PC World gets a head start on the Tablet Bashing Campaign

> [According to a recent survey of consumers by market research firm Retrovo](http://www.retrevo.com/content/blog/2010/01/retrevo-pulse-report-apple-tablet) there are several must-have features consumers expect with an Apple tablet and several they want no part of. For example, 39 percent of survey respondents said they would only buy a tablet if it had 3G connectivity. Another 44 percent said they wouldn’t buy a tablet if it required a monthly data plan. PC world is starting the all-out assault on Apple’s Tablet early. This is the second article in two days I’ve seen slamming the product before it’s even announced.

Normally, I stray away from obvious troll bait articles like this, because I don’t want to give them the ad revenue. But it is worth pointing out that Apple succeeds where many others fail precisely BECAUSE it refuses to conduct the kinds of polls cited in this article.

You don’t make great products by asking people what they want. People by and large don’t know what they want.

There’s also a world of difference between listing a bunch of specs and asking people if they’d pay for it, and then showing them a living, breathing product.

I guarantee that of those 44% who said they wouldn’t buy a Tablet if it required a monthly data plan, at least 50% of them will, if Apple’s Tablet ends up requiring a monthly data plan.

Anyone who believes that market research leads to great products stands no chance of ever innovating anything, ever.

And, PC World. Do me a favor. Consider how unsuccessful your six months of assaults on the iPhone were before you continue along this path of silliness. Whether the tablet is a flop or a hit is entirely up to Apple. You will have no effect on sales whatsoever, no matter how hard you try.