Why would Apple not update the iPod touch to the iPhone 5 internals? It has done so now for four years and not doing so just headaches in terms of OS and app compatibility.
Perhaps it's form factor. If they update it to iPhone 5 internals, the form factor might have to change. iPhone 5 is likely to have a faster processor than the A4 used in the current iPod Touch and it may require more space (and/or a larger battery).
If Apple tries to market a more expensive iPad, the cost goes even higher. The reason is that we're talking about far fewer units which means the cost per unit increases that much more. You're being wildly optimistic in thinking Apple could deliver an iPad Plus for only $100 more. The cost would be much higher because such a device would sell in the thousands, not the millions we're seeing with the current iPad. And what of software development? After all, a small group of consumers would be in the market for software for the much higher resolution and that would make developing such software far less appealing. It's not a simple matter of ordering a bunch of HD screens and marketing the new device as an iPad +.
I think you're underestimating the market split. There are lots of people who will plunk down the extra money for the higher resolution screen. I'd wager a 20-25% of the install base. That's millions of units a quarter. If they sold a cheaper iPad, they're growing that install base, not selling to the one they have now. And developers will write for the double resolution depending on the audience of their app. Right now developers have to write for 2 display sizes. They may have to support 3 for a couple of years, but eventually the original iPhone resolution will become obsolete and developers will stop supporting it and we'll be back to 2.
Size has nothing to do with the failures in the market place at the moment. Using your logic the iPod Touch would be a failure. It would be far better to wake up to the reality that iPad is awfully big for some uses.
Perhaps. But you would be hardpressed to get the devs to support a variety of sizes for the apps. The strength, I would argue of the iOS ecosystem is the lack of hardware fragmentation.
Apple can churn out iPad after iPad and developers know what the sizes are and can deliver accordingly. Start the dart throw Samsung strategy of "5,6.7, 8.1, and 10.1" form factors and those tweener devices may not get the support.
This Ipad 3 HD will not drop this year. They are using there billions of dollars to stock pile pre-made ipad 3's this time for the feb launch like last year. This time they figure if they build them for 6 months before launch they will meet the insane demand this time out of the gates.
Impossible to keep the massive build out a secret for 6 months. You'll kill your iPad 2 sales that way.
Margins are not the issue, nor is ease of assembly. Apple has enough design experience and experience working with their partners to work through assembly problems. Besides, who cares if it takes 6 minutes to assemble instead of 4 when you're paying $10 a day?
I'm not talking about ease, I'm talking about about compatibility. If Apple could assemble iPad-HDs on the same lines as iPad-2s without significant modification, and switch between the two easily then that's a very different proposition from having to build a dedicated line that could only build iPad-HDs.
Quote:
The real issue is going to be marketing. EVERYTHING is about marketing with Apple. I don't see them selling a product solely on the basis of one component having greater specs. Rather, they will sell it on the basis of the entire package.
That's why it wouldn't be a new product if it launched this fall, just a variant on an existing one. In much the same way as you can get a 15inch MBP with higher resolution, with matte screen instead of glossy, etc. Apple would present this as just the same as buying an iPad with higher storage or built-in 3G.
I don't expect Apple to throw vast marketing at this, I think they'll present it as a mid-life spec bump of the sort that was standard in the iPod market for the first few years. Then next year we get the iPad-3 with radically different enclosure, hugely more power and capability, etc.
Perhaps. But you would be hardpressed to get the devs to support a variety of sizes for the apps. The strength, I would argue of the iOS ecosystem is the lack of hardware fragmentation.
Apple can churn out iPad after iPad and developers know what the sizes are and can deliver accordingly. Start the dart throw Samsung strategy of "5,6.7, 8.1, and 10.1" form factors and those tweener devices may not get the support.
It depends how they did it. They could make bigger iPods that kept the same resolution as the iPhone-4, with absolutely no software problems for example. The iP4 resolution would still look fine at 7inches, not retina of course, but if you're marketing it as an iPod that may not matter. The iPod may end up as the de facto diffusion line for the iPad/iPhone premium products.
What I think they do have to be careful of is aspect ratio. If they introduced two different aspect ratio of HD iPads that would entail genuine fragmentation. Still not a patch on Android fragmentation of course.
