Late to the party : comments on the V1

The ipad, unlike the V1, was a runaway success. On release though there were many people ready to offer all kinds of reason why it was "dead on arrival".

Apple sealed the deal, and silenced most of the critics, by pricing at $499. But imagine Nikon, not Apple, released the ipad:

They announce the ipad as a "compact personal computer for beginners" and price it at $999.

dpreview tears into it for a) not running Windows b) having only a 10" screen c) coming with no USB ports, no built in SD card reader, and no physical keyboard and conclude that as a personal computer it was quite useless. Who, they ask, can this be for?

Over the year, the price falls to $600 and then, in the final stretch, $300. People start picking it up and figuring out a) it's great for reading ebooks, watching video, and checking email. b) at the price it's a steal c) touchscreens are awesome. There is an uptick in interest, but by that time Microsoft has already released the Surface...

All analogies are flawed, but this one is not too far-fetched I think - it shows how both Nikon and dpreview conspired (unintentionally) to bury the V1: Wrong messaging and an unattractive MSRP from Nikon, total lack of imagination from dpreview.

The more I think about it the "variable pricing" model for digital cameras makes little sense. The ipad sold for $499 from the first day of preorder to the day before its successor was announced. Nobody feels they got burned but lining up on day one, no one needs to wait for the inevitable price drop, and it can be endorsed by reviewers from the beginning as a good deal.

"variable pricing" (selling on a sliding scale over time) is designed to milk the early adopters. It's profitable. But when you are introducing a new system, and stand to make a bundle on, err, bundles (lenses, miscellaneous accessories) it just seems to me Nikon should haven taken the hit and priced the cameras near cost. Make a splash, earn some goodwill, make money on accessories.