Apple iPad - Best innovation of 2010

PCWorld scanned the entire universe of technology this year--HDTVs, phones, tablets, PCs, e-book readers, storage, software, services, apps, digital cameras, camcorders, printers, and more--and picked the best 100.

Whereas the PC World top 100 list is interesting and subjective, here are my picks of the Top Three Technology Innovations of 2010. I have picked my best three innovations in 2010 based on the following three criteria:

a. Commercial Success - number of units shipped, new revenue generated and market share gains
b. Ease of Use - how easy, simple, and intuitive the product is to use, reuse, and enjoy
c. X Factor - how sexy is the product, fan following, viral appeal, user ratings, and customer loyalty

Here are my Top Three Technology Innovations of 2010:

#1. Apple iPad - The wildly successful Apple iPad re-created the Tablet PC marketplace single-handedly, and started a whole suite of Tablet competitors from Samsung, HP, Dell and more... Apple iPad is elegant, sexy, engaging, interactive, extremely easy to use, and has endless applications. The other day, my wife's neice's 8 month old baby boy was enjoying Baby Piano, Sound Touch and Virtuoso on my iPad... And he was loving every moment of it and laughing his heart put. My daughter loves the drawing app and various games, and since my son bought the Need for Speed game over this holidays, I am addicted to it. Apple sold over 7 million iPads within the first six months of launch, and will likely sell at least 5 million iPads in the holiday quarter. Suddenly, Apple iPad will generate over $7 Billion in new revenue for Apple in 2010. The Apple iPad phenomenon could generate over $21 billion in revenue in 2011 for Apple. iPad anyone?

#2. Amazon Kindle 3rd Edition - Amazon's third Kindle is on the money. The form factor, ease of reading, looks, and the huge selection of eBooks. A must have reader if you love reading (and who doesn't). Amazon Kindle started the eBook reader revolution, and its competitors including Sony and Barnes & Noble aren't doing that bad either. Yesterday, while waiting in line at the DMV, this woman in front of me was quietly reading her novel on the ultra cool white Kindle, and she was really enjoying reading it. I also peeked and read a few pages while she was reading, and the display was immaculate. With estimates of about 8 million Kindles sold in 2010, Amazon has quietly created a Billion Dollar franchise! Amazon just announced the latest innovation of sharing Kindle eBooks with a friend or relative for 14 days. Very Cool! What's amazing is that Amazon Kindle sales have been least impacted by the Apple iPad onslaught. A difference of over $350 in price between the base iPad and the Kindle would mean a clear sailing for Amazon in 2011 and beyond.

#3. Microsoft Kinect - Microsoft has created something new and exciting that no other game console maker has been able to do yet. Nintendo Wii created a huge following with the wireless controllers which you can wave, move and play. Microsoft one-upped Nintendo, Sony and others by removing the controllers altogether. Rather, you become the controller. No wires, no joysticks, no mouse, no controllers, no gadgets. Simply plugin the Kinect to the Xbox 360, and play your games by moving around, jumping, jabbing, running, kicking, smashing, speaking, singing, and more. Kinect uses advanced entertainment technology to respond to even the sound of your voice. You can just say “Xbox” to start, and even control HD movies with the sound of your voice. Can Kinect replace the remote? Microsoft has changed the playing field entirely for video games, and with more games arriving that will implement the Kinect technology, Microsoft is onto something huge in 2011. There are estimates of over 5 million Kinects sold in 2010 ( Kinect was only introduced recently ), and Kinect technology has likely pushed the sales of Xbox 360 to new levels in this holiday season.

Apple iPad is the #1 innovation of 2010!

How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success?


Download Apple's Innovation Strategy, and learn how Apple became the #1 innovator through:

• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs Visionary Leadership
Revised in 2011! Steve Jobs interview

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy and Learn how Steve Jobs made Apple the #1 Innovative company in the world.

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Leading Creativity and Innovation eBook.
Business Innovation Resource Kit - 212 pages Definitive Guide, 439-slide insights Innovation Bootcamp, Annual Innovation Report. 212-page collection of over 55 best practices, case studies, and insights on the current state of Creativity and Innovation in Business at Top Innovators including Apple, Google, Netflix, 3M, Frito Lay, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, GE, BMW, Deloitte, Southwest, Nike, IBM, Dell and more. "Your report from the eBook and definitive guide was the primary reference that we used." Used by over 650 leading organizations including HP, Pepsi, EDS, Nokia, J&J more... Learn more...

Apple iPad ignites the Ebook readers market

"Yankee Group forecasts that the already hot United States ebook reader market is about to catch fire, sparking from $1.3 billion in revenue in 2010 to $2.5 billion by 2013.