I think you're underestimating the market split. There are lots of people who will plunk down the extra money for the higher resolution screen. I'd wager a 20-25% of the install base. That's millions of units a quarter. If they sold a cheaper iPad, they're growing that install base, not selling to the one they have now. And developers will write for the double resolution depending on the audience of their app. Right now developers have to write for 2 display sizes. They may have to support 3 for a couple of years, but eventually the original iPhone resolution will become obsolete and developers will stop supporting it and we'll be back to 2.
I don't think so. The major appeal of the iPad is that it's an affordable way of enjoying portable computing. Bring the device up around $1,000 and that ceases to be the case.
I can assure you that when Apple first brought us the iPad, if it had checked in at around $1,000, we wouldn't be having this conversation today. Chances are the iPad would have failed and the tablet form factor might even have been written off forever.
Apple's great accomplishment was not in delivering a fine product in the iPad but rather delivering a fine product at well below $1,000. This is what sparked the tablet market.
You forget that Apple now has a fine ultra-light laptop that checks in at around $1,000. The Air is a laptop that doesn't suffer from many of the flaws that mar lesser such devices like poor battery life and excessive weight. Sure the Air lacks the muscle to be a desktop replacement but the iPad+ would certainly be no such device either. So they would fill similar spots in the product line at nearly the same price. Some would like the tablet, others the extra laptop components on the Air and the ability to run OSX.
Right now a potential Apple customer with $1,000 to spend would consider the Air a no-brainer choice. If, on the other hand, one were drawn to the tablet form factor, does the current iPad's screen resolution serve as a deterrent for purchasing it? There haven't been many complaints just rumours that a high-res screen is coming.
So what would Apple gain from siphoning off some Air sales and iPad sales into a third configuration. I think the net gain would be close to zero. Some customers who were going to either buy an iPad or an Air anyway would buy this device instead. Not many though. Most would rather save a few dollars and just get a regular iPad and others enjoy the full laptop experience via the Air. That would not leave millions opting for an iPad+ at close to $1,000. I stand by my assertion that we'd be talking thousands of customers, not millions, and among those, few if any additional customers.
I don't think so. The major appeal of the iPad is that it's an affordable way of enjoying portable computing. Bring the device up around $1,000 and that ceases to be the case.
Need a bit more straw for your man? iPads already hit $830, without an HD screen, from a low-end of $500. You think an HD screen will add more then $330? Really? You think that 3G iPads aren't selling? Really?
Sorry but your need for this to be impossible is driving you to say some really really ridiculous things.
Need a bit more straw for your man? iPads already hit $830, without an HD screen, from a low-end of $500. You think an HD screen will add more then $330? Really? You think that 3G iPads aren't selling? Really?
Sorry but your need for this to be impossible is driving you to say some really really ridiculous things.
There isn't much point in offering the iPad+ in 16GB form and as such it's reasonable to expect the cost for the premium device would approach $1,000, considering, as you point out, that the top-end iPad already checks in at more than $800.
Also, I don't know what the breakdown is but I suspect Apple does not sell many 64GB iPads and even fewer 64GB iPads with 3G.
I think it naive, certainly to think Apple would just tack on $100 for the screen upgrade and offer it in all the assorted configurations now available. You have to keep in mind that if you have a much higher screen resolution, there is going to be a need for more storage capacity, sooner or later. If you're not going to have content that offers greater resolution, what's the point of having a higher-resolution screen. I think the resolution of the existing iPad, while not ideal, hardly has many consumers upset. It looks rather decent as is. More decent seems to me to be what you'd address with an eventual upgrade across the range.
I don't know why Apple would be in any hurry to bring out a new tablet or even a revision involving a simple screen swap this calendar year. The competition is fumbling about and Apple can't build iPads fast enough. Let's consider, too, that if the next revision comes in February, that's not far off. We're talking six months from now and more like four months after the rumoured release of an iPad HD. By bringing a higher-spec screen to the entire iPad line early in 2012, Apple would maintain segment dominance in that Apple could, because of the volumes involved, offer a better screen than the competition at a similar price point.
Remember that last year rumours were rampant that Apple was going to release a revised iPad in the fall and it never happened. Why should this fall be any different?
I think it's far more probable that Apple has something significant to unveil with the next Touch, which really hasn't seen significant form factor change in a few years.
