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

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  • Reply 41 of 200
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    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!



    Boy do I agree with you 110%. I do some work for a local Apple reseller and I train new users. "Train" is a very lose term because of how absolutely sh*tface clueless they are. After a few years of doing it, I am looking to step down from doing training after this month. iPad is not so bad. The new Mac users, now they are "flummoxed". Zero concept of the Dock, always worried "OMFG where are teh files OMG where teh files all taking up so much space must organise in folder and defrag defrag defrag".



    I don't blame them. There was a new user saying, well I just want "sync"... OK, not online, right... just use Time Machine, not only does it keep it in sync but backed up. "No, I just want sync, I don't want all that stuff taking extra space etc etc". Couldn't be bothered, I just pointed him to search for a "sync backup" app on the App Store or wherever.



    Their level of trust from using Windows and PCs is so minimal they just can't believe there's no need for antivirus, defragging, continually organising things in folders, constantly worrying how much space everything is taking, how to uninstall cleanly. They worry if you make a new playlist in iTunes or a new album in iPhoto the files are going to be duplicated. Always with the question, "but isn't that duplicating the file?". Jeez...



    It's no wonder the iPad is a runaway success story. It's hitting all the right nerves of people just sick of PCs and too scared/distrustful of moving to Mac. OS X is great but it has its quirks for new users, yes, also because their minds are so warped by using Windows for so, so long.



    Hard for people on these forums to understand, but do you all realise most new Mac laptop users are actually scared to leave the charger connected after the battery is charged for fear of damaging the battery? That's how rubbish PC laptops are.



    As for the phones, the telcos are getting away with murder because people are so scared of going over their data allocation and paying additional charges, they use data so little and always come under the limit while still paying for a lot more data than they would actually use.
  • Reply 42 of 200
    srathisrathi Posts: 29member
    It takes 4 to 12 steps to toggle 3G and we have all the hype about simplicity of iOS. On Android, all the toggles are just one touch away. Yeah! It is complicated!
  • Reply 43 of 200
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Boy do I agree with you 110%. I do some work for a local Apple reseller and I train new users. "Train" is a very lose term because of how absolutely sh*tface clueless they are. After a few years of doing it, I am looking to step down from doing training after this month. iPad is not so bad. The new Mac users, now they are "flummoxed". Zero concept of the Dock, always worried "OMFG where are teh files OMG where teh files all taking up so much space must organise in folder and defrag defrag defrag".



    I don't blame them. There was a new user saying, well I just want "sync"... OK, not online, right... just use Time Machine, not only does it keep it in sync but backed up. "No, I just want sync, I don't want all that stuff taking extra space etc etc". Couldn't be bothered, I just pointed him to search for a "sync backup" app on the App Store or wherever.



    Their level of trust from using Windows and PCs is so minimal they just can't believe there's no need for antivirus, defragging, continually organising things in folders, constantly worrying how much space everything is taking, how to uninstall cleanly. They worry if you make a new playlist in iTunes or a new album in iPhoto the files are going to be duplicated. Always with the question, "but isn't that duplicating the file?". Jeez...



    It's no wonder the iPad is a runaway success story. It's hitting all the right nerves of people just sick of PCs and too scared/distrustful of moving to Mac. OS X is great but it has its quirks for new users, yes, also because their minds are so warped by using Windows for so, so long.



    Hard for people on these forums to understand, but do you all realise most new Mac laptop users are actually scared to leave the charger connected after the battery is charged for fear of damaging the battery? That's how rubbish PC laptops are.



    As for the phones, the telcos are getting away with murder because people are so scared of going over their data allocation and paying additional charges, they use data so little and always come under the limit while still paying for a lot more data than they would actually use.



    We should set up a blog just for our support horror stories. It would be hilarious.
  • Reply 44 of 200
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by srathi View Post


    It takes 4 to 12 steps to toggle 3G and we have all the hype about simplicity of iOS. On Android, all the toggles are just one touch away. Yeah! It is complicated!



    How to miss the point! Well done. Can you imagine all the clueless souls out there able to toggle anything they want that easily! Oh of course the MS tech support geeks now flocking to Android would love all the people they will be able to charge to get them working again.
  • Reply 45 of 200
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    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!



    Yeah, Apple's missing out by not focusing on your segment. Totally.



    You sort it out.
  • Reply 46 of 200
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member
    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.



    Also, MOTO doesn't control the software and so Apple can alway be a step ahead of them. MOTO can only skin up Honeycomb. Meh! MOTO is garbage.

