back to article iPad users are young, rich geeks

iPad users are young, rich and stupid like Flickr. The findings come from users of Yahoo!'s properties. Even though the iPad has only officially gone on sale in the US, Yahoo! found that one in ten iPads using Yahoo! sites were accessing them from Europe and Asia. France, Germany and the UK were top territories for the Flash- …

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  1. petur
    Thumb Down

    geeks?

    Geeks are supposed to be tech lovers, not blindly following this toy manufacturer (because, let's face it, an ipad has the specs and functionality of a toy).

    When did they change the definition?

    1. myob
      Flame

      OK, lets say it is a toy.

      Are you honestly suggesting that geeks aren't known for playing with toys?

      1. Adam T

        Re: it is a toy

        It's a great geek toy. I do like it, though I'd hardly call it "magical" lol.

        I know of no laptops with accelerometers (not that I'd want to tilt a whole laptop). You'd think it hard to justify the price for playing a game of Labyrinth, but just show it to the wife and see what happens (I can't get mine off her).

        The really need to bring in more mainstream OS & hardware features. iPhone OS works on an iPhone, but it feels seriously limiting, even clumsy, on something with this big a screen.

        Oh and typing is easy with the on-screen keyboard, but shit laggy in most apps (such as, ironically, notebook).

        1. John Bailey

          slight correction

          Thinkpads have had accelerometers for years.. Way before the Wii or the iProducts. There is even a little applet that will allow you to see how much you are tilting the Thinkpad in what ever direction. My T42 has them, and that came out in 2004.

        2. Al Jones

          laptops with accelerometers

          Lot's of laptops have Accelerometers - that's how the Quake Catcher network works!

          http://qcn.stanford.edu/

    2. Mark Broadhurst
      Coat

      Carnies

      It could be the other meaning of geek.

      Geek : a carnival performer who does disgusting acts.

      maybe your average iPad owner also bite the heads off chickens too

    3. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      @Petur

      Labels, labels, labels - so nice when everything fits so unneatly in those little buckets, eh?!

      BTW, you have a problem people playing with and enjoying "toys"? What next, a slam on people laughing?

    4. Volker Hett

      hm

      Ok, just looking around, I have one homegrown AMD Phenom II X4 PC with OpenSuse, one homegrown Intel C2Q6600 with , I have to admit it, an OS not intended for a PC which runs fine with some tweeks, an EeePc 901 with said OS and an EeePC 1005HA with something loosely based on Slakware.

      I'm typing from a Macbook Pro connected to the Internets via a Palm Pre working as a mobile hotspot.

      I'm Informix DBA, did SCO ACE in the early 90s, had my first Linux on a 386/20 when OLVWM was new and one got the patches once or twice a day via UUCP from Usenet. There's a fully working HP Vizualize Workstation in my living room and a 715 and a 755 down in the cellar. I can work with RPG II, Cobol and BusinessBasic on MPE V and MPE IX, C and C++ on almost anything, I installed OpenBSD on a Mac Performa where I had to switch the CPU from 68C40 to a 68040 first, now I spend my time with lots of virtualized Win2K? and RHEL 5.? Servers, host my own webserver on KVM on a dedicated Server and so on.

      And, I have a girlfriend :)

      I've got an iPod Mini, with rockbox and 4GB HD exchanged against 8GB Sandisk, for my car, and in my -not so humble- opinion the iPod Touch is much too small for what it can do, so yes, I'll get an iPad as soon as I can lay my hands on one.

      Am I a tech lover? Yes, although addicted is more like it .

      Oh, I have a DSLR and a bakers dozen of film cameras from 4x5" to 35mm but I don't use flikr :)

  2. serviceWithASmile
    Joke

    so....

    ipad != chick magnet?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @serviceWithASmile

      Glad to know that, given some of us might not *want* any "chicks".

    2. Doug Glass
      Go

      Right !

      Attracts the old cluckers.

  3. The Fuzzy Wotnot
    Stop

    Well blow me!