I'm not talking about ease, I'm talking about about compatibility. If Apple could assemble iPad-HDs on the same lines as iPad-2s without significant modification, and switch between the two easily then that's a very different proposition from having to build a dedicated line that could only build iPad-HDs.
That's ridiculous. They're going to sell millions of each one. Having separate lines for each of them is a trivial inconvenience. (I've spent most of my career working with manufactured products).
Quote:
Originally Posted by cloudgazer
That's why it wouldn't be a new product if it launched this fall, just a variant on an existing one. In much the same way as you can get a 15inch MBP with higher resolution, with matte screen instead of glossy, etc. Apple would present this as just the same as buying an iPad with higher storage or built-in 3G.
I don't expect Apple to throw vast marketing at this, I think they'll present it as a mid-life spec bump of the sort that was standard in the iPod market for the first few years. Then next year we get the iPad-3 with radically different enclosure, hugely more power and capability, etc.
Not a chance. If they simply offered it as a higher resolution screen, it adds little value. First, their screen resolution is already better than the competition. Second, with the existing processor and RAM, the higher screen resolution would slow things down - possibly enough to be very annoying. Finally, the value of a HD screen option would be minimal. OTOH, if they sell an iPad pro with faster processor, more RAM, and HD screen, it opens up new market opportunities - and the price differential could be substantial.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carmissimo
There isn't much point in offering the iPad+ in 16GB form
Why not? If you're not carrying a lot of movies or music around with you, 16 GB is plenty for some people.
Why not? If you're not carrying a lot of movies or music around with you, 16 GB is plenty for some people.
If the 32GB iPad wi-fi only lists for $619 Cdn. and this other unit in 16GB form listed for let's say $699 Cdn., doesn't that mean even more consumers would have reason to pause. In addition, for $719, could have the 64GB unit. How many folks, given a choice between a lot more storage and a nicer screen, would choose the screen, if the base screen was entirely usable.
Keep in mind that if you have a high-res screen, somewhere along the way, storage demands will go up. A higher-res screen fed the exact same files as lower-res devices, is not very useful if the files are targeted at the lower-res device.
I think that the interest in the higher-res option is overstated. It would be nice to have a higher-res screen but just a nice upgrade, not an important one. The sort of thing you incorporate into a future update but not something you market a separate model around.
I think that the interest in the higher-res option is overstated. It would be nice to have a higher-res screen but just a nice upgrade, not an important one. The sort of thing you incorporate into a future update but not something you market a separate model around.
I know, the only people who are going to be interested in a higher-res iPad are the ones who are in the visual 'trades,' like photographers, film and video people, artists and art historians, scientists who use pictorial information, like archeologists or microscopists or pathologists, and so on. Then there are the dilletantes like bird lovers or antique collectors, for example, who want to see their fetishes of choice in the highest and best light possible. And there is the odd consumer of entertainment who can tell the difference between standard and high definition, and likes the high.
All considered, not a market worth taking seriously, as you say. Bunch of narcissists, really, only interested in their own pleasure at looking at things.
Not a chance. If they simply offered it as a higher resolution screen, it adds little value. First, their screen resolution is already better than the competition.
Apple may very well choose to pre-empt them, if they have component availability in a form factor that they're happy with.
Quote:
Second, with the existing processor and RAM, the higher screen resolution would slow things down - possibly enough to be very annoying.
No, given the multiples of performance over the iPad, the iPad-2 SoC is quite capable of driving double the resolution for everything except full 3D games, and perhaps even there.
Keep in mind that if you have a high-res screen, somewhere along the way, storage demands will go up. A higher-res screen fed the exact same files as lower-res devices, is not very useful if the files are targeted at the lower-res device.
One of the main things people use their iPad for is reading, whether books or web content. Text rendered at higher resolution is more readabie, and doesn't require any additional storage - the fonts are all fully scalable. Storage requirements don't scale with screen resolution in anything like the way that you seem to think.
Apple may very well choose to pre-empt them, if they have component availability in a form factor that they're happy with.
Maybe this is part of the reason that Apple is suing Samsung. Apple asks Samsung to develop a higher resolution screen for the iPad 2; Samsung gives a song and dance about the length of time needed and that it would never be ready on time - even for the iPad 3; and then it's discovered that Samsung is getting ready to introduce a hi-rez screen.
