Apple's 128GB iPad aims to drive profits up a path competitors can't easily follow

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  • Reply 21 of 188

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    Seriously? DED has written some fairly over-the-top, gushing articles before; but I think this one tops them all. Not because of how extreme it is (although it is that, too), but because the entire thing was based on a simple, benign storage bump. And it's written as if that one tiny, little thing signals some shift by Apple or some great new thing that Apple has done.


     


    Congratulations Apple, you have done what your customers have been asking for for at least a few years now. Way to stay ahead of the game. LOL



    DED isn't known for his sense of measure... but at least, he doesn't love Microsoft.

  • Reply 22 of 188

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jozsoo View Post



    Gee, has anyone at AI cared to read this "article"? If the "author" can't, at least someone who edits stuff? Like, you know, an "editor" that speaks and reads the language? This piece is a veritable typo and grammar slip treasure trove. The worst in years, probably.


    Kind of things that happen when you're using your weaker hand to type.

  • Reply 23 of 188
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post



    Note: Several competing mobile devices have reached the 128gb storage level already via having 64gb of built-in storage plus (fully OS integrated) 64gb microSDXC/Class 10 cards (often found for around US 50.00) with 128gb microSDXC cards soon to be released.


     


    SD Cards in mobile devices are yucky. Apple not adding an SD Card to the iPad is what people unconsciously love about Apple = restraint, focus, simplicity, elegance. If you don't understand this, then IMO you misunderstand Apple.

  • Reply 24 of 188

    Quote:


    At first glance, Apple's 128-gigabyte iPad doesn't seem like much of an advance. After all, the company's competitors won't have too much difficulty in adding more memory to their own tablets. However, they'll have a very hard time selling such a high end product, particularly at the same price Apple can charge.



     


    But none of the competitors will try to sell a 128GB tablet at the same price! Ok except the always clueless MSFT, but still...


     


    In the end, GOOG or AMAZ can easily sell a 128GB version of their tablets, e.g. NEXUS 10 with 128GB for $599, or Kindle Fire 8.9HD with 128GB for $499, which can easily undercut the iPad. 

  • Reply 25 of 188

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post



    A - ... as nice as it is to have a 128gb (on-board) storage option (at a rather exorbitant cost), merely increasing capacity does not fundamentally change the functionality of the iPad.



    B- Likely the single biggest obstacle for to having such a large amount of storage on an iPad is that iOS still lacks a user accessible file system, so as to easily acess all of those 'CAD files' etc. one might load on all that new space.



    Note: Several competing mobile devices have reached the 128gb storage level already via having 64gb of built-in storage plus (fully OS integrated) 64gb microSDXC/Class 10 cards (often found for around US 50.00) with 128gb microSDXC cards soon to be released.

    Not Really... at least not until it gets a user accessible file system and the abilty to run apps in individual windows etc.


    A- That's what makes it a good product;


    B- You're right, but that's also why iPad is a perfect tool for 90% of people. Others are better off with a MacBook XXX


    Note: Ridiculousestissimus.

  • Reply 26 of 188

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


     


    SD Cards in mobile devices are yucky. Apple not adding an SD Card to the iPad is what people unconsciously love about Apple = restraint, focus, simplicity, elegance. If you don't understand this, then IMO you misunderstand Apple.



    I thought that this was quite obvious from his post ^^

  • Reply 27 of 188

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lightknight View Post


    Same old post under different names?



    Must be, two people couldn't possibly have the same opinion about Apple. ;-)  BTW, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I joined in 2008 and pretty much never comment on this site, but I feel strongly about this.  I've owned every iPhone except the 5.  I'm bored by it...OS and hardware.

  • Reply 28 of 188
    For the first time in my life as an admitted Apple fanboy since all the way back to the Apple II I am starting to become bored and disappointed with Apple's idea of "innovation". I don't think hardware updates will excite me any longer. I get the feeling that OS XI (or whatever it will be called) and a radical new iOS interface will be what really wows me again...
  • Reply 29 of 188
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    lunchy wrote: »
    Must be, two people couldn't possibly have the same opinion about Apple. ;-)  BTW, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I joined in 2008 and pretty much never comment on this site, but I feel strongly about this.  I've owned every iPhone except the 5.  I'm bored by it...OS and hardware.

    Let's examine what you've written and implied here. You're bored with iOS and the HW. Does that mean Apple should change what clearly works because you want using your device to be some sort of exciting adventure? Personally, I want Apple to build off the foundations they have not start from scratch. I want my phone to work as expected.

    You said that it's because Jobs is gone but that's only been a year so you're implication was that iOS and the iPhone was an exciting escapade up until iOS 6 and the iPhone 5. You feel it's only happened because Steve is gone despite it being the most radical change the iPhone has ever seen then I think you need to reconsider your position on this because you're not looking at it objectively.
  • Reply 30 of 188
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member


    I am surprised by the obvious dislike of the article author and the dismissal of the content (and its length), by so many here. I don't see whats so wrong. Its a good article and it is refreshing to have someone supporting Apple's strategy after reading so many know-it-alls telling us what Apple should do to avoid doom.


