Apple steps up iPad 2 campaign to push functionality over hardware specifications

2456710

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 200
    aeolianaeolian Posts: 189member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    The message is that the real value in the iPad 2 is that it is more than a bag of parts. It's the whole shebang: from parts to software to network services, all working together to do something amazing for the person using it. Component makers have conditioned people into thinking of the value of their PCs as if it were the value of the parts inside; Intel, ATI, and nVidia pay to put their stickers on new PCs to remind people of what's in their PCs. It's been going on for decades. With the iPad, Apple is going back to fundamentals and saying that what matters to people who aren't conditioned to think in terms of "Intel Inside" are what the iPad can do for them.



    You are totally correct!



    The new iPad functions at the same speed as the "old" one...



    Bench tests aside, every 'app' runs just as quick as on Ipad1.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 22 of 200
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,178member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    Apple: Look, iPad 3 is still just as magical you don't need to know what's inside

    Consumer: Ok, it looks like it does the same as iPad 1, which is cheaper so I'll have one of those

    Apple: Oh no wait, it has faster graphics, a higher resolution screen, more RAM

    Consumer: Well why didn't you say that in the first place?



    It just seems that no matter what Apple does, it is in a no-win situation with the critics.



    The ad is meant to appeal to the mainstream consumer that could care less about what's under that hood, and you very well know that.



    For the geeks, nerds, and tech-heads, Apple did say at the iPad2 introduction what was going on inside with more details that followed afterwards.



    Not good enough for you.



    We really are at a point where hardware specs become less-and-less important because Apple has constantly showed that it's integration with hardware and software that matters. Hell, the iPad1 can still keep up with a superior-spec'd XOOM tablet!! A single core iPad does as well as a dual-core/Nvidia tablet with twice the ram!



    But not good enough for you, for you dwell on specs.



    Apple will continue to bump hardware has technology advances. Will most folks care whether the CPU is a dual, quad, octo, or hexa-core?? Absolutely not. If it runs all the applications smoothly, quickly, and provides the same high-quality experience, it's a moot point.



    When will it be good enough for you?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 23 of 200
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iMoan View Post


    Apple should focus attention away from hardware, especially since they released an iPad 2 that was little more than a speed bump with a substandard camera and no retina display.



    You're so right. A CPU/GPU combo that craps all over the competition really is behind the curve.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 24 of 200
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    It's better than their 'nyah, nyah, you don't have an iPhone' ad anyway:



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV2__tmrEbM



    Too condescending IMO and people do have that functionality on other devices.



    At least it bothers to talk about functionality. Most Android ads seem to be selling handsets as weapons or drugs. I'll take a little gentle chiding over macho bluster and nonsensical bullshit any day.



    Quote:

    I'd say the iPad one is a bit better but it didn't really have much of an impact because it didn't say clearly why it was better than anyone else or the old one.



    They don't have to, they're selling an idea and a brand, which is what ads basically do. They're selling the idea that the iPad is more than the sum of its parts, that it's designed to delight rather than win a dick waving contest. They're selling the idea that the iPad is warm and inviting, in stark contrast to Android tablets that are being sold as adolescent fantasies of mastery. It's saying that the iPad is about music, your kids, health, reading, corresponding, communicating. It's saying the iPad is about pleasure, and the pleasure lies in what you can do and how you can do it, not a list of specifications.



    Quote:

    Consumers likely don't need to look at heart rate monitors or brain scans and the drawing inside the number 2 isn't really magical. Garageband is magical, being able to edit movies is powerful, being able to hook up 1080p games to a HDTV is a great feature and not mentioned, having better viewing angles than the Xoom means not only good for reading but better for reading.



    No one is going to be looking at this ad needing to know if they can use each app depicted. The idea is to sell the idea of " a broad range of cool, powerful, engaging stuff effortlessly accomplished." So when you show layers of a brain scan being navigated with a finger, that's a new thing in the world that's inarguably cool. But when you show the same device presenting a photo realistic set of guitar strings with super realistic deflection, and allowing you to easily resize a chart in a document, and zooming in on the video of your precious children, the message is clear-- this is a versatile machine that solves real problems in a way that easy and fun to use (and by the way, the "magical" part of drawing inside the number two is that it's your kid, and your kid is learning and interacting with a device that invites invited learning and interacting far more intimately than the old family PC).