I know, the only people who are going to be interested in a higher-res iPad are the ones who are in the visual 'trades,'
What a line of crap. The biggest benefit of extra resolution is in what I am doing right now - text!
While photography can benefit from higher resolution, color and contrast are far more important than the number of dots.
But text and line art? Higher resolution makes all the difference! Any time you have a diagonal line of any kind, DPI (or PPI for the pedantic) is paramount.
I wouldn't be tring to read like I am now or post as I am now with my 3GS like I am with my 4. It's just too fuzzy! The Retna display makes all the difference on text and as soon as the iPad gets it, my Kindle gets the boot!
What a line of crap. The biggest benefit of extra resolution is in what I am doing right now - text!
While photography can benefit from higher resolution, color and contrast are far more important than the number of dots.
But text and line art? Higher resolution makes all the difference! Any time you have a diagonal line of any kind, DPI (or PPI for the pedantic) is paramount.
I wouldn't be tring to read like I am now or post as I am now with my 3GS like I am with my 4. It's just too fuzzy! The Retna display makes all the difference on text and as soon as the iPad gets it, my Kindle gets the boot!
You're right, I left out those dinosaurs that are still interested in text, or even, gasp, reading.
Also not a market worth going after, so Carmissimo can discount that one too.
That's ridiculous. They're going to sell millions of each one. Having separate lines for each of them is a trivial inconvenience. (I've spent most of my career working with manufactured products).
Really? How many of these companies you have spent your career with are larger than Apple?
Apple is just as successful for what they don't do along with what they do. Product lines are NOT trivial. Apples ruthless efficiency is driving their banner success, not trying to be all things to all people.
Thank god. I'd rather have at least a few high quality products where extreme attention to detail matters than an entire industry of Mediocre crap. Like smartphones before the iPhone
Comments
Why would Apple not update the iPod touch to the iPhone 5 internals? It has done so now for four years and not doing so just headaches in terms of OS and app compatibility.
Perhaps it's form factor. If they update it to iPhone 5 internals, the form factor might have to change. iPhone 5 is likely to have a faster processor than the A4 used in the current iPod Touch and it may require more space (and/or a larger battery).
If Apple tries to market a more expensive iPad, the cost goes even higher. The reason is that we're talking about far fewer units which means the cost per unit increases that much more. You're being wildly optimistic in thinking Apple could deliver an iPad Plus for only $100 more. The cost would be much higher because such a device would sell in the thousands, not the millions we're seeing with the current iPad. And what of software development? After all, a small group of consumers would be in the market for software for the much higher resolution and that would make developing such software far less appealing. It's not a simple matter of ordering a bunch of HD screens and marketing the new device as an iPad +.
I think you're underestimating the market split. There are lots of people who will plunk down the extra money for the higher resolution screen. I'd wager a 20-25% of the install base. That's millions of units a quarter. If they sold a cheaper iPad, they're growing that install base, not selling to the one they have now. And developers will write for the double resolution depending on the audience of their app. Right now developers have to write for 2 display sizes. They may have to support 3 for a couple of years, but eventually the original iPhone resolution will become obsolete and developers will stop supporting it and we'll be back to 2.
Size has nothing to do with the failures in the market place at the moment. Using your logic the iPod Touch would be a failure. It would be far better to wake up to the reality that iPad is awfully big for some uses.
Perhaps. But you would be hardpressed to get the devs to support a variety of sizes for the apps. The strength, I would argue of the iOS ecosystem is the lack of hardware fragmentation.
Apple can churn out iPad after iPad and developers know what the sizes are and can deliver accordingly. Start the dart throw Samsung strategy of "5,6.7, 8.1, and 10.1" form factors and those tweener devices may not get the support.
This Ipad 3 HD will not drop this year. They are using there billions of dollars to stock pile pre-made ipad 3's this time for the feb launch like last year. This time they figure if they build them for 6 months before launch they will meet the insane demand this time out of the gates.
Impossible to keep the massive build out a secret for 6 months. You'll kill your iPad 2 sales that way.
Thompson
Margins are not the issue, nor is ease of assembly. Apple has enough design experience and experience working with their partners to work through assembly problems. Besides, who cares if it takes 6 minutes to assemble instead of 4 when you're paying $10 a day?