    If they want to impress me they have to write their own goddamn OS for starters then we can talk.

    Now HP has the webos but that crap ain't going to own the pad and iso. Yeah it'll get all the attention once it drops in a few months but it will quickly fade.

    HP bought their way into the tablet market rather than innovate their way in.
  • Reply 47 of 200
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    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.



    So 720p @ 30fps isn't enough?



    It equals or betters 99% of the market of all tablets and smartphones.



    A 10" tablet makes a ridiculous camera, Apple knows it, everyone with any sense knows it, Apple did more than enough to meet the requirements of tablet based photography.
  • Reply 48 of 200
    oldmacguyoldmacguy Posts: 151member
    When I first got my Lisa at work, its basic functions were explained to me – documents, folders, applications and the like. When I moved up to the Mac II, most of what I had learned simply ported itself over to the new machine. I had no concept of the file system, nor did I know how to control where files went, for a long time. So, one day, our department's dedicated Mac guy showed my how HFS worked, and the shade was raised. So me, I'm patient when it comes down to teaching new dogs old tricks. I was there once. I'm in my 70s now, and am eagerly awaiting my iPad2. Lighten up, we all have to go to school to learn how do do anything.
  • Reply 49 of 200
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


    So 720p @ 30fps isn't enough?



    It equals or betters 99% of the market of all tablets and smartphones.



    A 10" tablet makes a ridiculous camera, Apple knows it, everyone with any sense knows it, Apple did more than enough to meet the requirements of tablet based photography.



    So true. You have to laugh really. It's not as if these moaning willies would have rushed out and bought an iPad 2 had it had a 60fps 1080p video ability. They just want something to nit pick at ... anything. Hopefully some iPad copy cat will listen to their whining and add something that ridiculous (maybe even a Nikon lens mount) and lose even more money.
  • Reply 50 of 200
    shavexshavex Posts: 34member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    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.



    Have you even taken a look at the tech specs of the Playbook? They obviously exceed the iPad 2.
  • Reply 51 of 200
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OldMacGuy View Post


    When I first got my Lisa at work, its basic functions were explained to me ? documents, folders, applications and the like. When I moved up to the Mac II, most of what I had learned simply ported itself over to the new machine. I had no concept of the file system, nor did I know how to control where files went, for a long time. So, one day, our department's dedicated Mac guy showed my how HFS worked, and the shade was raised. So me, I'm patient when it comes down to teaching new dogs old tricks. I was there once. I'm in my 70s now, and am eagerly awaiting my iPad2. Lighten up, we all have to go to school to learn how do do anything.



    That process totally is identical to mine and in my case the company was Apple. What memories However, we lived through a time when that was how we progressed and we learned. I don't know why we did or what made us different but that is not the attitude I see out there now. I hear phrases like, "I don't want to know how, just fix it!" all the time from PC switchers moving to Macs. I think it maybe as previously mentioned by nvidia2008, many are just too 'damaged' by their Windows experience to recover.
  • Reply 52 of 200
    kerrybkerryb Posts: 270member
    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.



    As to the article and the reference to the nineties I think the author is way off base. The sad reality was the PPC hardware sucked and sucked really bad. You can't ignore performance when the delta becomes a massive gap. Did someone forget about the huge jump in performance when the Intel machines came out? However this was only a small part of Apples issues in the nineties. In the end we are dealing with a new company now, well reborned. Back then PC companies didn't even bother to market against Apple, much of the specmanship was directed at other PC companies. Today Apple is often selling bleeding edge performance in their laptops, it has been a very long time since Apple has been a hardware technology leader.



    From what I remember the "speed lead" went back and forth a few times in the 90's after the initial release of the G3 machines. I recall watching Jobs' Macworld keynotes demonstrating this. Having said that there was always the question of how do you compare or run the same performance tests on different hardware running different operating systems.



    Regarding Apple's switch to Inel, these days we really have one company leading the processor world (for PC's) Apple removed the nerd PC fanboys' taunts of not being as fast of a PC by becoming a PC.

    I can only think of nerds that are at all interested in having the fastest anything these days. Apple has opened up the computing to everyone this time for real with the introduction of iOS and its user-friendly focus. The iPad's demographic proves this. Today it is more important to have processing power an after thought than the first priority.
  • Reply 53 of 200
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    Not advertising specs plays to Apple's advantage because competitors will ups the specs, advertise their products are better because of the specs, and yet at the same time have devices that don't perform as well as Apple's device.



