Apple said to hold 'iPad 3' event first week in March - Page 2

Agreed. Apple's new line-up...

iPod Touch $169
iPod Touch XL $249 (6" inch screen)
iPad 2 $399
iPad 3 $499

We've seen no leaks but I think a larger iPod Touch seems like a good fit.

I've been holding out with an iPod Touch from 2009, now I really want iPad 3.

AAPL is at 493.64.....sheesh!

No, we can't say this yet. The first time the iPhone sold more than one model at once was upon the introduction of the third model in the line.

The same thing happened with the iPod touch at the same time.

And we're just now coming up on the third model of iPad. Apple has created a pattern with their first two iOS devices; it's quite plausible to believe they will continue it with the iPad.


Again, Apple has set up a pattern here. Never has any iOS cost more than the previous model. In fact, with the iPod touch, the price has dropped drastically YOY.


Indeed, they don't have to. They could sell the 16GB iPad 2 at $699 with probably only a 18% drop in marketshare.

But they don't care abut that. Tim Cook cares about marketshare. At least for the Mac, and I'm sure iOS devices, since Forstall would.


Everything but this sounds just about right.

I do not recall Apple selling the older generation iPod Touch alongside the newer generation iPod Touch upon the release of the 3rd gen.


I recall there are many examples of iDevices costing more than their replacement. For example*, he iPods from July 2004 were priced at $299 and $399 and the iPod from October 2004 were priced at $349, $499, $599.

You can say that the lowest of these two were different capacities, but I accounted for that in my mention of the Retina Display iPad as a possible scenario due to the ability to source enough of these high-end displays. Also, the 40GB models have a price difference of $100. The next argument is likely that these are different devices because uses the monochrome display and the other the color display, but that's a display change that is causing the price discrepancy here.

Again, you have to consider the unknowns. If this display can only produce 1/2 million useable panels per week with a cost that is $50 more than the current display + backlight + plus more powerful GPU + slightly bigger battery then putting it in the lowest tier iPad for $499 isn't a smart move.

* Only listing one because Wikipedia no longer has the original prices which means I'm using MacTracker, a great program but takes too long to locate this type of data.

Listen carefully: Everything Harry Mudd says is a lie.

Really? I do. (Disclaimer: My memory doesn't exist. It's not Memento-level bad, but it's close.) I'll check MacTracker.

2nd gen iPod touch. Sold until September 2010. So yep, it happened.


Sorry, I said iDevice. I meant iOS device. Eventually they won't mean different things, but I should be more accurate with it...

Yes, Ive confirmed they sold the 8GB G2 iPod Touch for an additional year next to the higher capacity G3 iPod Touches. That does fall in line with the iPhone. Note that I did say that makes sense in an earlier post.

However, none of that negates the other points I made. If you have an argument that there will be no production issues that doesn't effect the current display production or that there will be no price difference that could require Apple raise the price then I'm willing to hear it. Ask yourself, is it better for Apple to bring Retina Display to the high-end iPas now or wait a year to bring it to all iPads? I think its pinnacle that Apple bring it to market now even if that means a slightly higher price point and/or only in the higher-end models.

Sometimes, companies with few, or no, current competitors keep their prices somewhat low to prevent other companies from entering that market. For example, a potential competing company might think, "I was thinking of making tablets to compete with the iPad, but the iPad price is so low that I would make little or no profit. So, I won't even try."

It could be argued that Apple already has done that with their $500 iPad. The closest we've seen to besting the iPad in price only came from the second half of 2011 and were 7" tablets.

Now Asus and couple others have tablets that fall about $100 less than the iPad with a good 10" IPS display. In some ways they appear to be slightly better than the display on the iPad. These competitors seems to be the best reason for Apple to hit the $399 mark with the iPad 2.

Still, it makes no sense for Apple to lose significant profit on a tablet when it doesn't have to and so far I've heard no argument that a 265 PPI display for the iPad and its supporting HW will be near the current component prices of the current iPad or that they can produce as many usable units as the current display.

I believe they'll bring it to all (new) iPads THIS year, and without higher prices. I see all models of iPad 3 getting a retina display, even if that means supply constraints for a few months. Not that it would appear any different from reality since demand is high enough to make it look like supplies are constrained all the time. If there IS an iPad 3 event the first week of March, I figure it'll go down like I said earlier: Introduction of the iPad 3, preorders starting that day, iPad 2 drops to $399 starting that day, iPad 3 ships mid to late April.