    I really had no idea! Jeez call the feds there's been a breakout of the bleedin' obvious! Young gullible planks by latest gadgets to make sure they remain young, gullible planks!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      @The Fuzzy Wotnot

      Well, you've got it all figured out, haven't you? Except the people I know that have one are neither young, nor gullible. Now where does that leave your argument, which btw, is a thinly veiled attack, not an actual argument?

      1. Trevor Pott o_O Gold badge

        Look around the room.

        If you can't see the mark, you're it.

      2. Doug Glass
        Go

        Garbage Compactors ...

        ... turn 25 kilos of garbage into 25 kilos of garbage. So an iPad turns a geeky nerd into a geeky nerd. But then your toys have always express who you really are.

  4. Richard 120

    But are they married?

    My bet is that they are not.

    Logic is that it's very rare to find rich & married as a combo.

    I don't know where all my money goes, but I'm sure I had more disposable income before I got married, even though I earnt much less.

    I suspect the disposable income has been disposed somehow by the other partner

    1. Nic 3
      WTF?

      count me in

      I am young(ish), wealthy(ish) and married. I will be getting an iPad. That must make me a complete moron right?

      Anyway, it's not my marriage that is expensive. It's my kids.

      These figures are all rather stupid as they only really refer to early adopters who are typically young and wealthy. The stats will be more interesting when the iPad is on general release internationally and for longer than a few months.

      I will stick my neck out and say the iPad will have a fairly wide audience and likely a fair few silver surfers.

      It certainly appeals to me. When I have finished my working day as a developer I want a simple, elegant piece of kit for casual browsing, media and email. The iPad seems to fit that bill perfectly.

      I am truly fascinated with the visceral attacks on Apple users in these threads. I work on a PC in the day but I love Apple gadgets, iPhone, iPad etc. What's so terrible about that concept that drives some commenters insane?

      I am happy to pay for them, I know technically I can achieve the same stuff on other devices but so what? I have yet to find any touch interface even coming close to the iPhone or iPad so I am more than happy to pay a few more quid to get it.

    2. Aaron Em

      "My wife spends all my money" jokes, how quaint

      Get Henny Youngman's corpse on the phone.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      @But are they married?

      Umm all of the iPad owner I know are married - with kids and with good incomes (six figures).

      So I would say they know how to get it AND make it work.

      1. Doug Glass
        Go

        Huh?

        "..get it and make it work". The iPad or the spouse? Or by "getting it" are you speaking of another "commodity"?

  5. Wize

    Just because they have an iPad, it doesn't make them a geek

    A true geek buys his tech on functionality, not labels.

    Many are buying it because its a popular name and want to be cool.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @Wize

      And many are buying it because it meets their needs - what of them, what label do we apply to them?

      1. blackworx
        Go

        Needs?

        A label for people who "need" something high on price, low on features, but above all shiny and with an Apple logo on the back? I can think of a few...

        1. Doug Glass
          Go

          Uh Huh

          Such as "shallow"?

  6. kring
    Happy

    Er...no

    I've got an iPad, had it shipped from the US. It is actually very good, replaced my samsung nc10 already as a mobile device. Very solid, fast and does whats required.

    I see a lot of Apple bashing which I can't quite understand tbh. Yes I do have an iPhone, and I do have Windows 7 & Linux, even a Mac Mini.

    Different tools for different jobs, but as most you idiots have never even used an iPad your bashing something with no knowledge of how it works. Truely quite stupid.

    I have one, and yes it was worth it.

    1. Jimmy Floyd
      FAIL

      Brave of you to admit to such foolishness

      "...does whats required."

      Which is being smooth, shiny and good-looking. Like Cheryl Cole's backside.

      Equally like Mrs. Cole's backside, the iPad produces unexplained fervour from those who know no better, has far superior alternatives and results in shit.

    2. Doug Glass
      Go

      ....does whats required.