    Apple has designed the chip and power management system itself. So, something can share the same specs, but not perform as well. Apple is trying not give competitors an easy way in the door by being able to easily advertise specs.
  • Reply 54 of 200
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    Not advertising specs plays to Apple's advantage because competitors will ups the specs, advertise their products are better because of the specs, and yet at the same time have devices that don't perform as well as Apple's device.



    Apple has designed the chip and power management system itself. So, something can share the same specs, but not perform as well. Apple is trying not give competitors an easy way in the door by being able to easily advertise specs.



    Kind of reminds me of one of my favorite cars I had back in the 1980's, a two seater SAAB Turbo complete with whale tail. As it shot past almost anything on the road few knew it only had a 1.8 Liter engine. But boy, did SAAB get some amazing performance from that engine.
  • Reply 55 of 200
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    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.



    Silly argument. Which competitor offers a retina display on a 10" tablet? How many customers need 1080p for FaceTime? And which competitors' products are significantly faster?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nkalu View Post


    Brilliant campaign, nice ad. Availability has been the issue for a while now. I still haven't received mine after 3 weeks of placing the order.



    Yep - absolutely brilliant. Unlike all the geeks here who think that customers care about how many MB of RAM is in their iPad, Apple gets it.



    Availability is, obviously, a problem, but they're making them as fast as they can - and their ramp rate has been incredible for an electronic device. Besides, a little shortage doesn't hurt. The real problem is when you can't make enough of the product 3 years after launch (can you say "Wii"?).



    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.



    Nonsense. It is not dishonest to leave out irrelevant details. Do you know exactly which alloy is used in the springs of a new Corvette? Or exactly which state the corn from your Corn Flakes came from? Or which country produced the oil that was refined into gasoline for your car?



    Apple has got it right - for most users, the details you're asking about are irrelevant. All the user cares about is whether it's fast enough - and it clearly is.



    Besides, for the tiny number of geeks who DO care, you can find the information easily enough.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post


    why do you care how much RAM is in the iPad? do you want to buy one with more RAM? because you can't.



    Well, you could glue a SO-DIMM to the back of the iPad. Given the near-instantaneous response of the iPad 2 with its existing RAM, I suspect that putting more RAM inside would have just about the same effect - none.



    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!



    They don't need to be plugged in to use them. Please educate yourself before making yourself look even more foolish.



    They need to be SET UP with iTunes, but beyond that, there's no need. If you don't have a friend who can do that for you, the Apple store will take care of it. Beyond that, there's no need.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shavex View Post


    Have you even taken a look at the tech specs of the Playbook? They obviously exceed the iPad 2.



    First, that's only true if you choose some arbitrary specs. If you look at screen size, for example, the Playbook is 1/2 the area of the iPad. The Playbook DOES exceed the iPad in one area, though - power consumption.



    Besides, why are you trying to compare the iPad to something that's not even on the market yet? It's really amazing how Apple has to compete not only with real products, but also with every vapor product that ever existed.



    Most importantly, though, is that you're missing the entire point. For consumer products, it's not about specs. Do you know how much RAM is in your BluRay player? Do you know the CPU speed in your HDTV? Do you care? Other than a tiny number of hopeless geeks (many of whom aren't likely to be customers, anyway, because they've bought into Google's "openness" lies), the specs just don't matter. As soon as someone comes out with a product that's more usable than the iPad at a competitive price, then people will start buying it - specs be damned.
  • Reply 56 of 200
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Partial Quote:



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Most importantly, though, is that you're missing the entire point. For consumer products, it's not about specs. Do you know how much RAM is in your BluRay player? Do you know the CPU speed in your HDTV? Do you care? Other than a tiny number of hopeless geeks (many of whom aren't likely to be customers, anyway, because they've bought into Google's "openness" lies), the specs just don't matter. As soon as someone comes out with a product that's more usable than the iPad at a competitive price, then people will start buying it - specs be damned.



    That is so true lol. You can imagine these people bragging that their HDTV's 'wattage' is higher than the next guys.
  • Reply 57 of 200
    futuristicfuturistic Posts: 599member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    I think that's a smart ad. It has a warmer tone then the usual sprightly song and shots of people doing stuff, and actually talks directly to Apple's overarching design philosophy, which I haven't seen them do for a while.



    This might be a good time to run an entire campaign around this concept, pushing Apple's humanizing touch. Particularly in the face of Android licensee's tendency to go with murderous robots and spaceships and hallucinogenic trances Apple could go out of their way to position themselves as the "gather the family 'round" company.



