The main reasons for this are, it’s price and the solutions it can provide.
Apple’s target market is much bigger than what it would probably seem. You probably assume they will target the younger generation, because we love these new products. This is not completely true however. Apple will also be targeting users of the iPhone as well as companies small and large.
Why is Apple targeting iPhone users? The reason is simple.Apple’s message in many videos relates to the UI or the User Interface. Anyone who has used an iPhone, can use an iPad. This is because Apple has built upon it’s operating software for the iPhone. This being said, customers will also be able to use almost any app they have on their iPhone on the iPad. This means users will have their iPhone apps at their disposal on the iPad as well.
Apple has faced it’s fair share of problems.Namely the biggest and most threatening, is the lack of support for Flash Player. Many people complain about this on a daily basis. But Apple has demonstrated very smart play regardless of what people think.Many people complain that webpages with ads take to long to load, these ads use Flash Player hence why computers can be slowed right down.
Regardless of this, Jobs has stated in a keynote speech that Apple is the largest mobile devices company in the world. This has come about in only a matter of years. Jobs has also trashed Flash Player stating that it is a CPU intensive program and old technology. Apple would rather everyday complaints then having a continuous flow of iPads coming in for repair. Regardless of what people say, it is apparent that they still purchase this technology.
Apple continues to achieve success by following a consistent approach to the development of new hardware and software. For example, as you can see the iPhone and iPad calendar app are virtually the same. The only difference is the iPad shows a little more information as it does have a bigger screen. This means users are familiar with the app from the start. This makes this product very attractive to the market of iPhone users. Also, looking at the general design of iPhone and iPad they have virtually the same design. This makes it easy for users to know what they are doing right out of the box if they have used an iPhone before.
As you know, Apple uses a wide array of simple TV Commercials. Within these they have attached a slogan, which you probably know. That is ‘There’s an app for that.’ Here’s an example of one.
Through time things have changed. Computers always required a mouse and keyboard to be operated, however through time things have changed. Now a keyboard and mouse is only required for what you might call a ‘fixed’ setup. However thinking back about being on the train this is very difficult to work with. With a touch screen, at least everything is in one small device. You simply pull it out and start using it immediately.
Apple has created a great concept with it’s packaging. It uses a Product Brand Message, within the Intrinsic touch-point concept. With this clean, clear and professional looking packaging, customers are automatically attracted to the product. Looking at the products packaging, it is evident to the customer that Apple takes pride in it’s product.
Apple on April 25, just a phew days ago stated that the WiFi they built into the Apple iPad complied with international industry standards. This was in response to Israel’s Communication Minister lifting the ban that was put on Apple iPad, earlier in the month. It was claimed that the Apple iPad’s wireless strength violated Israeli law, as a result devices were seized from Citizens and Tourists. Luckily for tourists they were returned on departure from the country. This claim had the potential to create investigations in many other countries, but lucky for Apple it didn’t.
In researching the iPad, this particular article which interested me, came from gizmodo.com. This is a review by one reporter. The reporter has basically trashed to iPad as being worthwhile device. Apple most certainly did not plan on an article like this. But what’s more fascinating about this article is the final line “This post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other at Gizmodo.” Looking at other articles, none of them contained this line, which suggests this reporter was too analytical of the product in Gizmodo’s ad.
In the previous slide, the reporter complained that it lacked support for multi-tasking. I think this was a bit hasty of the reporter considering Apple’s recent news release. Apple’s next major update will contain many new feature. The most requested being able to multi-task. Apple maintains excellent customer-band relationships. Current users simply go to the webpage on Apple’s site for their product to see any work-in-progress updates. Apple also links their products. On this page for the iPhone OS 4 Apple has stated that iPad will also receive this update. This has also helped in maintaining customer satisfaction.
So iPad users enjoy this for ease of access to email and for playing games and so forth, but Apple wanted to extend upon this. Apple has developed their main programs from the iWork suite for Macs as Apps for the iPad. This is the first one. Apple has titles this Keynote, and is the equivalent to what most of you would know as Microsoft PowerPoint. You can open a PowerPoint file sent to you by email, open it up and edit it. To make this even better you can use iPad to present your presentation to small groups.
The next app has advertised is it’s Pages app. Again the Pages app is similar to Microsoft Word which most of you would know. Once again, productivity will be much more improved. If someone sends you a file via email that is a word document, you simply tap it and the file will open up so that you can simply edit it, save it and send it back. Apple’s message associated with this is ‘it’s just so simple to open, edit, save and send and a matter of a couple of touches. But Apple hasn’t stopped here, they have a third app from the iWork suite.
Apple as you can see has created an app similar to a program you would know as Microsoft Excel. This impressive app doesn’t stop with just these functions, it can also be used as a mini database, creating user friendly forms to input new data. I bet your thinking these apps are going to cost around $25 - $30 each, but they won’t. In the U.S. app store, each app sells for a mere $10 U.S. dollars, that’s only around $35-40 AUD. Apple has a vision of getting this into the hands of as many people as possible, and it can with these fairly priced apps. They will probably make around the same profit too, because more people will purchase it as it is affordable.
Controversy has lifted over the fact that the apple iPad does not support Adobe Flash player,However there is a reason behind this. Apple had to face this unplanned message and hasA very viable reason why. In recent interview Jobs has called Flash Player a CPU hog hence the reason for not including itJobs also points out that most ads you see on website these day are displayed using Flash Player, this means less adsWhich means less data to download.However it would be nice if Apple put Flash in, but the content had to be activated by the user.
So now you know about Apple and it’s iPad as well as some of their Marketing and Communication strategies. Apple has produced some really unique and creative messages. But that isn’t to say that Apple hasn’t had it’s fair share of criticism with unplanned messages. Today I have also explained the main pricing model Apple uses through to the way Apple continues to follow a consistent approach to the development of new products. After all, why would they fix something that’s still working for them. Thank you.