      So do prostitutes. And sometimes you can get "free" stuff as an added feature.

  7. blackworx
    Badgers

    Yaay!

    This comments thread already has a resident humourless sour grapes mactard downvoting everyone's pisstake posts.

    It's the red one down there on the right - go on! You know you want to!

  8. Stone Fox
    Jobs Horns

    young, affluent and single?

    It's all the money they're not spending on dates they don't get.

  9. Ben Rosenthal

    re: Well blow me!

    I'll just stick with nodding and agreeing for now, you've not even tried to get me drunk >.<

  10. Pete 2 Silver badge

    the right demographc?

    > "affluent consumers with solid wealth"

    So they'd like to think ....

    Alternatively, since most appear to be below 30 years old, they could just be living with their parents. Without the cost of a mortgage (or even rent) and family commitments the cost of an iPad wouldn't take up much disposable income, or pocket money.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Wow, the fanbois have been busy

    All posts voted down, looks like the fanbois are having a field day attempting to defend their new, expensive, limited use toy.

    1. Nic 3
      WTF?

      title

      perhaps it means the anti anything Apple commenters are not the only audience of the register?

      I voted several of the above comments down because I thought they were petty and childish. They also suggest a more than a hint of sour grapes and/or jealousy.

      I notice the pro iPad comments are also voted down or does that not count?

      Anyway get back to telling us how Steve Jobs is wrong and you are right. It makes for informative reading. If only Apple paid more attention to the reg commenters.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Blind downvoting...

      means nothing but it does show a certain sense of maturity.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Could that be

      because there are so many no-hopers voting anti-apple as a matter of course?

  12. cexcells
    Stop

    You would have to be rich

    and a rich fool at that!

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Tombo

    What do you care if people buy an iPad? Does bashing them make you feel superior or something? Flash "programmers?"

  14. uhuznaa

    Of course

    real geeks only drink warm water and never this expensive "tea" thing, which is basically just water anyway. Water is much cheaper and gets the job done as well! Only marketing-driven fanbois drink "tea". Real geeks select their drinking fluid by the specs!

    Heavens.

    1. Adam T

      Geek Beverages

      Why did I think real geeks prefer Dr Pepper?

      1. Volker Hett

        Dr. Peppers fine

        but Jolt is better :)

    2. max allan

      Coffee?

      Most of the geeks I know would rather drink coffee. And, for preference, be able to control at least the grinding and brewing processes. I don't know any that go as far as their own roast. In the UK the raw ingredients are too hard to find.

      The geek likes control as well as the ability to discuss the intricacies of the process and then argue with anyone who has a different opinion.

      I'd like to see a survey about how many of those iPads are jailbroken or at least customised using special apps (Think tweakUI, if apple allow such a thing).

      1. Volker Hett

        TweakUI is from Microsoft

        we wouldn't touch this with a 10 feet pole :) Jailbreak is a must, not because it's needed but because it can be done :)

      2. Doug Glass
        Go

        Oh Crap!

        And here I was thinking Panama Bouguet, Guatemalan Antigua, Jamaica Blue Mountain and Kona were just ordinary everyday coffees.

        Come to think of it, you can get crap coffee too: Kopi Luwak. Straight form the butt of a Civet cat.

        I guess we all have our toys huh?

  15. Will 28

    Are Yahoo! allowed to do this level of monitoring?

    It's bad enough that Yahoo have been sending me other user's emails, but now you appear to be telling me that they're also tracking my access to their site for "research". Can I assume this information is also shared with third parties for advertising "research"?

    1. James Butler

      Why not?

      Yahoo is the new Google-wanna-be, didn't you get the memo? For that matter, Apple is the new IBM-wanna-be, so you can thank their little secret tech for passing on such interesting info to Yahoo for correlation. Don't you wonder why the iPad wifi (3G wasn't available in time to be included in these stats) and the iPhone can be tracked down to a single user like that? Those devices don't even use the same protocols! How do you figure that's done?