    Quote:

    I guess when you have no competition your ads can be complacent but what happens next year? They come along with iPad 3:



    Apple: Look, iPad 3 is still just as magical you don't need to know what's inside

    Consumer: Ok, it looks like it does the same as iPad 1, which is cheaper so I'll have one of those

    Apple: Oh no wait, it has faster graphics, a higher resolution screen, more RAM

    Consumer: Well why didn't you say that in the first place?



    But they didn't have that problem from the iPad to iPad 2 did they? Because the specs are only there to support the experience, and the experience is evident as soon as you pick it up. If the specs don't express themselves as making the device appreciably better in actual use, then who cares? When the iPad 3 comes out, it will be lighter and faster and have better battery life. If the screen is better it will look better. Anyone with an iPad 2 considering an upgrade will be able to evaluate for themselves, by picking one up, if the improvements are worth the money, without Apple needing to yell about mega-giga.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 25 of 200
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    I have no problem with the way Apple has been focusing it's ads. The ads do their job well, the problem is when they start playing games with the spec sheet. It really isn't acceptable that Apple hides basic info like RAM installed in a device. Spec sheets have little to do with marketing so to me Apple is being less than honest.



    why do you care how much RAM is in the iPad? do you want to buy one with more RAM? because you can't.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 26 of 200
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    I wanted to add that I think it's fairly significant that the spot uses the phrase "we believe." Apple very rarely presents itself this way-- as a company with a philosophy that makes the product which expresses that philosophy. Instead, they've tended to let the products speak for themselves. Mac, iPhone, iPod, iPad.... each is presented as its own character with its own personality.



    I think it would be very interesting if Apple, itself, began having a larger presence in their advertising, coupled to this idea of "beliefs." For all their success selling individual, well liked products, Apple itself is an oddly distant, even cold company, with an oddly distant, even cold CEO. Warming that up a bit-- telling the story of what Apple "believes" about the role of technology in people's lives (and they actually do seem to have some pretty specific and largely unique ideas about that) would be a great move, in my book.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 27 of 200
    "Competitors, including RIM's forthcoming Playbook, Android licensees' new 3.0 Honeycomb tablets, and HP's new TouchPad will have less trouble matching or even exceeding the technical specifications of iPad 2."



    Do What??!!



    You do realise that the GPU in the iPad 2 completely beats the tar out of Nvidia's Tegra 2 don't you? If not check out this - http://www.anandtech.com/show/4225/the-ipad-2-review/5



    By the time Nvidia catch up with the performance of Apple's A5 chip, we will have an A6 with Imagination Technologies Series 6 GPU, and that is faster than a lot of desktop GPUs. The first chip announced with Series 6 is ST-Ericsson's Nova A9600, which is 15 to 20 times faster than the A5 - http://www.stericsson.com/press_releases/NovaThor.jsp
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 28 of 200
    I was happy with the original iPad and with iPad 2 all the minor incremental upgrades are just gravy. Since day one, I have yet to experience system interruptions/crashes. In that aspect alone, iPad stands out and will never be matched by the competition.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 29 of 200
    bmoviebmovie Posts: 88member
    The commercials are narrated by Peter Coyote?writer, actor and narrator and created by the original ad agency that launched Apple. There is no space cadet in a space capsule; there is no pretentious orchestra playing in the background while some burglar climbs a high-voltage tower to charge his tablet; no tablet glued to the TV screen as the people and the background changes; no teenager that clones 5 copies of himself before he boards a bus; and there is no overlord trying to woo any babe in a white hoodie. The message is simple and straightforward.



    Two visuals stand out in the commercial: The "live" strumming of the guitar strings in GarageBand and how one photo becomes many photos at the flick of the fingers. It is not about ram or meters. It is about the Ecosystem. It is not about the size or shape of the magic wand, but what the magician can do with the magic wand. Being thin, or faster, or lighter is incidental. Performing magic is what is being sold.