    I agree completely. Apple gets what the others don't. It's not about features and specs; it's about how those features and specs come together to create a great user experience. Technology is most successful when it gets out of your way and lets you do what you want to do. And when your experience is immersive and intuitive enough that you don't care about what's "under the hood", then it is a true win-win: you win, because you're actually doing work/play, rather than hacking and fidgeting, and Apple wins because they've achieved their design/engineering goals.



    Part of the reason I've always been an Apple/Mac fan is because stuff works so well (for me at least--your mileage may vary), that it actually feels like magic! I know a bit about computers and their guts, but I am by no means a computer geek or hacker. I just don't have the time and/or brainpower to deconstruct or mess with the innards of my machine. All I want is to surf, write, work on photos/databases, etc. The Apple/Mac universe has let me do that much more easily than the Windows environment ever has, and this goes all the way back to the original 128k Mac (gosh, remember that???).
  • Reply 58 of 200
    imoanimoan Posts: 56member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


    A 10" tablet makes a ridiculous camera, Apple knows it, everyone with any sense knows it.



    Then why did Apple put two of them on the iPad 2??
  • Reply 59 of 200
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    Power PC processors never sucked. If they did, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony would not now be using them in X-Boxes, Wiis, and PS3s.



    Apple had three problems. The first was it had to rely both on IBM and Motorola to develop the processors (the so called AIM alliance). The second was the Power PC processors worked differently and performed much better at lower specifications then Pentium processors. Intel, Microsoft, and the hardware manufacturers used this to their advantage by focusing on specifications. Those companies knew consumers generally don't understand technology and focus on the specification number. If something has a higher number, it must be better. That simply wasn't true when comparing RISC (AIM based) versus CISC (intel based) architecture.



    The G3 grew a little long in the tooth at the end of its life before the G4s came out. The G4 and G5 processors were monsters. When the G4s first came out, they blew Pentiums with similar specfications away. I remember the Apple tank commercial. That wasn't advertising, but facts. The G4 temporarily jumped way ahead of Intel. Problem was Apple relied on Motorola to update the G4. Motorola was pissed off Apple revoked its license to sell Mac clones when Jobs came back, and Apple's sales were dropping. Motorola didn't' want to spend big bucks updating the architecture. Jobs to this day seems to bad mouth Motorola.



    Apple had to turn to IBM to save the day. There was a lag before IBM was able to bring forth the G5 chip, again a great chip. I had a friend who makes his living doing video work. He had the last model G5 Tower Apple sold (still does), and the first generation Core Duo Tower Apple sold. He had both running OSX. The G5 tower often significantly bested the Core Duo tower in some functionality such as video encoding.



    The third problem Apple had was the Power PC chips cost Apple more the Intel chips cost Apple's competitors. Intel had far more volume then IBM so the cost was way lower for Apple's competitors to buy the chips ultimately pushing the cost of Apple's products up. Moreover, Intel made a few questionable strategy decision for the Pentium. Consequently, AMD started kicking Intel's butt with its Opteron line of processors. Intel was having to pay manufacturers in the form of large secret kickbacks to not switch to AMD's offerings. That further reduced the cost of Intel chips in comparison to IBM's chips. I can't remember the exact number, but something like a quarter of Dell's profit was from Intel kickbacks.



    When Apple decided to jump ship was when Intel came out with the Core Duo roadmap. Apple decided it was too much of a headache trying to compete with Intel on hardware specification numbers, and the Core Duo represented a significant step in the right direction by Intel.



    Ironically enough Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo turned to IBM to develop game chips on Power PC technology. It seems to be working for them. Apple, however, doesn't want to fight the specification game again because numbers do not always tell the whole story. Performance is what matters. Consumers understand things like twice as fast or nine times as fast.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    As to the article and the reference to the nineties I think the author is way off base. The sad reality was the PPC hardware sucked and sucked really bad. You can't ignore performance when the delta becomes a massive gap. Did someone forget about the huge jump in performance when the Intel machines came out? However this was only a small part of Apples issues in the nineties. In the end we are dealing with a new company now, well reborned. Back then PC companies didn't even bother to market against Apple, much of the specmanship was directed at other PC companies. Today Apple is often selling bleeding edge performance in their laptops, it has been a very long time since Apple has been a hardware technology leader.



  • Reply 60 of 200
    rkrickrkrick Posts: 66member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post


    Actually, he should change his screen ID to "iWhine"



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iMoan View Post


    Then why did Apple put two of them on the iPad 2??



    I think "iTroll" fits even better...
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