Chances are, if you have a tablet that isn’t an iPad, anyone that sees it either assumes you have an iPad, or assumes it isn’t as “good” as the iPad. First off, the reason people so commonly make this mistake, is because that is about all they know about, the iPad is so popular, that people don’t realize or care that there are other tablets in exsistance. Some people assume that there are only two tablets that they could buy “The iPad and Samsung.” Samsung what? What about all of those other tablets made by Asus? Acer? Motorola? And the list goes on.
Why do people assume this, I’m sure it has a lot to due with many different factors, like the fact that I can’t turn my TV on without seeing an ad for an iPhone or iPad. Watch the local news at night? Then chances are you’ll see an ad for an iPad within that hour. How many of your friends have iPad’s? The fact that so many people have the devices, and the fact that apple has plastered TV with these ads mean that were going to see them, and hopefully want one. And why do these ads stand out? Here’s why; when is the last time you saw and advertsiment for a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1? An Asus Transformer Infinity? Or the new Nexus 7 from Google? In my opinion, they are good tablets, but the problem is, they aren’t advertised that much. The last time I seen an ad for a Samsung product in general was over a month ago, and those other products I mentioned? Never.
And here’s another problem that makes the iPad stand out. Let’s say you go to Best Buy looking for a Asus Transformer Infinity, you look around, and you don’t find one, so you go and find someone that could possibly help you. But when you ask where they keep the device, you are told they don’t carry the device (This applies to Canada.) The Motorola Xoom 2? Nope, and the process of purchasing one online (and in store sometimes) is a little to confusing for the average consumer, my biggest problem is, it kept redirecting me to UK websites, when I don’t live in the UK, or anywhere near the UK for that matter.
I would say that the one of the biggest reasons that makes the iPad so popular is the fact that it is easy to buy, if you don’t want to buy it online, then go to an Apple Store, or A Best Buy, Future Shop, and so-on. The process for purchacing the iPad online is very simple and easy to run through, while other services don’t make this process that easy.
The interface and overall look of this device is very clean, and simple. iOS isn’t complicated at all, and for the most part, first time users know what to do right away. There are no complicated settings, nor is the update process slow, and fragmented. Chances are, if the customer goes off to a store, their going to ask “Where are theiPad’s” instead of”Where are the tablets,” but even in doing that, chances are, you’d be led over to the iPads anyway’s. I went to a store once looking for a Bluetooth keyboard for my Motorola Xoom, and at first I couldn’t find them, so I asked where they hid them, I was asked if I wanted a keyboard for a tablet, and I said yes. So he brought me over to the section containing Bluetooth keyboards, and he walked away. But as soon as I started looking at them, I realized that these accessories were for tablets yes, but the wrong one, they were for the iPad. So I had to find the correct ones, which I did do. But my point is, instead of asking what kind of tablet I had, he instead, immediately assumed that I had an iPad.
Because customers are led over to the iPad’s instead of other tablets, chances are, the’ll leave that store with at least $500 dollars less than they had when they walked in, with a shiny new iPad. And in other cases, customers will walk over to the tablet section (which in most stores is separate from the other tablets) and assume that they are all iPads. I’m not saying anything against people like that, but that just goes to show how popular the iPad is, assuming you have at least seen one. And in other cases, people may think that all tablets are “iPads.”
Either way, it comes down to this; the two main reasons that the iPad is so popular include how the product is marketed, and advertised, the simplicity of the device, it’s clean look, and how easy it is to buy one, assuming they aren’t all sold out. My advice to future tablet buyers, is to make sure you do as much research as possible and find the tablet that most suits your needs, whether it be an iPad or any other type of tablet. Make sure it is what you want, not what everyone else wants.