Preorders allow them to gauge demand (and for the sake of the situation, let's call 'huge demand' 'incredibly low demand' and 'astronomical demand' 'huge demand', since using just low and huge makes it seem lower than it actually is), and if there's a mid, high, or huge demand, they have a month or so to adjust shipping times so that people know what they're getting into.

You people are making me an optimist and I don't like it. I'm not sure the me of a few years ago would have said there wouldn't be significant supply constraints and I'm not sure the me of a few years ago would have argued against a higher price.

I hope they do too, I'm just trying to be pragmatic and objective.

I also hope they officially announce the event in 5 minutes, hold the event in one hour and they go on sale tomorrow, and that none of it matters to me because Tim Cook is in a helicopter right now to bring me a free iPad 3... and the helicopter he came in. But I don't however think any of that will happen.

That is not at all true. There were many times when Apple retained an older model in the mix after introducing a new one. It has happened with Macs as well as with MacBooks. Sometimes, they keep the older model only for eduction, but not always.

Furthermore, that's the kind of policy that can very easily be changed at little cost. As it becomes harder to show annual double (and triple) digit growth rates, it may be necessary for looking for growth - particularly in markets where price is more critical than in the U.S.

Education doesn't count since it's not suppose to be bought by typical customers. TS already pointed out the Touch followed the iPhone on the release of the 3rd gen so if that follows we'll see the iPad 2 at 16GB follow suit.

Regarding the 8GB G2 iPod Touch after the 32Gb and 64GB G3 Touches arrived for $299 and $399, respectively, did Apple drop the price for the G2 TOuch from $229 or keep it the same? They drop the iPhone prices but the subsidy plays a role in keeping the cost to the carriers high.

iPad 2, 8 Gig in white plastic for textbooks. Sold only to local school districts. $250.00.

I could see an education-only iPad but 8GB wouldn't be enough. Looking at the size of the textbooks they currently have 32GB seems like it would barely work.

I don't know why education wouldn't count. Probably 40% of the US population qualifies.

Furthermore, as I pointed out, it was not only education. There were plenty of other times that Apple continued to sell discontinued models of Macs and MacBooks.

can't wait I finally feel ready to buy an ipad now.. you know how hard its been holding back from buying any of the other available models ...I feel the retina display is what I've been waiting for

that $19 jump just paid for let me see about 20 new iPad for me, and thats not counting the $135 jump from when I bought them at 355

yippeee. My old iPad2 will stay on the bedside table, and I'll get a new one for going out and about
fantastic. I may even buy a new macbook air

1 share of apple is now about the price of an iPad!

I wonder at what point it becomes just "game over" in the tablet space?

A retina display iPad is a huge differentiator from the already modestly selling Android tablets (and really has no bearing on the Kindle Fire, which really seems like a different market). Android tablets will get around to higher res screens after a while, but by then already skyrocketing iPad sales are likely to have become prohibitive.

I am also very, very intrigued by something Cook said during the last earnings call-- (paraphrasing) that the iPad could, or shortly would meet the needs of the laptop buyer. I don't think he would say that if it was just a matter of a more powerful device, or higher resolution. The shortcomings of an iPad compared to a laptop aren't really about horsepower, they're about the depth of available productivity applications, some file handling issues, and keyboards. Could the iPad 3 rollout include the next iteration of iOS? And perhaps a revamp of iWork for the iPad?

If Apple is serious about addressing these areas-- if they in fact intend the iPad to be a no compromises computing device for the 21st century, and not a companion or media consumption device-- then I can't even imagine how far they can take this thing.

I think that a Retina Display at the current price points would be a definite "game over" for the competition. Add to that a doubling of the storage capacity, too, and you're just rubbing in.

If you look at the iPhone's dominance despite the market players the iPhone 4 display had a long lead in the market. I think there are some true pixel count Android-based phones that are now over 300 PPI, but first we saw Super AMOLED with sub-pixel counting.

The iPad would take this to a whole 'nother level. I doubt we'd see any vendors being able to compete for a couple years since AMOLED tech doesn't seem feasible on a 10" tablet. They best they can offer is higher pixel density when comparing the iPad to their display that is less than 1/2 the display area.

