Is there a disconnect by business leaders expecting 'pent-up demand' to explode soon?

[IDemo]

The reason I ask is I have seen this phrase used in economics stories a couple of times recently. But yesterday I got a first hand look at how wrong the expectations may be that consumers are merely waiting for a bit more of an economic uptick before their "pent up demand" for goods provides that extra kick to the uptick.

In a meeting with the vice president, he stated that the product our division develops will see much greater sales before the end of Summer because consumers have a tremendous "pent up" demand for electronics. To help make his point, he asked the roomful of engineers, about 50, how many were going to order an iPad. Now, these are people whose working lives revolve around creating cutting edge technology and gaining the satisfaction of seeing the results of their labor do well in the marketplace.

Two out of the fifty raised their hands. That's only four percent of an admittedly small survey size, but of a group of folks most would identify as uber-geeks. One of them said "Oh come on, people!" I think his disbelief was likely shared by the vp, whose point was not well made.

Are consumers, including the normally reliable ones; well paid, aware of the latest tech, simply backing away from their old habits and saying "no more"? Oh, I know the religiously faithful have rushed to get their hands on these things, but they're kind of the outliers in the market.

Thoughts?