Best Buy CEO: iPad cannibalizing laptop sales by 50%

iPad may be cannibalizing laptop sales by as much as half according to Best Buy CEO, Brian Dunn:

Mr. Dunn also said internal estimates showed that the iPad had cannibalized sales from laptop PCs by as much as 50%

It will be interesting to see how much, if at all, they cannibalize iPod and MacBook purchases, and if they're in it for the long haul or the cannibalization stops when most of the people who want an iPad get one.

[Wall Street Journal]

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

23 Comments

Interesting, but we won't truly know until at least the end of the year. I do think that iPads may cause a rise in MacBook sales since they are more seamlessly integrated than with Windows PCs.
That's amazing since it's not a laptop. It's just shy of being a real computer and I think the people who are expecting an actual laptop will be dissapointed. It's a glorified iPhone that you can't use to make calls.
People who keep calling this a glorified iPhone or iPod touch don't seem to get that iPhones and iPod touches are wildly popular, so if the iPad is a variation of those, of course it will be wildly popular too. I don't have one but I do have an iPod touch, and I do more web browsing and video watching on it than my home computer. True statement.
M: It is certainly possible that many people have been buying laptops when they really wanted something more like an iPad. Now that they have the option, they are voting with there wallets. Possible we are just being swayed by the hype, but I got an iPad and a Mac Mini instead of the Macbook that I had planned on this past spring. It has worked well for me and I would make the same choice again. I spent about the same $$$ with Apple and I am happy that I had the choice (but looking forward to built in printing - there is always a tradeoff).
My experience is the opposite of those who expected a laptop replacement but were disappointed. I purchased it only to surf the web and for ebooks, but my expectations were exceeded. Remotely accessing my laptop on the iPad using simple apps adds tons of functionality. For that reason my laptop has basically turned into a desktop. So I guess you could say the iPad has replaced it, but I still need it for remote access.
I liked mine but ended up selling it. I liked it for surfing the Internet. But I found that many web pages read the OS and end up redirecting to their mobile site with no way to return to the native site. That was a pain. The next thing was, unless you sit it in your lap. It's a real pain in the a$$ to type with unless you lay it flat on the table. I got tired of stretching my thumbs across the screen while holding it up. Now it got alot of attention from people. I would pull it out daily at lunch in a food court and someone would ask me what it was everyday. And that they just bought a kindle and like this better. Battery life is excellent. But I just got tired of it being delicate and was more worried about dropping it or scratching it that anything. I watched an entire season of ABC shows. Abc has an awesome app for it. I did about 13 hours over wifi and still had 9% battery left. And that was pushing mobile me email and replying as they came in. Very nice device. Not sure if I'll ever get another one. But at the time. I just didn't use it like I thought I would.
My wife really wanted to replace her laptop with an iPad until she realized she still needed a "real" computer to sync up with. Even if it's just for iOS updates, I think that's still a significant stop-gap for people going fully to iOS. Once they start allowing WiFi updates, there will be very little reason to have any non-iOS devices (aside from the ability to view Flash, perhaps).
HOW CAN THIS BE??? The experts said the iPad was going to be a flop. What was it being called again? Anything but a hit would be inaccurate.
Loud Noises!
The iPad we have now is only the first generation, much like the original iPhone. Just compare the original iPhone to the iPhone 4 to get an idea of the promise it holds. These people who say it isn't a real computer just do not get it. Will it completely replace notebooks? No. Mainframes haven't been completely replaced either, but look where they stand now. Soon, Android (and Chrome?) tablets will be prevalent too. The writing is on the wall. The trend toward lighter and simpler devices is obvious.
Although I don't own nor want an iPad, I'm not surprised however there may be other factors to this story. I personally have a graveyard of PC laptops in my garage. All different brands and all are cheap pieces of garbage. My next notbook purchase will be a MacBook Pro....and not because I'm in love with Apple or Steve Jobs, but because their hardware quality is way better than a Dell, Gateway, HP, etc.
I bought my iPad at Best Buy, and I originally set out to buy a laptop, until I discovered this little gem. Been happy ever since. Count me as part of this statistic.
My dad bought my mom a hp windows laptop last Christmas. This year he is thinking of getting her an iPad. With printing coming soon, it can do everything she could ever want without the slowness and viruses and bloat she has now on the pc.
Hey guess what? This is totally inaccurate!
How about that?
http://www.bby.com/2010/09/17/statement-reports-of-notebook-netbook-sale...
It's 6:18P EST. I am in a starbucks on my iPod touch. I read my personnel email. I then read MS exchange email from work via a web mail exchange page. I checked some docs, general surfing on safari. I then checked the app store, and downloaded an update. Now I am scanning TiPb responding to this thread. No it's not a laptop, or Mac/PC. I would like the iPad, and am waiting for the 2Gen. It all depends on your needs. I am into music recording. My PChas the power to do this. I would have to buy a supped up laptop to handle my needs. My iPod touch is great with four tracks, amplitube, I Shread, and ampkit. A lot of fun, but need the PC to edit, and finish a product. The iPad will be fun. Like I said depends on your needs. The potential for future apple products is amazing.
CNET reports Mr Dunn of Best Buys is backing out of his statement. Opps
It's already been reported that
A.) He was speaking on netbooks, not laptops.
B.) His words were exaggerated. So they have no hard numbers until later this year on how much iPad availability has affected netbooks.
I take this with a grain of salt. The iPad really can't replace a laptop, a netbook yes, but not a laptop. Netbooks are really for surfing the internet on the go, you can't do hardcore data crunching on a netbook, like playing a game that requires 1GB of video ram. I'm sure the iPad can play some pretty cool games, but devices like the iPad aren't going to be replacing computers for at least a few years. Although I would like to try out Dell's new netbook that doubles as a tablet.
when you have to read the commnts to find out this is bull crap and the editor never updates his post with the new info it just tells you what kind of blog this is...
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Once iOS 4.2 drops with Folders, Multitasking, and Printing, ill be able to uninstall everything on my laptop excet itunes and chrome, because thats all ill need!
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I have to admit that i sometimes get bored to read the entire thing however i feel you may add some value. Bravo !

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