  16. Bod

    Nerds, Geeks or Dorks

    Not sure iProduct users are any one of these or have their own definition.

    Going by: http://www.goingthewongway.com/208/difference-between-nerd-geek-and-dork/

    They're not Nerds because Nerds actually understand the technology, like to tinker & hack a lot with anything new from any source, usually without spending a fortune, and will bore people to death about the inner working details. Nerds are Linux users.

    They're not entirely Geeks because Geeks are interested in things that others are not interested in. iProduct users are exclusively interested in what Steve Jobs churns out and tells them to buy. True Geeks would have been interested in each of the iProduct for a short while until they reach popularity and then they'll reject it and move on to the next obscure product.

    They're not Dorks because Dorks have no style and would not want an iProduct to make them cool and stylish.

    No, they're a fourth group who are like Geeks but blindly follow one product range at the exclusion of all else to look cool and stylish, even if they have no real understanding of the underlying technology and never consider other options. Money is no object.

    I think fanbois is the term we've always used and still fits here ;)

    Sony/Blu-Ray fanbois are a similar breed here. They mix a little with iProduct fanbois, at least until Apple come up with their own home entertainment console and then the two will hate each other.

  17. Basic
    FAIL

    I'm surprised

    I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the fact that Yahoo is storing enough data to be able to make these assertions - A complete history of every access to yahoo? Perhaps. At the very least, a list of user-agents used by each user (in a non-aggregate form). When cross-referenced with the demographic info, it becomes quite powerful

  18. Ben Rosenthal

    lol

    Why should anyone be jealous? It's not some new Ferrari creation being made in severely limited numbers, sold only to the elite few, it's a mass produced toy sold openly on the high street.

    Serious Apple people are very odd!

  19. iamapizza
    Thumb Down

    Dear Reg

    Dear Regtards,

    Please don't insult geeks by calling them geeks. Really, you're only propagating it. Please, just stop.

    Thank you.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iPad

    The iPad is a great little toy that has a lot of uses, but at my income and budget, it's way too expensive a toy. Give it a few years and a few price drops, and I'll be proud to have one.

    I've run into a couple of people who have one, and they've all be snobby jerks, but maybe all the nice iPad users aren't showing them off. :P

    I'll second a previous poster's suggestion that a lot of users are probably from well off families, perhaps coasting through various degrees while their parents foot the bill. That seemed to be a lot of the inital iPhone users, anyway. (And come to think about it, new devices in general).

  21. ShaggyDoggy

    Use ?

    What do people actually use an iPad for ?

    I mean, that can't be done better and cheaper by something else.

    If it's not much, then this is a fashion accessory.

  22. Lord Lien
    Joke

    Is it not better to spend your money...

    ... while your alive? Do wonder how many dead people have put in orders for Ipads? Will Apple give us these figures if we ask them?

  23. Subtilior

    If...

    If only they could all be scooped out and gobbled up by hungry bears.

  24. Doug Glass
    Go

    Nawwww

    Just children with excess weekly allowance insufficient parental supervision. Or maybe the iPad is just a high tech nanny.

  25. Jared Earle
    Jobs Halo

    You know who?

    You know who buys iPads? People do.

    At $500 (plus fedex or whatever) it's not as expensive as a nice watch, a decent TV or whatever else could be considered a luxury impulse buy. I'd guess most Reg readers could afford an iPad if they thought it'd suit their needs, but because it's made by Apple, it's deemed style over substance.

    I tried an iPad last week here in the UK, and my 3G arrives tomorrow. We've had since January to save up, so it's not just a toy for the rich.

    Still, if you, like Yahoo, want to pigeon-hole a broad cross-section of tech buyers, just so you can feel superior to them, then who am I to stop you. Carry on; I'll be quietly enjoying my iPad for a year before you finally succumb to the call.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      $500 for a watch?

      You definitely fit the rich and stupid bracket...

  26. JEDIDIAH
    Linux

    No kidding...