By then it'll be the iPod market all over again and the iPad might possibly be the largest profit center at Apple.

I don't see how Windows 8 for tablets has any chance of making an impact. The best it will offer with its Metro UI is that some of the code used for their homegrown desktop Windows apps might end up being cheaper than creating an iPad app from scratch, but I think such an argument will be niche case.

Yeah my wife is getting fed up w/her PC and may have decided she doesn't care to wait till Ivy Bridge gets here. She's talking going ahead and buying an MBA. She knows Apple holds value tho, so she may sell it later and buy a newer system. I've waited this long for Ivy Bridge, I can wait another 2 months. Already have to wait till then for a synth I pre-ordered too (Arturia Minibrute) heh

Perhaps Enterprise solutions for WIN8 will help them?
IMO enterprise adoption of Windows was a strong contributer to Mac sales reduction in the late 90's. If MS can get in there... there will once again be a question asked - why should I buy a ipad for home when I have a MS8 tablet at work? An more than likely they will just bring it home.

That might be their angle but that hasn't been the case with the iPhone or iPad at this point. A lot has changed since then. You can't build your own at a decent cost, and the internet and open web standards have made much of the selling points of Windows on CE a non-starter

RiM is in an even worse position if they think a new OS coming out in late 2012 will be effective. MS at least has a domination of Windows in the enterprise, Win7 as a good OS, a good though unpopular smartphone OS, and a lot money to through at R&D for a long time looking for an in. Even if RiM's new OS and HW is brilliant I don't think it's likely they'll make an impact.

If Apple does release a retina iPad I imagine Samsung will get right on that. Since they have their own display business, I would think they would be able to figure something out.

However, stuff like that doesn't happen overnight, and we're at a critical juncture for tablet uptake. Another few quarters with the kinds of iPad sales increase Apple has seen would start to move towards irrevocable lock-in. I would have expected Samsung to already be hard at work on high density 7" and 10" displays, but who knows? They might not model sufficient sales to make it worth the investment.

Plus, there's Apple's famous buying power. If they are doing retina, they've probably already bought up a significant percentage for the world's capacity to produce such displays for the foreseeable future. At the very least, they're going to leave the competition supply constrained and paying more for the same tech.

I have to say, though, that it must be kind of nerve-wracking to be Apple. The whole "retina display iPad" thing is just a simple extrapolation, based on nothing at all but guesses. Even if Apple wanted to do that, there could be technical reasons or manufacturing issues prohibiting the use of such displays at this time. But can you imagine the horror and rending of garments that would result if the iPad 3 has the same resolution, or a modestly enhanced resolution display?

Apple's never said a word about what they intend, yet we hold them to our desires of what we think they should be capable of as if it were a contract inked in blood.

I don't think iPhones have ever had a version number printed on the outside of the device. On the packaging yes but not on the device. iPads haven't either.

What does LTE have to do with it?

They can't do this, anyway. You can't sell three years' worth of product simultaneously when they're each called "iPhone" or "iPad".


This is correct.

I just want two things, a MiniSD slot and a real file manager with access to the entire system. It's my device I want full control andI don't want to use iTunes if I need to delete, create a folder or simply move data around. These are the only two features that I want/need before I buy a new iPad. Until then I am very happy with Android 4.0 on my new Asus tablet for work and my original iPad2 for play. If the Apple iPad never gets those things well then so be it, I don't need an all Apple computer setup anyway. My Macbook Air and iMac are plenty.

I'm actually more excited about Windows 8 on ARM and what new tablets will come in the fall that will support it. A real OS finally on ARM, with support for 10 hours on a single charge, yummy. I hate Windows because of all the legacy bloat ware that has accumulated over the years but this is supposed to be a completely new rewrite, sweet.

I all ready know what the iPad OS is going to look like and frankly it's getting a little long in the tooth in regards to it's looks. The iPad doesn't need faster hardware it needs a better OS, more like OSX and less like the iPhone. I all ready have an iPhone I don't need a bigger version of it I can see just fine.

And yet despite 2 decades of Windows on tablets it wasn't until 2010 that the tablet finally made an impact on the world despite being called a failure, stupid and all other sorts of pejorative terms for not following the failed business model.