I'm not talking about ease, I'm talking about about compatibility. If Apple could assemble iPad-HDs on the same lines as iPad-2s without significant modification, and switch between the two easily then that's a very different proposition from having to build a dedicated line that could only build iPad-HDs.
The real issue is going to be marketing. EVERYTHING is about marketing with Apple. I don't see them selling a product solely on the basis of one component having greater specs. Rather, they will sell it on the basis of the entire package.
That's why it wouldn't be a new product if it launched this fall, just a variant on an existing one. In much the same way as you can get a 15inch MBP with higher resolution, with matte screen instead of glossy, etc. Apple would present this as just the same as buying an iPad with higher storage or built-in 3G.
I don't expect Apple to throw vast marketing at this, I think they'll present it as a mid-life spec bump of the sort that was standard in the iPod market for the first few years. Then next year we get the iPad-3 with radically different enclosure, hugely more power and capability, etc.
Perhaps. But you would be hardpressed to get the devs to support a variety of sizes for the apps. The strength, I would argue of the iOS ecosystem is the lack of hardware fragmentation.
Apple can churn out iPad after iPad and developers know what the sizes are and can deliver accordingly. Start the dart throw Samsung strategy of "5,6.7, 8.1, and 10.1" form factors and those tweener devices may not get the support.
It depends how they did it. They could make bigger iPods that kept the same resolution as the iPhone-4, with absolutely no software problems for example. The iP4 resolution would still look fine at 7inches, not retina of course, but if you're marketing it as an iPod that may not matter. The iPod may end up as the de facto diffusion line for the iPad/iPhone premium products.
What I think they do have to be careful of is aspect ratio. If they introduced two different aspect ratio of HD iPads that would entail genuine fragmentation. Still not a patch on Android fragmentation of course.
I think you're underestimating the market split. There are lots of people who will plunk down the extra money for the higher resolution screen. I'd wager a 20-25% of the install base. That's millions of units a quarter. If they sold a cheaper iPad, they're growing that install base, not selling to the one they have now. And developers will write for the double resolution depending on the audience of their app. Right now developers have to write for 2 display sizes. They may have to support 3 for a couple of years, but eventually the original iPhone resolution will become obsolete and developers will stop supporting it and we'll be back to 2.
I don't think so. The major appeal of the iPad is that it's an affordable way of enjoying portable computing. Bring the device up around $1,000 and that ceases to be the case.
I can assure you that when Apple first brought us the iPad, if it had checked in at around $1,000, we wouldn't be having this conversation today. Chances are the iPad would have failed and the tablet form factor might even have been written off forever.
Apple's great accomplishment was not in delivering a fine product in the iPad but rather delivering a fine product at well below $1,000. This is what sparked the tablet market.
You forget that Apple now has a fine ultra-light laptop that checks in at around $1,000. The Air is a laptop that doesn't suffer from many of the flaws that mar lesser such devices like poor battery life and excessive weight. Sure the Air lacks the muscle to be a desktop replacement but the iPad+ would certainly be no such device either. So they would fill similar spots in the product line at nearly the same price. Some would like the tablet, others the extra laptop components on the Air and the ability to run OSX.
Right now a potential Apple customer with $1,000 to spend would consider the Air a no-brainer choice. If, on the other hand, one were drawn to the tablet form factor, does the current iPad's screen resolution serve as a deterrent for purchasing it? There haven't been many complaints just rumours that a high-res screen is coming.
So what would Apple gain from siphoning off some Air sales and iPad sales into a third configuration. I think the net gain would be close to zero. Some customers who were going to either buy an iPad or an Air anyway would buy this device instead. Not many though. Most would rather save a few dollars and just get a regular iPad and others enjoy the full laptop experience via the Air. That would not leave millions opting for an iPad+ at close to $1,000. I stand by my assertion that we'd be talking thousands of customers, not millions, and among those, few if any additional customers.
I don't think so. The major appeal of the iPad is that it's an affordable way of enjoying portable computing. Bring the device up around $1,000 and that ceases to be the case.
Need a bit more straw for your man? iPads already hit $830, without an HD screen, from a low-end of $500. You think an HD screen will add more then $330? Really? You think that 3G iPads aren't selling? Really?
