Burritt reports, “Expanding iPad sales to 1,093 U.S. stores from 673 outlets reflects Best Buy’s efforts to capitalize on the growing popularity of tablet computers, Dunn said by telephone today from Richfield, Minnesota, where the company is based.”
MacDailyNews Take: Let’s be real: Make that “stunning popularity of iPad.”
Burritt reports, “‘We see the iPad as the magnificent shining light in what will become a whole new category, and that is tablets,’ Dunn said. ‘In many cases, it’s an incremental device. In some cases, it’s a substitute device for netbooks. We think that’s going to stimulate a lot of customer interest.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nice compliment, but Burritt’s CEO speak belies a burning desire to be featured once again as the primary location of a massive Microsoft ad campaign flop. We can’t wait for Ballmer to blow another $100 million on “Tablet Hunters.”
See, if retailers (in general, not just Best Buy) can conjure up a false sense of “equality” and concoct “consumer choice,” they’ll get a certain percentage of fools to buy fake iPads, then they can make even more when some of the gullible wise up and go buy their iPads. It’s iPod all over again. Got ’em once on that stupid Dell DJ, then got ’em again on the iPod they should’ve purchased first. The same goes for the media who need people to who think they need “shootouts” and multi-page slideshow “battles” in order to make the proper choice. It’s simple: Get an iPad.
I hope, as part of the deal, Apple insisted that Best Buy stop selling devices which feature infringing intellectual technology.
The iPad WILL absolutely rule in the next 3 months, then it will gradually drop to 80% market share as various Android/Win7/WinMo7/MeeGoo/RIM tablets are bought by the 20% of the population that never looks past the picture on the front of the box.
Any Windows tablets will have to be locked down so they don’t get a virus – not so the iPad. Even if they have a problem, it is an easy restore from any PC or Mac. This is what is great about the iPad – the ‘rest of us’ can use it without fear.
Someone asked me if I was tired of my iPad yet.
He Actually asked me this as I was sitting in my living room reading articles and submitting feedback on my iPad sitting in my lap!
People just don’t have a clue.
They still think Apple is a fad.
Isn’t that how IBM felt as they were knocked out of the top of the industry?
Astounding. Execution.
1,724 active Target stores today, pick up maybe the 750 strongest demographics for the holiday press.
Driving. The. Business.
I also read it will be in Target too. I have not read about any others yet like RadioShack. I assume, any group that sold iPods maybe in the mix by Christmas.
Ho Ho Ho Steve Balmer. Think he already got his? Someone should check SteveBallmer@mac.com.
Hey retail wienies: Just stop at “We are pleased and excited to have the Apple iPod available for our customers.” If, and when, another tablet shows up that you want to carry, you can make another statement about that one. Don’t water down the iPad announcement with your dreams of a huge Tablet Computer Department. Instead, why don’t bring that 6 feet of Apple display out of aisle 7 and put a huge Apple section square in the middle of your computer department. Geez, when I go into Best Buy, the bunched crowd around the couple of Apple items on display reminds me of the human churning to grab the last life boat on the Titanic.
I don’t expect to see the staff at my local Best Buy pushing the iPad very hard. They seem to be pro PC anti Apple there. Passed through the store the other day and the little iPhone kiosk did not even have an iPhone connected to it. I’d rather see the iPad coming to Costco.
This is why I seldom read MDN anymore. No matter how favorable the article, the “MDN Take” has to find fault with it. If a religious cult based upon worshiping fossilized Steve Jobs turds sprang up, perhaps the MDN editors would be at a loss to find some negative “take”. Maybe.
Get real. I’m an Apple fan and usually use Apple products (stuck with a W2K laptop at work right now and it sucks) but really.
Bu Bye.
Let them please sell of the “old stock” to make room for v2. Still holding of and waiting for the second generation.
The retailer I work at carries the iPad. When it first came out, we got an email from the head people in the computer division about how it was an exciting product that was just to be the first of many in the new “tablet computing” market. They created a whole new product class for it (and one for tablet accessories)… which so far still is comprised entirely of just the iPad and iPad accessories, even though other product classes are things like “desktop”, “laptop”, “printers”, etc. which contain many, many different products.
And yeah, still no competing products even though we’ve been carrying it since the Canadian launch. We’ll see if they actually bring in any of the competitors, but I doubt any serious competitors will be out this year. We’re still selling at least 3 iPads a week (often more) despite there been fairly abundant stock at other locations and competitors.
@random cool
i am in your court. it IS tiring to listen to the incessant whining of these MDN kids after while. i don’t get it.
In most of the Best Buys I have shopped in, the goober sales people actively despise the “crapples” they have to sell.
Wonder if Best Buy got that straightened out yet?
The local Best Buy has dedicated Apple sales people to work the kiosk. They wear black shirts so as to stand out from the other blue shirted flacks.
Problem is that Best Buy will never carry a full Apple inventory because they have to think the item will sell well before they stock it. This is why you’ll never see a Mac Pro or Cinema Display at Best Buy.
A few weeks ago I bought a iPad as a wedding gift. The sales person told me that they could not leave them out for display because to many had been stolen. He took me to a storage room; had to have a manager open the door and watch us; at the cash register he said to keep the recite out because the gard will stop me; he did and took a real look at what I got. I have never had any thing like this happen there, or anywhere else.
After I was convinced it was way to much to spend, and it was, I took it back. The lady at the return desk was a bitch. She sternly told me that there would be a restocking fee, this was her first words. When she saw I had not opened it her tone changed a bit and she handed me off to a nice man. I have never had an experience like this at BB. I think it has become so popular it is now a pain in the ass for employees to sell them.
This was in Sarasota. The Apple staff is nice there.
What do you mean old stock, oh, you mean the stock that Apple built last week, that is selling out this week. Yes, that is old all right.
Jafo said: “Let them please sell of the “old stock” to make room for v2. Still holding of and waiting for the second generation.”
@randomcoolzip, diggity
i have to say, MDR has a sense of humor in reporting the news. most sites have the same info, at least MDR makes it funny to read…
and, randomcool..sounds like my granpa who just doesn’t get all the excitement about all the excitement. (it’s us kids who make things like they shouldn’t be he mumbles to me all the time)