     


    re the 128gb - It seems like a shrewd move. Many people will want the extra storage. It makes the iPad more of a laptop replacement and allows for more photos, videos, and music - the great storage joggers. Another point is that by upping the max storage to 128 gb, the 64 gb is now at the higher end of the middle ground. Many people will hold off from buying the highest end because it seems excessive. I wonder if the sales of the 64 gb iPad will increase as a result. 

  • Reply 31 of 188
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    One compelling reason to buy 128 GB iPad 4 is less of a fear that one may outgrow a 64 GB model. Those who want to purchase a retina-display tablet with powerful CPU and graphics to do something more than just content consumption now have a viable alternative to a laptop. I can see musicians, photographers, graphic designers, doctors, etc. choosing the 128 GB iPad version as their mobile computing device. If I were in the market for an iPad now, I would choose the 128 GB iPad 4 vs its 64 GB sibling. With the right software and the right sync strategy, the 128 GB iPad 4 could serve its owner for many years to come - it has enough power and now enough storage that would allow it not to be obsolete a long time. Certain apps already available in the App Store allow the iPad function as a secondary content-creation tool instead of relegating the iPad to content consumption exclusively.

    My personal computing paradigm recently shifted from laptops back to desktops, which provide at least twice more horsepower for content creation at half of what laptops cost. When I need a computing device on the go, I use my iPads. At the office and at home, I use my desktops (iMacs and Mac Minis). I sync most of the content via the cloud (iCloud and Dropbox depending on the type of content). I wouldn't be surprised if others are considering the shift from laptops to a dual-computing paradigm consisting of desktops and tablets.
  • Reply 32 of 188
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    rothgarr wrote: »
    For the first time in my life as an admitted Apple fanboy since all the way back to the Apple II I am starting to become bored and disappointed with Apple's idea of "innovation". I don't think hardware updates will excite me any longer. I get the feeling that OS XI (or whatever it will be called) and a radical new iOS interface will be what really wows me again...

    Adding a larger capacity to an existing lineup is what you think Apple calls innovation?
  • Reply 33 of 188
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Adding a larger capacity to an existing lineup is what you think Apple calls innovation?


     


     


    Exactly. Apple doesn't consider adding the larger hard drive to the line up innovation. It is a simple upgrade. Moreover, people forget Apple generally went years before coming out with a major new product category. The real excitement for the year, I hope anyway, will be the next version of iOS. 

  • Reply 34 of 188
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member

    Quote:


    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


     


    For companies and institutions that are heavily invested in iOS (as many Fortune 500 companies are), paying an extra $100 for double the device's document and app capacity is an easy decision to make. However, switching to an alternative platform and vendor (at any cost) involves a significant barrier.



    Backed by economies of scale in sourcing storage memory cheaply in high volumes, Apple is returning to its historical trend with iPods in offering more storage than its competitors could at the same price.



    As iOS apps grow in size (a trend accelerated by Retina display graphics) alongside media files (similarly abetted by HD videos), consumers will increasingly demand more storage at affordable prices. The more Apple can do to fill up its users' iOS devices, the more demand it will stoke for greater storage capacities, resulting in higher sales volumes of memory and lower component costs.



    While its competitors shave down storage capacity to reach impressive entry level prices, Apple appears focused on delivering value-oriented products that are profitable. Storage capacity is one of the most visible, valuable features of a mobile device, and therefore is something users will willing pay more to obtain.




    Apple's new 128-gigabyte fat iPad bucks the trend toward cheaper, less powerful tablet and netbooks, the kind of lower end devices that many observers had predicted to rapidly win tablet market share away from Apple's iPad line.



    Google's Nexus 7, for example, delivered its breakthrough $250 starting price by only offering 16 gigabytes of storage, which like Apple's iPad line, is not expandable. Amazon's Kindle Fire similarly reaches below $200 by offering 16 gigabytes of storage. Neither company's smaller form factor tablets offer a 64-gigabyte version like Apple's iPad mini.



    Because they are competing almost exclusively on price, they can't offer a 64-gigabyte version without pushing their products squarely into the price range of Apple's iPad line. And as the first generation of Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets aptly demonstrated, there's not really an insatiable demand for tablets in general, and certainly not for non-iPad tablets priced like the iPad.


     


    * * * *




    While Google and Apple are both chasing money, Apple is successfully implementing a series of long term strategies while Google appears to be running after new objectives each year, and abandoning most of them just as rapidly.



    Now I think, as will all AI's reactive posts after Apple announcements, that Dilger is claiming Apple's strategies are vastly superior to competitors.  He's missing the point.  There are two different strategies between the Android Tablets and the iPad with regards to storage.  Some Android tablets offer expansion slots.  Something many people critique Apple for not addressing.  With a 64gb SD card available now for a little as $50 retail, that still beats the iPad on price alone...Now i'm not saying that's a better or worse solution, just a different way of achieving the same goal [increased total storage].


