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General discussion

Mediocre launch for iPad??

Apr 4, 2010 11:59PM PDT

Discussion is locked

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That's still more than the original iPhone's first day.
Apr 5, 2010 12:25AM PDT

(270,000).

Only in analyst-world could this be "mediocre". I really dislike these guys. They are absurdly overpaid economic witch doctors. Somehow they have convinced Wall Street of their value... which actually says a lot about the people in control of our markets.

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Hell yeah
Apr 5, 2010 11:21AM PDT

To quote an economist I read, wallstreet is just as senseless as a bunch of desperate guys betting on pictures of pretty womens faces.

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no reason to bash them rly...
Apr 6, 2010 1:22PM PDT

estimates are based on expectations as a result of hype, talk, etc.

if the hype generated an anticipated sale of 1,000,000 and they only sell 300,000, well then those results are less than expected.

it doesn't mean the sales are small, but they could be considered mediocre compared to estimates.


Wall Street operates on these principles every day...


ps played w one today. is vry sexy.

-dr. k

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Do they want to give sound, measured advice
Apr 6, 2010 2:25PM PDT

or be aimless cogs in a PR machine? Being so easily fooled by industry hype is not a quality one should seek out in their financial advisor.

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On the other hand...
Apr 6, 2010 9:50PM PDT

It's perfectly legitimate to consider the absolutely astounding amount of free PR that Apple got over this iPad release, and then judge how it translated into sales. And even going deeper, whether those sales were to by-and-large tech geeks or whether Apple succeeded in getting a lot of new people in the mix.

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That's not what they did though.
Apr 6, 2010 10:57PM PDT

How can you be "disappointed" in your numbers that you pulled out of thin air?

There's a reason BOL has made fun of analysts for years. They are pretty much overpaid jokes.

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But...
Apr 7, 2010 2:20AM PDT

as Dr. K pointed out above, that's how the game is played. Silly and as inaccurate as it is, why should Apple be judged any differently?

Goodness knows that if the same analysts predicted 300,000 and they actually sold 900,000, the headlines would be screaming as much and Apple would be the big beneficiary.

For better or worse --it works both ways. Those analysts who consistently make unrealistic prognostications will sooner or later be shunned.

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I don't care about the glory or lack of glory for Apple.
Apr 7, 2010 12:39PM PDT

I care about the undue affect this kind of voodoo nonsense has on the market as a whole and how these charlatans are grossly rewarded for such reckless behavior.

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How exactly are they rewarded?
Apr 7, 2010 3:12PM PDT

I'm not sure analysts are really these highly paid people, nor are they financial advisers. You're just jumping on the whole "Wall Street is evil" bandwagon. They look at their select market and estimate what sales/earnings/etc. could be, pure and simple. Good ones are listened to, while bad ones are typically ignored. I equate them to weather forecasters....sometimes they are right, sometimes they aren't; best to take an average of their opinions for coming up with something reasonable.