“The iPad is the new Nintendo Wii … and that’s not a compliment,” Paul Thurrott writes for WindowsITPro.
“Remember the Nintendo Wii? Nintendo sold millions of them and dominated the video game market for almost four straight years before sales fell off a cliff,” Thurrott writes. “But the dark, dirty secret of the Wii is that those sales were pretty much the extent of the platform’s success: Few Wii owners ever purchased more than a game or two, and most Wii consoles are sitting in a corner now, gathering dust—rarely if ever used.”
MacDailyNews Take: Proof? Oh, silly us, looking for proof from Paul Thurrott. So, we’ll have to be the ones to provide some actual info. The chart below is the latest info we have, however it is from a good 2+ years into Wii availability, so the figures definitely dispute Thurrott’s contention that “most Wii consoles are sitting in a corner now, gathering dust—rarely if ever used.”
Nielsen, Game Console Usage, February 2009
Thurrott continues, “Well, it appears that the iPad is following the same trajectory, albeit in a tighter timeline. In the wake of Apple’s quarterly results, in which far fewer iPads were sold than anyone expected, Nielsen reveals that a full third of iPad owners have never installed even a single app on the thing. Not even a free app. Which leads me to believe that the iPad is exactly what I pegged it to be in the beginning: nothing more than a gotta-have-it, trendy, techno-fashion statement, one that people bought to look like they were hip and savvy”
MacDailyNews Take: Actually, Nielsen corrected their report on Monday: Only 9% of iPad owners have never downloaded an app, not “a full third.” Feel free to correct your piece, too, Paulie.
Thurrott continues, “And as for those people who actually do use the thing—after all, they did invest several hundred dollars in it, so it better be good for something—they are, as predicted, simply consuming content. There could literally be millions of first-generation iPads gathering dust in people’s home offices already. This product is the tech industry’s biggest MacGuffin yet.”
MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve shown above, Thurrott’s theory is baseless tripe.
Moving on, Thurrott also claims that Apple has “jumped the shark with iOS features on Mac OS X.”
Thurrott writes, “Or as I like to call it, ‘the dumbening.’ Apple’s OS X software has always been quixotic. It’s billed as ‘easy to use’ but is in fact Spartan and inscrutable.”
MacDailyNews Take:
Thurrott continues, “And anyone who watched this week’s demo of the next version, called Lion, surely felt a sinking feeling that Apple just doesn’t get it when it comes to interacting with a computer.”
MacDailyNews Take: Hoo boy! We’d ask for some of what Paul’s having, but we value our eyesight. Here’s Microsoft’s one big original idea, MS Bob:
Thurrott continues, “Complicated multitouch gestures and a dumb UI from iOS aren’t the answer. Most of the Lion stuff was just embarrassing.”
Full article – Think Before You Click™ – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s Mac OS X Lion preview (starts at 52:55):
Seriously, is this dude for real?
He really is the clown of all clowns.
Seriously, is this dude for real?
He really is the clown of all clowns.
Usage frequency rather than usage time would be necessary to assess which console is in the corner gathering dust.
Usage time counts the time it takes to load xbox 360 and sony PS3 games and go through their very confusing multiple setup menus.
Wii games are quicker and easier to start and play and you don’t need hours to play and get fat like the other consoles.
Usage frequency rather than usage time would be necessary to assess which console is in the corner gathering dust.
Usage time counts the time it takes to load xbox 360 and sony PS3 games and go through their very confusing multiple setup menus.
Wii games are quicker and easier to start and play and you don’t need hours to play and get fat like the other consoles.
Hahahahahahhaahahhhahah a moron a minute
Hahahahahahhaahahhhahah a moron a minute
How will Rob Enderle possibly top this one…?
How will Rob Enderle possibly top this one…?
Windows people need guys like Thurrott now more than ever. Because if he weren’t there, the only other option for them is to plug their ears and yell “La, la, la, la, I can’t HEAR you!”. At least, Thurrott is telling them what they want to hear…
For us, Mac people, this is barely mildly amusing, if anything.
Windows people need guys like Thurrott now more than ever. Because if he weren’t there, the only other option for them is to plug their ears and yell “La, la, la, la, I can’t HEAR you!”. At least, Thurrott is telling them what they want to hear…
For us, Mac people, this is barely mildly amusing, if anything.
I don’t have an iPad yet (want one), but I use my iPod touch every day since I’ve had it. The funny thing is that I rarely listen to music with my iPod touch. I am almost always playing with apps, browsing the web, etc. I can’t wait to get an iPad.
It is hard to imagine anybody being as clueless as Paul T about Apple products – has he every used an iPad? I’d bet not.
I don’t have an iPad yet (want one), but I use my iPod touch every day since I’ve had it. The funny thing is that I rarely listen to music with my iPod touch. I am almost always playing with apps, browsing the web, etc. I can’t wait to get an iPad.
It is hard to imagine anybody being as clueless as Paul T about Apple products – has he every used an iPad? I’d bet not.
Probably a closet mac user
Probably a closet mac user
I use my iPad for taking notes in class, creating flowcharts, accessing and editing my webpages via a terminal app, typing papers, drawing illustrations and editing photos. It can only get betternas even more functionality comes to it.
About the only thing the iOS is lacking for me is bluetooth arrow key keyboard functionality. Hopefully that’s coming with the next update.
This was posted from my iPad through my college’s wireless network.
I use my iPad for taking notes in class, creating flowcharts, accessing and editing my webpages via a terminal app, typing papers, drawing illustrations and editing photos. It can only get betternas even more functionality comes to it.
About the only thing the iOS is lacking for me is bluetooth arrow key keyboard functionality. Hopefully that’s coming with the next update.
This was posted from my iPad through my college’s wireless network.
@ jamie
that is just plain insulting… to clowns!
@ jamie
that is just plain insulting… to clowns!
@predrag
The problem is that people like him are keeping all those poor microswipe sheep in their pen and keeping them from the joy of using a mac
@predrag
The problem is that people like him are keeping all those poor microswipe sheep in their pen and keeping them from the joy of using a mac
I use my Wii at least 2 times a week, and my 9 year old just asked for 2 more Wii games for his birthday next week. My iPad is used every day for work and I use it at home to catch up on shows when my kids play Wii or are watching something I am not interested in on the TV.
I use my Wii at least 2 times a week, and my 9 year old just asked for 2 more Wii games for his birthday next week. My iPad is used every day for work and I use it at home to catch up on shows when my kids play Wii or are watching something I am not interested in on the TV.
I spent $1100 for my iPad and use it everyday for everything. And I only wish I could go buy two more so I could stop sharing it with my girlfriend and my 2 year old (she uses it the most)
I spent $1100 for my iPad and use it everyday for everything. And I only wish I could go buy two more so I could stop sharing it with my girlfriend and my 2 year old (she uses it the most)
It’s mind numbing, but this guy makes Enderle look insightful.