[jasonkolb]

They haven't had a product that people lust after in a long time. In fact, with other tablets now viable competitors, I'd say their laptops are their most lust-inducing product out there.

I just don't know how they can regain that level of desirability without disrupting another vertical. Or if they make some truly radical hardware innovations, such that it is visible and will make it obvious that you are using an Apple product and not a Samsung. The touchscreen iPhone with gestures and a full browser was a device like that, but that gap has long since been closed by other manufacturers. Siri was, I think, an attempt to do that again, but it wasn't quite ready--something that almost makes me think that Jobs knew he had to pull something out of his hat immediately, even at the cost of shelving his famous perfectionism.

[ricardobeat]

You mean like the the iPhone 4 in 2010, the iPad 3 earlier in the year, or the Retina Macbook a couple weeks ago? Sure, nobody lusted after those.

[jmduke]

The iPad was released less than three years ago. What's your definition of 'a long time'?

[dfc]

Why do you assume that the problem is the definition of "long time" and not the definition of "lust after." It seems that you think everyone is lusting after the iPad? I know I am not lusting after the iPad, but I'm not a mac lover. The iPad has certainly not matched the lust inducing levels of the iphone or ipod or osx.

[jmduke]

The iPad held 73% of the tablet market last year, most of which came from market entrants who entered solely for the iPad. I don't know what by metric you're judging 'lust' (hopefully it's not just your desire), but its hard to imagine a more impressive performance.

[dfc]

Stats without footnotes are as useful as my anecdotal evidence. Moreover how big is that market?

[pooriaazimi]

They've sold 84 million iPads, 44 million of which were sold in the past 8-10 months.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/259829/apple_earnings_disappo...

[dfc]

What does that have to do with 73%?