    All good advertising do 2 things. First, it gets the viewer excited enough to try the product, then it reassures all those who have bought the product?that they made the right choice. People who bought or received the first iPad for Christmas will watch this commercial and still feel good about their iPads and Apple.



    Anyone commenting without watching the commercial should be ignored. Anyone bringing up Flash should also be ignored in light of the fact that cable companies are now making some local TV broadcasting available for iPads. In fact, Flash's wayward parent ? Adobe just showcasted Photoshop for iPad last week, and it is mind-blowingly 3-dimensional! More reasons for Dell and Microsoft (and all Android-Trons) to hate Apple.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 30 of 200
    tjwtjw Posts: 216member
    I would so buy an iPad 2 if you didn't have to plug it into fucking iTunes to use it. If I could use it without having to have iTunes then I would be a convert. I use linux for my job and as my personal computer, I don't want to have to touch a mac or windows pc.



    Apple sort it out. You can't call an iPad or any of your other devices 'post pc' products when they have to be plugged into a mac or windows pc to use them!
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 31 of 200
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tjw View Post


    I would so buy an iPad 2 if you didn't have to plug it into fucking iTunes to use it. If I could use it without having to have iTunes then I would be a convert. I use linux for my job and as my personal computer, I don't want to have to touch a mac or windows pc.



    Apple sort it out. You can't call an iPad or any of your other devices 'post pc' products when they have to be plugged into a mac or windows pc to use them!



    you only have to do it once. you can even do it in the apple store right after you buy the thing...



    anyway, i agree with you. it's stupid. the only reason i plug in my iPod touch is to back it up, and sync my podcasts. both would be easily implemented without plugging in. just throw in time machine support, and let podcasts update on the device itself! why doesn't it do this anyway?



    perhaps iOS 5 will break the chain.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 32 of 200
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sennen View Post


    You certainly do moan.



    More like whine...
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 33 of 200
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bmovie View Post


    Two visuals stand out in the commercial: The "live" strumming of the guitar strings in GarageBand and how one photo becomes many photos at the flick of the fingers. It is not about ram or meters. It is about the Ecosystem. It is not about the size or shape of the magic wand, but what the magician can do with the magic wand. Being thin, or faster, or lighter is incidental. Performing magic is what is being sold.



    Your whole post is worth quoting, but this especially.



    I don't recall seeing such great, lit-from-below, close-up photography in any ad before. Very tactile. They're selling touch-magic!



    But then I don't watch any TV. Maybe this is a trend in the industry.



    What addabox says about Apple's new voice ("We believe . . . ") is also very telling. That is a shift in marketing awareness for sure.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 34 of 200
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matrix07 View Post


    You can pinch to zoom on video now? How?



    Classy ad btw.



    Yeah you can, on the ipad2 at least. Not sure about the iPad 1. You can even rotate video but it seems like more of an accident than a feature cause nothing happens or sticks.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 35 of 200
    addicted44addicted44 Posts: 831member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    I guess when you have no competition your ads can be complacent but what happens next year? They come along with iPad 3:



    Apple: Look, iPad 3 is still just as magical you don't need to know what's inside

    Consumer: Ok, it looks like it does the same as iPad 1, which is cheaper so I'll have one of those

    Apple: Oh no wait, it has faster graphics, a higher resolution screen, more RAM

    Consumer: Well why didn't you say that in the first place?



    There will be hundreds of millions of people who might potentially buy an iPad when the ipad3 comes out. Apple doesn't need to bother about upgrading the old users. The market is young enough that new users will stretch their production capacity to the limits.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 36 of 200
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sapporobabyrtrns View Post


    More like whine...



    The wanker returnith. You are the biggest whiner there is.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 37 of 200
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cy_starkman View Post


    Yeah you can, on the ipad2 at least. Not sure about the iPad 1.