What’s the key finding of the research and why?Yankee Group forecasts sales of eReader devices to rise from 6 million units in 2010 to a little over 19 million units sold in 2013.
Revenue from the sale of these devices will similarly catch fire, sparking from $1.3 billion in revenue in 2010 to $2.5 billion by 2013.
Additionally, by 2013 the U.S. ebook reader sales will reach 19.2 million, a CAGR of 34 percent, with 6 million ebook readers sold in 2010 alone.
The U.S. installed base of ebook readers will hit over 36 million, up from an installed base of 9 million by 2011.
Half of all consumers who indicate interest in buying an ebook reader will have bought one already, so device makers should act quickly.
"Our forecast is built around a model that factors in the effects of price elasticity, network effects and adoption risk and is loosely based on product diffusion models developed by Everett Rogers and Frank Bass." - Dmitriy Molchanov, an analyst at Yankee Group, regarding the research firm’s new study, “Yankee Group’s US EBook Reader Forecast: Kindling a Fire”

Apple (AAPL) launched the iPad on April 3, 2010... at unbelievable pricing:
"With iPad, you get all our latest innovations. And all our most advanced technologies. In one of the most revolutionary products we’ve ever created. All at a price that’s well within reach." Apple
iPad Wi-Fi 16 GB starts at $499
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G 16GB starts at $629

Pre-orders were brisk for Apple's new iPad
Neither recession nor gadget overload shall slow the mania surrounding the introduction of Apple's iPad mobile computer.
On Friday, the first day that buyers could pre-order the device (it arrives in stores next month), Apple racked up an estimated 91,000 sales in just the first six hours of availability, putting temporarily to rest the Internet's persistent "iPad fail" meme. Analysts predict the first-year sales could reach 5 million.
Engadget.com asked its tech-savvy readers whether they planned to buy an iPad, which starts at $499. The result: Nearly 19 percent of 60,000 respondents said yes; 65 percent were negative; and 16 percent clicked "What's an iPad?"

Apple Sells One Million iPads

CUPERTINO, California—May 3, 2010—Apple® today announced that it sold its one millionth iPad™ on Friday, just 28 days after its introduction on April 3. iPad users have already downloaded over 12 million apps from the App Store and over 1.5 million ebooks from the new iBookstore.
“One million iPads in 28 days—that’s less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Demand continues to exceed supply and we’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more customers.”
New Survey Shows Huge Wave of Apple iPad Demand Striking Amazon
A ChangeWave survey of 3,171 consumers – conducted in the aftermath of that Apple announcement (Feb 1-10) – shows a huge wave of pre-launch demand for the iPad and offers key evidence that the Apple tablet will have a major impact on the e-Reader, laptop and home entertainment markets.
Moreover, the survey shows Amazon (AMZN) and its e-Reader competitors are poised to take a big hit early on from the iPad's entry into their market.
The survey shows the Apple iPad is now poised to capture an astonishing 40% of the e-Reader market going forward in the first 90 days after its launch.

Bottomline:

According to Yankee Group, there will be at least 6 million eBook readers sold in 2010 (this survey was done before the Apple iPad announcement & launch). However, this is assuming the eBook reader market grows according to the baseline forecasts by Yankee. In all likelihood, the eBook readers market will grow much faster, rather ignite exponentially, with the introduction of iPad.

If Apple takes 40% of the U.S. market share, Apple will sell at least 2.4 million iPads in 2010 - new business worth at least $1.2 billion in the first year of launch - WOW! Apple has already sold 1 million new iPads. Apple creates a new category of devices that combine eBook readers, multi-media players, web browsers, music players, productivity apps, e-mail, business & entertainment apps & more. Apple is poised to sell at least 4 million iPads in 2010 (Apple will begin selling iPads in 9 countries in May), thereby creating yet another successful, disruptive aka "killer innovation"! Only Apple knows best how to create new businesses that grow from 0 to $1 billion plus in less than one year... this is simply AMAZING!

What does this mean for Amazon & Kindle? Would iPad relegate Kindle to second place, and deliver a knock-out punch? If history is a guide (and considering what Apple did with iPod and then with iPhone), Amazon has got to be worried... What will be Amazon's answer to the iPad? Kindle 3 better be good!

Apple's Innovation Strategy

How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success? What is Apple's innovation process?

― "There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.' And we've always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will." —Steve Jobs

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy, and learn how Apple became the #1 innovator through:
• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy and Learn how Steve Jobs made Apple the #1 Innovative company in the world.

Download Now