Sorry but your need for this to be impossible is driving you to say some really really ridiculous things.
Need a bit more straw for your man? iPads already hit $830, without an HD screen, from a low-end of $500. You think an HD screen will add more then $330? Really? You think that 3G iPads aren't selling? Really?
Sorry but your need for this to be impossible is driving you to say some really really ridiculous things.
There isn't much point in offering the iPad+ in 16GB form and as such it's reasonable to expect the cost for the premium device would approach $1,000, considering, as you point out, that the top-end iPad already checks in at more than $800.
Also, I don't know what the breakdown is but I suspect Apple does not sell many 64GB iPads and even fewer 64GB iPads with 3G.
I think it naive, certainly to think Apple would just tack on $100 for the screen upgrade and offer it in all the assorted configurations now available. You have to keep in mind that if you have a much higher screen resolution, there is going to be a need for more storage capacity, sooner or later. If you're not going to have content that offers greater resolution, what's the point of having a higher-resolution screen. I think the resolution of the existing iPad, while not ideal, hardly has many consumers upset. It looks rather decent as is. More decent seems to me to be what you'd address with an eventual upgrade across the range.
I don't know why Apple would be in any hurry to bring out a new tablet or even a revision involving a simple screen swap this calendar year. The competition is fumbling about and Apple can't build iPads fast enough. Let's consider, too, that if the next revision comes in February, that's not far off. We're talking six months from now and more like four months after the rumoured release of an iPad HD. By bringing a higher-spec screen to the entire iPad line early in 2012, Apple would maintain segment dominance in that Apple could, because of the volumes involved, offer a better screen than the competition at a similar price point.
Remember that last year rumours were rampant that Apple was going to release a revised iPad in the fall and it never happened. Why should this fall be any different?
I think it's far more probable that Apple has something significant to unveil with the next Touch, which really hasn't seen significant form factor change in a few years.
I'm not talking about ease, I'm talking about about compatibility. If Apple could assemble iPad-HDs on the same lines as iPad-2s without significant modification, and switch between the two easily then that's a very different proposition from having to build a dedicated line that could only build iPad-HDs.
That's ridiculous. They're going to sell millions of each one. Having separate lines for each of them is a trivial inconvenience. (I've spent most of my career working with manufactured products).
That's why it wouldn't be a new product if it launched this fall, just a variant on an existing one. In much the same way as you can get a 15inch MBP with higher resolution, with matte screen instead of glossy, etc. Apple would present this as just the same as buying an iPad with higher storage or built-in 3G.
I don't expect Apple to throw vast marketing at this, I think they'll present it as a mid-life spec bump of the sort that was standard in the iPod market for the first few years. Then next year we get the iPad-3 with radically different enclosure, hugely more power and capability, etc.
Not a chance. If they simply offered it as a higher resolution screen, it adds little value. First, their screen resolution is already better than the competition. Second, with the existing processor and RAM, the higher screen resolution would slow things down - possibly enough to be very annoying. Finally, the value of a HD screen option would be minimal. OTOH, if they sell an iPad pro with faster processor, more RAM, and HD screen, it opens up new market opportunities - and the price differential could be substantial.
There isn't much point in offering the iPad+ in 16GB form
Why not? If you're not carrying a lot of movies or music around with you, 16 GB is plenty for some people.
Why not? If you're not carrying a lot of movies or music around with you, 16 GB is plenty for some people.
If the 32GB iPad wi-fi only lists for $619 Cdn. and this other unit in 16GB form listed for let's say $699 Cdn., doesn't that mean even more consumers would have reason to pause. In addition, for $719, could have the 64GB unit. How many folks, given a choice between a lot more storage and a nicer screen, would choose the screen, if the base screen was entirely usable.
Keep in mind that if you have a high-res screen, somewhere along the way, storage demands will go up. A higher-res screen fed the exact same files as lower-res devices, is not very useful if the files are targeted at the lower-res device.
I think that the interest in the higher-res option is overstated. It would be nice to have a higher-res screen but just a nice upgrade, not an important one. The sort of thing you incorporate into a future update but not something you market a separate model around.
I think that the interest in the higher-res option is overstated. It would be nice to have a higher-res screen but just a nice upgrade, not an important one. The sort of thing you incorporate into a future update but not something you market a separate model around.