    Oh. Maybe it's iOS 4.3 thing. I'll try it tonight on my iPod Touch.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 38 of 200
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Let's examine the difference in marketing between this iPad 2 ad and the the Motorola Xoom ads which have constantly been running on my cable tv channels, and which I've unfortunately seen too many times. I've seen more Xoom ads than I've seen iPad ads on tv lately. Motorola is really trying to push the Xoom in what seems like a desperate effort.



    The market for the iPad 2 is kids, teenagers, mothers, fathers, doctors, professionals, artists, senior citizens, grandmothers, grandfathers, businesses and everybody else in between. The iPad 2 is basically for everybody, young and old, male or female and the ads only reinforce that.



    The Xoom ads are targeted towards one main group- ignorant, geeky, teenage males who might be impressed by a dumb looking spaceship.



    That's quite a contrast in different marketing styles between the two companies. The competition to Apple doesn't understand tablets and they don't understand ads either.



    Agree 100%. The irony is those ignorant, geeky, teenage males who relate to that ad are most likely far from looking like the handsome guy in the ads, except for their on line avatar in the Sims that is.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 39 of 200
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    "This is what we believe," the new spot says. "Technology alone is not enough. Faster, thinner, lighter; those are all good things. But when technology gets out of the way, everything becomes more delightful, even magical. That's when you leap forward. That's when you end up with something like this,"



    When technology gets out of the way things become easier to use, yes. But things don't become magical unless the technology is not understood, and I think that is what they might be aiming at with keeping the specs secret.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 40 of 200
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    When technology gets out of the way things become easier to use, yes. But things don't become magical unless the technology is not understood, and I think that is what they might be aiming at with keeping the specs secret.



    What so many of us here on this blog forget or perhaps don't even realize is just how much lack of understanding there is of normal computers, PCs or Macs out there by vast numbers of people.



    I do a lot of support for computer users these days and it never ceases to amaze me. The difference between a mail application and a browser for example is a mystery to many. If they get mail via a web interface they don't realize this is the same browser they use for surfing. They have no concept whatsoever of the filing system and don't know how to save anything to anywhere they will ever find it again. They don't know what the difference is between a document and the application that created it is. Yesterday I had to help two 60 something year olds both with iPhones ... their issues included; they hooked their iPhones up to a PC with USB every time they wanted to send a picture. They thought the only way they could send each other an e-mail was by having both e-mails installed on both iPhones. They didn't know what WiFi was so had it switched off. They had 3G switched off since they thought it was more expensive so only Edge was in use ... it goes on and on. Apple get this and realize only the likes of people on this blog know or care about the technical side and they are right to simply remove it from the equation for the masses. Obviously I hope we always have a Mac as well as an iPad as I love to get under the hood but I have to admit ... in my 20's used to change my own cylinder head gaskets too, now I can't recognize anything under the hood of our vehicles!





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tjw View Post


    I would so buy an iPad 2 if you didn't have to plug it into fucking iTunes to use it. If I could use it without having to have iTunes then I would be a convert. I use linux for my job and as my personal computer, I don't want to have to touch a mac or windows pc.



    Apple sort it out. You can't call an iPad or any of your other devices 'post pc' products when they have to be plugged into a mac or windows pc to use them!





    There has to be some application on a computer for an iOS device or a new cloud based system down the road. How else could you back up or easily configure its contents? Given most PCs pr Macs have far more storage it makes sense to be able to have a selected sub set placed on the mobile devices. Look at it like this, if there was no ability to hook up to iTunes everyone would be complaining that there was no way to easily configure the iOS devises and add those things they wanted from their main computer. If there were no iTunes for Linux (as there is) how would you get music and photos etc. to an iOS device? I assume you'd want a utility to do that. Well guess what? Apple made it for you.



    Of course you can live iTunes free by getting the Apple Store to get it going for you but I bet you'd soon find the need to connect it to your computer's vastly lager storage of media before very long.



    I would like to see this become wireless soon rather than having to rely on a USB cable. If I can stream HD video I can sure as heck transfer music and pictures.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
Sign In or Register to comment.