Researching the internet is so much fun. Really. I don’t think any other market can offer such abundance of amazing discoveries. The hunger for understanding the phenomena behind the ongoing development of the Net often leads to extensive research projects. Their complexity derives from the fact that the internet is a demanding and secretive object for analysis. But every now and then the internet gets into a nonchalant mood and shows off with something truly extraordinary. Today I’m going to tell you one simple story of a device that has recently stirred some turmoil. It’s name is Apple iPad.

Let’s begin with the Apple logo. The bite mark on the fruit is a perfect illustration of the brand’s identity. It is an image of a company offering mouth-watering products that make some of the consumers wanting to sink their teeth in them. At least that’s what their marketing strategy is about, and there’s hardly any doubt about the efficiency of their tactics. Those in search of examples  proving the might of Apple should take a close look at the Hungarian market. Why? The answer is to be found in the data available on the gemiusRanking website.

Chart 1. Top 5 mobile devices by average share of Page Views generated by Visitors on websites monitored in gemiusTraffic study in Hungary, Poland and Lithuania; source: gemiusTraffic (24-30.05.2010)

Our Hungarian colleagues noticed that among the 5 most popular mobile devices that are used to connect the internet in their country, as many as 3 are actually Apple-branded products. In most other countries of the region, the dominant position on the ranking is held by iPhone,  but only Nokia can boast a strong representation among the top 5. This, however, is not the most interesting bit. Among the Apple devices broadly used by Hungarians is also the iPad – a tablet with yet unknown  local premier date. Apparently, Hungarians are not eager to wait and are already taking a bite of the fresh Californian apples.

This is every manufacturer’s dream come true: to have a product you don’t even have to advertise or distribute officially. To have a product that the consumers desire so much that they will go through much effort to get it. However, this appetite can be effectively revved up. Is lagging the decision on an official premiere date a  mere coincidence? We wouldn’t know that, but we can be quite certain that nothing tastes as good as a forbidden (or unavailable) fruit. If it is truly so, the metaphor of the apple is becoming even more expressive…