> The iPad 2's early success is a warning sign of a global tablet bubble, where supply could outpace demand for tablets by about 36 percent, said J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz.

It's official: everything is a bubble now.

So you're saying we're in a bubble bubble?

Well, economy seems to be a fractal bubble if you look from a future distant enough, is a bubble that grows bigger and then a similar bubble replaces it and grows, and then another, and another, and another...

For Mark's sake I hope that is a misquote. It's a complete non-sequitor.

The most interesting thing is that 70% customers purchasing the iPad 2 are first-time iPad buyers.

First-generation aversion?

That was my reason to buy the iPad2 when the iPad was originally announced. Let the product prove itself and let them fix whatever mistakes they made. Nobody wants to own the next Kin.

In my case it was because I didn't order it online and kept trying to get one at a store when I would happen to be there (always sold out), eventually it was thanksgiving and I decided to just wait a few more months for v2. This time I ordered it Friday morning and it will be arriving in ~two weeks.

I also noticed the proportion of Windows users has increased; Windows folks now make up half of iPad buyers.

Can you say platform conversion, boys and girls? I thought you could.

It's not a platform conversion. iTunes runs on Windows, and that's all you need to run the iPad. You can't install OS X apps on the iPad.

Would you call a Mac user buying an Xbox a platform conversion?

The idea is that these new Apple customers may be so pleased with the iPad user experience, that they may consider a Mac more closely when it comes time to replace their computer.

What you say is true.

But Apple is making so much revenue and working so fast with iOS devices that it's not clear if they really care about conversions in the MacOS space.

The linked article says:

"The profile of iPad 2 buyer is 60 percent existing iPad owners, 40 percent first-time iPad buyers and 100 percent own at-least one Apple product, Global Equity's Chowdhry wrote."

Where are you getting your 70% figure?

From TUAW and AppleInsider citing a poll made by Piper Jaffray.

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/03/14/70-percent-of-ipad-2-buyers-a...

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/03/13/apple_attracts...

Perhaps because there is so little change from the original? (Cameras, gyroscopes, and slightly greater performance don't merit another $500 a year later for the average user IMO.)

Whats becoming interesting to me is how effective Apple's consistent product cycles are at stimulating demand and in fact how customers are likely timing their purchases to these releases.

Their product sales have to be becoming very cyclical and regular and in fact may start getting consumers tuned to a particular upgrade cycle (every other release?) I don't know another company that is so consistent in their release cycles so people really have no idea when the "next" version is coming.

I’m not sure whether many people are really following Apple releases so closely but it is certainly true that it is very easy to predict when the next iPods, iPhones and iPads will come out. (It’s a bit harder for Macs.)

That’s kinda funny considering that Apple usually doesn’t pre-announce. (Exceptions are usually only first generations and operating systems.) They are predictable, but not because they are keeping us informed.

There are a lot of products that are this consistent, if not moreso. Clothing and cars and big one. Everyone looking to buy a car knows that a new model comes out every year. They know if a model just came out or has been out for 10 months and will be rev'ed shortly. And some people also track when a new design is coming.

But this is less common in consumer electronics. And frankly, this wasn't common until the iPhone. Even iPods didn't get upgraded by consumers much.

This does not always play to Apple's side. In my last visit to the local Apple store the saleswoman recommended that we wait for the next model. That was early February.

They did it again. I don't think any company is as consistently great as Apple. Not a fanboy, just calling it like it is...

Unfortunately. I wonder why there cannot be another company like Apple, but with other principles and/or design choices.

I have become something of an Apple fanboy, but I completely agree with this sentiment. I would love to see a company that could create an Apple-like computing experience but with a much more progressive view toward the computer industry (licensing, developer support, even product specification info). With Android, Google seems to be the strongest challenger, but I suspect they will likely never have the focus necessary to compete successfully in Apple's market, much less any other existing company.

The thing is, there are NO challengers in the hardware arena. Google et al do software pretty well and will continue to improve. But who else could create hardware as beautiful and functional as Apple? I've been a Windows-then-Linux guy for 15 years and it's the hardware behind MacBooks and iPhones that drew me to Apple. There is simply NO competition. And, unfortunately, it's much easier to be a software startup than a hardware startup. Microsoft and Google aren't even playing the same game.

Ditto. I think about this in the context of Steve Jobs's health. I hope he doesn't, but he might die soon. If so I wonder (a) how long can Apple continue to shine? and (b) what other company could develop a similarly excellent ethos?

What makes Apple so unique is it's unwavering faith in it's founding values (genius marketing + simple design + useful software).

I believe there WILL be another great to rise this decade, it seems like Google is the new Microsoft and Facebook is IBM's grandson. I just feel it in the air, it's only a matter of time before a few rebels come together do something that shocks the world...again.

At an average selling price of $650 (including accessories), that's $650MM of revenue for Apple.

"Analysts expect Apple Inc to have sold close to a million iPad 2 tablet computers in its first weekend."

So, no official number, although we do know that they've sold out in many places. That's somewhat less exciting, though I don't doubt that a massive number of iPads are being sold.