     


    Paying $100 extra for more storage is the "Apple Tax".  You can buy a 64gb SSD for as little at $70 retail.  Granted maybe not the same chips apple uses, but they're out there.  Apple's advantage to keep their margins high is by designing devices that aren't user expandable. Look at what the future of Macbooks are....the MB Air and new MBPr both have SSDs and are permanently soldered into the system board.  Say goodbye to end-user upgrades.


     


    I think the other half of Apple's plan here is (IMO) that they themselves have little confidence in [their own] "cloud" storage [for personal data] and are making up for their deficiencies in that arena by adding more on-board storage.  This is not a criticism but an observation.


     


    Maybe i'm not a power user of 3rd party apps, which i've stated in the past, but I just can't imagine completely filling up my 32gb iPad with just Apps and associated app files.  PDF's are not huge files unless they are not compressed enough.  I'm an architect and I can clearly see the advantage of carrying around a full set of construction documents on my iPad, but even the big high rise projects i've worked on barely tap the 50-100 mb file sizes.  And an average project can last up to a year in design and another year in construction.  So there's no real need to carry around a ton of PDFs for me.  AutoCad and Revit are both pointless on a tablet because the UI is too advanced for simple touch interface...i've tried.  They're basic viewers only.  Now I can see the advantage for professional photographers.  Graphic designers too, but are graphic designers in particular going to do content creation "on-the-go" on an iPad, i doubt it.  They're going to shrink down their work for presentations at best.  My point is, IMO this article is hugely biased.  Although, what did you expect from an Apple related news site...fair and balanced? :P

  • Reply 35 of 188
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rothgarr View Post



    For the first time in my life as an admitted Apple fanboy since all the way back to the Apple II I am starting to become bored and disappointed with Apple's idea of "innovation". I don't think hardware updates will excite me any longer. I get the feeling that OS XI (or whatever it will be called) and a radical new iOS interface will be what really wows me again...


    So in your old age you are becoming bored, restless and fickle. I suggest you take a trip into 'the other side' and see how you fare. My guess is that as your restlessness subsides you will begin to appreciate what you had.


     


    As I get older I am less excited by new-ness. I appreciate good design and innovation but I have come to appreciate David Filo's disdain for upgrading:


     


    -From a rather OLD article ;)-


    "Filo's office is truly a Salvation Army collection center of a workspace, with dirty socks and T shirts jumbled in with books, software and other debris. Even more startling is his office computer: a poky clone running an outdated Pentium 120 chip. Why wouldn't the chief technologist of the Internet's No. 1 website use the top of the line? Filo just shrugs. "Upgrading is a pain."


    (http://www.cnn.com/ASIANOW/time/asia/multimedia/shopping.html)

  • Reply 36 of 188

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Let's examine what you've written and implied here. You're bored with iOS and the HW. Does that mean Apple should change what clearly works because you want using your device to be some sort of exciting adventure? Personally, I want Apple to build off the foundations they have not start from scratch. I want my phone to work as expected.



    You said that it's because Jobs is gone but that's only been a year so you're implication was that iOS and the iPhone was an exciting escapade up until iOS 6 and the iPhone 5. You feel it's only happened because Steve is gone despite it being the most radical change the iPhone has ever seen then I think you need to reconsider your position on this because you're not looking at it objectively.


    You make some great points.  In the latest Jobs era, Apple has always seemed to be about high innovation and taking risks other companies wouldn't take.  Making a smaller iPad or one with larger capacity seems to be more in line with what Apples competitors would do.   And yes, it seemed that while Jobs was around there was always something exciting around the corner.  This just isn't the case anymore, for me at least.  What are you excited about?


     


    You think the iPhone 5 vs. the 4S is the most radical change?  Even compared to the 3GS type models and the 4?  While you make a well reasoned argument, I'm now questioning your objectivity.

  • Reply 37 of 188
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lunchy View Post


    What happened to innovating to make it tough on the competition?  Oh yea...Jobs is gone...



    Agreed.  But, this isn't a new generation of the iPad, just an addition to the iPad 4 line.

  • Reply 38 of 188
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by antkm1 View Post


    What does Dilger mean by "fat" iPad?


    Is the "fat" referring to the bump in storage or the physical size of the device?


    So far, nothing on the Apple Store website showing it as an option.


     


    Maybe he mean "phat".



    He's not referring to this:



     


    He's making a reference to this:



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Mac

  • Reply 39 of 188
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post



    Likely the single biggest obstacle for to having such a large amount of storage on an iPad is that iOS still lacks a user accessible file system, so as to easily acess all of those 'CAD files' etc. one might load on all that new space.

     


    having a visible and accessible file system is not the point of the iPad.


    Oh, "all those 'CAD files'" get stored in Autodesk's "cloud" as part of the App.  So no need for extra storage there.

  • Reply 40 of 188

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by antkm1 View Post


    having a visible and accessible file system is not the point of the iPad.


    Oh, "all those 'CAD files'" get stored in Autodesk's "cloud" as part of the App.  So no need for extra storage there.



    I don't like clouds though. Clouds tend to bring rain.

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