Technology Analysts Disappointed in Apple’s iPad, but Street Analysts More Positive
As the markets closed today there were around 300 Apple-related media citations of analysts, according to our sibling site Alacra Pulse. Pulse is an interesting barometer of what’s hot, but never before have we seen this level of analyst citation. Scanning through the Pulse rankings gives a visceral sense of the zeitgeist on a company, as it tracks not just traditional media citations, but also financial and other relevant blogs that pass muster with Alacra’s criteria.
The tone of the majority of technology blogger/analyst comments on Apple’s (AAPL) iPad, is one of disappointment, ranging from mild to severe, though there are positive exceptions. Their disappointments fall into a few areas:
- The iPad does not have enough breakthrough attributes to be a game changer, and is more of an oversized iTouch than a revolutionary device (e.g: no camera or multitasking).
- It won’t be the savior of newspapers and magazines.
- iPad (and iPhone) users will continue to be saddled with the creaking AT&T wireless network.
- The name had many wondering if Apple had any women on the naming committee and led to ridicule, including an interview on NPR with the writers of Mad TV’s iPad skit. Fujitsu could be doing Apple a favor if it asserts its claim to the iPad trademark.
The main positive surprise was the “aggressive” price of $499 and up. This makes it a more viable alternative to Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle and other e-readers than had been expected, though it also may be that the iPad’s limitations make it hard to justify the closer to $1000 price that had been widely rumored.
Wall Street analysts were more positive, led by Piper Jaffray & Co’s Gene Munster who told Bloomberg that the iPad was “an amazing device” and that investors needed to be patient.
While the street analysts focused on the market potential for the product, the industry analysts seemed to compare the iPad to what they had imagined it could be in the weeks leading up to the announcement.
Still, the street analysts had a big miss on the wireless angle. There were widespread expectations that Apple would announce an end to its exclusive arrangement aith AT&T (T) and make the phone available through Verizon (VZ), or at a minimum use Verizon for the wireless iPad. Far from it: Apple actually expanded its deal with AT&T to include the iPAd.
On Jan 20 Alacra Pulse shows TheStreet.com reporting that “The hotly anticipated Apple Tablet — or the Apple Newton II — will feature a wireless chip made by Qualcom.”. . . “This discrete little fact would confirm that Apple has chosen Verizon as its telco partner, says Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar.” Whoops.
Mashable’s Stan Schroeder has a thoughtful take on what to make of the iPad and puts the missing features into context. “The way I see it, the iPad is not about creating; it’s all about consuming content.”
Investors seem to agree with the naysayers (for now), pushing Apple’s stock price down 4 percent, though given the unprecedented hype leading up to the announcement a disappointment was almost inevitable.
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