I know, the only people who are going to be interested in a higher-res iPad are the ones who are in the visual 'trades,' like photographers, film and video people, artists and art historians, scientists who use pictorial information, like archeologists or microscopists or pathologists, and so on. Then there are the dilletantes like bird lovers or antique collectors, for example, who want to see their fetishes of choice in the highest and best light possible. And there is the odd consumer of entertainment who can tell the difference between standard and high definition, and likes the high.
All considered, not a market worth taking seriously, as you say. Bunch of narcissists, really, only interested in their own pleasure at looking at things.
Not a chance. If they simply offered it as a higher resolution screen, it adds little value. First, their screen resolution is already better than the competition.
Samsung are already touting their high-def tablet panel said Samsung expects to have commercial availability of this technology for tablet applications later this year.
Apple may very well choose to pre-empt them, if they have component availability in a form factor that they're happy with.
Second, with the existing processor and RAM, the higher screen resolution would slow things down - possibly enough to be very annoying.
No, given the multiples of performance over the iPad, the iPad-2 SoC is quite capable of driving double the resolution for everything except full 3D games, and perhaps even there.
Keep in mind that if you have a high-res screen, somewhere along the way, storage demands will go up. A higher-res screen fed the exact same files as lower-res devices, is not very useful if the files are targeted at the lower-res device.
One of the main things people use their iPad for is reading, whether books or web content. Text rendered at higher resolution is more readabie, and doesn't require any additional storage - the fonts are all fully scalable. Storage requirements don't scale with screen resolution in anything like the way that you seem to think.
Samsung are already touting their high-def tablet panel said Samsung expects to have commercial availability of this technology for tablet applications later this year.
Apple may very well choose to pre-empt them, if they have component availability in a form factor that they're happy with.
Maybe this is part of the reason that Apple is suing Samsung. Apple asks Samsung to develop a higher resolution screen for the iPad 2; Samsung gives a song and dance about the length of time needed and that it would never be ready on time - even for the iPad 3; and then it's discovered that Samsung is getting ready to introduce a hi-rez screen.
Citing industry sources in Taiwan, DigiTimes
Ugh, I can't believe I got suckered into commenting on a story "sourced" from DigiTimes.
I know, the only people who are going to be interested in a higher-res iPad are the ones who are in the visual 'trades,'
What a line of crap. The biggest benefit of extra resolution is in what I am doing right now - text!
While photography can benefit from higher resolution, color and contrast are far more important than the number of dots.
But text and line art? Higher resolution makes all the difference! Any time you have a diagonal line of any kind, DPI (or PPI for the pedantic) is paramount.
I wouldn't be tring to read like I am now or post as I am now with my 3GS like I am with my 4. It's just too fuzzy! The Retna display makes all the difference on text and as soon as the iPad gets it, my Kindle gets the boot!
What a line of crap. The biggest benefit of extra resolution is in what I am doing right now - text!
While photography can benefit from higher resolution, color and contrast are far more important than the number of dots.
But text and line art? Higher resolution makes all the difference! Any time you have a diagonal line of any kind, DPI (or PPI for the pedantic) is paramount.
I wouldn't be tring to read like I am now or post as I am now with my 3GS like I am with my 4. It's just too fuzzy! The Retna display makes all the difference on text and as soon as the iPad gets it, my Kindle gets the boot!
You're right, I left out those dinosaurs that are still interested in text, or even, gasp, reading.
Also not a market worth going after, so Carmissimo can discount that one too.
That's ridiculous. They're going to sell millions of each one. Having separate lines for each of them is a trivial inconvenience. (I've spent most of my career working with manufactured products).
Really? How many of these companies you have spent your career with are larger than Apple?
Apple is just as successful for what they don't do along with what they do. Product lines are NOT trivial. Apples ruthless efficiency is driving their banner success, not trying to be all things to all people.
Thank god. I'd rather have at least a few high quality products where extreme attention to detail matters than an entire industry of Mediocre crap. Like smartphones before the iPhone
You're right, I left out those dinosaurs that are still interested in text, or even, gasp, reading.
ah, missed your sarcasm. If I would have had a 7" iPhone it would have been easier to keep everything in context.