Look I don't want to argue because I know with 100 percent certainty that I still need Flash if I want to enjoy sreaming video or really great web apps like http://audiotool.com/app / ...and the only reason why Microsoft doesn't support it on Windows 8 on ARM is because they want their users to purchase content from Microsoft.

There you go! You can now use the same line in a few months time.

Of course, what you're calling "full control" isn't that at all, it's just a set of legacy conventions and abstractions that define a certain period of computing. You're familiar with them, so it's easy to map onto certain mental constructs in such a way as to give the illusion that you have "full control", but that's all it is. You're moving around a set of symbols in a symbolic way such that you find it convenient to remember what you've done and where you've put things.

Apple is moving to a application centric rather than file centric model. It's no less "real" than what you're used to, it just uses a different style of abstractions and conventions.

I think that soon enough legacy "file management" will feel like using the command line, for most folks-- fine if you really need that kind of thing but insane if that were the only interface offered.

Well of course we'll have to wait and see exactly what MS delivers. It wouldn't be the first time they've oversold future products, and I'm very curious to see how they handle "touch friendly" non-Metro versions of Office. After all, this is the same MS that sold tablets for years with a "real OS" and Office, they just did a really horrible job of making everything finger friendly. Metro is finger friendly, but we still don't know how trying to have it both ways with a unified OS across platforms with some Metro and some not is actually going to work.

Is it just the ribbon that's supposed to make Office table ready? Is it sort of half and half? There are perfectly legitimate user experience reasons that Apple chose to make iOS a touch derivative of OS X, and it wasn't because they weren't ambitious enough. Everything that seems to strike you as limited about iOS derive from choices made bases on touch interactions.

Also, I was wondering if you could maybe explain something it is that you're doing that requires a "real OS" in the sense you mean, because I'm not quite sure what a "real OS" gets me outside of a talking point.

Oh I use is it for programming. At work we have nothing but Unix terminals and Java programs. The Android 4 always me access to the terminal with all the familiar cli commands like, awk, mc, cp, ssh, rm, ftp and so on. I have access to Python, Ruby, Bash, CSH, Pearl and PHP. Plus Android 4 is basicly Java so it's very easy to export our current applications used on Unix to the tablet. The file manager is a must I just can't live with out. My file manger is able to login into multiple servers, tar, zip, gzip directories, backup, delete, move file, edit config files, ect. I can use my Asus Slider as a stand alone computer and I feel like I'm not missing anything or need something else.

Have you use Android 4, not 2, not 3 but 4? It really is now the best tablet OS on the market and now that Google Chrome is available, I am very happy. The iPad still has the better music creation apps so I won't be giving that up anytime soon but I kind of stopped packing my Macbook Air into my bag and use my Asus Slider instead.

Oh you missed the part where I said I already have a tablet that I can play all the codecs that are missing from the iPad and possibly Windows 8 to, my Asus Slider. However Im sure I'll still be able to play the hundreds of .flv files I've saved over the years on Windows 8, once VLC is released for it. Unlike Apple blocking every media player that plays more then what iTunes can play I'm sure Microsoft won't be so bad. My Nokia 800 with WIndows Mobile 7 can play Divx and FLV films on the native player.

I will always have a open system in my computer arsenal to counter act the Apples and Microsofts of the world. There is no reason not to support every free codec other then what the company want's you to have, just the codecs needed to play their DRM stuff. That's ok but then I'm still going to own a device that can play everything that I throw at it.

There have been media players in the App Store that play FLV, MKV, DivX, XviD, 3viX, AC3 and many other codecs for years now. Many now have AirPlay support, too.

Oh really can you tell me a good one please.

I just bought and tried Cinexplayer and it couldn't play half the movies I have, plus it eats up battery like crazy. I just wish the default player can play everything I want like on my Asus. Push play it works, I can even stream those Divx movies directly to my tv because both devices support DLNA, now that is cool. It all works out of box.

I use CineXPlayer for iPad.

• http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id384098375?mt=8

It's quite possible better ones or one with different options to suit your needs have come out so I suggest doing a bit of research to find the best one for you.

I had also used VLC Player when it was available but didn't care for it as much. Here is the reason it was pulled:

• http://obamapacman.com/2011/01/vicio...ple-app-store/

Enough of all this iPad 3 talk, can we actually see a glimpse of this mysterious device?