    No kidding iPads are being mostly bought by people with more money than sense. Regardless of what some fools might like to claim, $500 is nothing to sneeze at. If it were otherwise, then there would be a lot more Mac users by now (minis are only $600).

    So of course most of the iPad buyers at this time are people that view $500 as an impulse buy. That means rich people. Although I disagree with the idea that rich geeks make up the bulk of iPad owners at this point. Geeks are going to be aware of the limitations of this thing and at least kick the tires first. You might get a few Geek curiosity seekers but I expect most iPad owners at this point are not Geeks at all. They just like to buy whatever is in and make sure they are seen with it.

    There are plenty of people buying iPads for no other reason than the hype. I suspect they are the overwhelming majority.

  27. Watashi

    Inequality of wealth

    @ Jared

    "I'd guess most Reg readers could afford an iPad if they thought it'd suit their needs, but because it's made by Apple, it's deemed style over substance."

    I guess that's the thing - nobody "needs" an iPad. The reason so many people hate Apple is because what it sells is social one-upmanship. It's the electronic equivalent of an Armani suit; an obvious way of showing people that you have a good job which gives you plenty of disposable income. You might as well wear a badge saying "look at how succesfull I am!"

    If exactly the same product was available in a box with HP written on it for $100 less, how many Apple loyalists would still buy the Apple? I'd say that most of them would.

  28. Rolf Howarth
    Happy

    More money than sense?

    ...isn't that just another way of saying they're smart AND successful?

  29. John Carter 1
    Megaphone

    miserable buggers

    seems to be a lot of jealousy here.

    the cynicism of the average reg commentators is incredible. What a miserable bunch you would be to share a pint with.

  30. Bruno de Florence

    chat roulette

    You should see what them fan boy geeks do with their ipads on chat roulette!!!

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    @Anonymous Coward

    "The iPad is a great little toy that has a lot of uses, but at my income and budget, it's way too expensive a toy. Give it a few years and a few price drops, and I'll be proud to have one."

    I work for myself and I'm always interested in technology and why people use something and I still can't see a use for it. It would have to drop to maybe £150, at which point it could be a photo frame/weather station for my kitchen that I could also occasionally browse on.

    I hear all these cases being put and I just can't help but see the glaring flaws in every one of them:-

    1. You can watch movies on it. Yes. Apple's movies. On a 4x3 screen Which I have to support. How is that better than a TV?

    1.1 Ah, but what if you are away from home? If I'm away from home, I'll have a laptop anyway. Which I'll need because I'm working. And does that anyway. So the iPad is redundant.

    2. You can browse on it. If you don't want Flash. And I have a PC and Laptop that do that already.

    3. You can play games on it. Yup. iPhone/iPad games. Not flash games. Not games bought in shops.

    4. You can read e-books. Again, as can my laptop along with a whole bunch of other stuff. If I wanted what a laptop can't deliver, I'd buy a Kindle which actually offers something my laptop can't do.

    5. It's lighter than a laptop. And so crippled that you'd have to carry a laptop anyway.

    6. It's runs for 12 hours. Great. But I can get power on trains, or in hotels now. My 3 hour laptop time is just fine.

    I get why the iPhone or Android phones have touch screens, why you need apps on them and all that. To have all that functionality in pocket-sized form then you have to compromise in certain ways. But if it's not pocket sized then what's the benefits of such a crippled machine over a laptop?

    Other than "it's beautiful" or "It's magical", am I missing something?

  32. Ed Gould

    WHY IPAD?

    I spend a lot of time in Doctor's offices waiting for Doctors. Have you tried toting around magazines or books to doctor's offices? The magazines are either all female oriented and or sports types magazines *AND* not only that but they tend to be 2-6 months old.

    I would rather be able to read what I want to and also carry around medication lists and other items that the doctors always seems to want that you just do not have the sherpa to carry them around for you.

    As for $$ it seems to be little bit high but then Apple products you always get what you pay for and a lot more.

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