Posted on 03/21/2017 1:58:01 PM PDT by Swordmaker
Apple just dropped a new iPad with all the excitement of an IRS audit,” Daniel Howley writes for Yahoo Finance. “That is to say, there was none. It feels like the company just woke up Tuesday morning and decided, ‘Hey, let’s announce a new iPad.’ Instead of a flashy event like Apple usually holds when it debuts a new product, we simply got a press release. I’ve had dentist appointments that were more thrilling than Apple’s latest announcement.”
“So why did Apple, the company that basically owns the tablet market, debut a new iPad without making a big show of it?” Howley writes. “Well, because the iPad isn’t that exciting anymore. It simply doesn’t warrant a lot of fanfare.”
“The tablet market isn’t hot anymore and Apple knows it,” Howley reports. “To sweeten the pot for prospective consumers, Apple has moved the iPad into the budget market. Whereas the iPad Pro 9.7 starts at a pricy $599, the new iPad starts at $329. That’s pretty reasonable for a new iPad.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Dan is going to feel mighty silly when Apple unveils their new iPad Pro lineup at a special event within weeks. Today’s iPad was merely part of a press release dump of all of the things that wouldn’t fit, or merit inclusion, into the event’s schedule.
BTW, we told ya so:
iPads are too expensive relative to the perceived competition and Apple has obviously done a piss-poor job of marketing the iPad family (read: clearly explaining to the hoi polloi why they want an iPad over an Amazon or other Android tablet).
Sticker price is the biggest reason why iPad sales struggle to return to growth (the next biggest reason is that iPads’ useful lives last so damn long, they’re not rapidly replaced).
We would have purchased iPads for family members this year if they had been updated as they should have been for the holiday season and if the prices were a bit more palatable. Yes, we know what an iPad offers. Yes, we know they’re worth the money Apple’s asking for today; even being last year’s models. But, Apple should really do the math and consider making certain hardware more affordable in exchange for the backend revenue and increased mindshare and market share that will deliver.
For the same reason – mindshare – Apple should make their own Apple displays, even to the point of taking a loss of each and every one, so that other companies’ logos on frankly ugly products that do not match Apple design sensibilities are not in users’ faces all day long. That’s not a difficult concept to grasp; even an inveterate beancounter might be able to get it. — MacDailyNews, January 6, 2017
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s new $329 iPad is thicker and slightly heavier than iPad Air 2 – March 21, 2017
Apple unveils new 9.7-inch iPad starting at new low price of just $329 – March 21, 2017 – March 21, 2017
it is. . . have you seen how many Apple products are on TV with the Apple covered up by their set dressers? It's hilarious. Apple won't pay these guys for product placement so they put a decal over the Apple!
“Apple should make their own Apple displays”
I don’t think the author of this article has any idea on the amount of R&D it takes to create a stunning 4K display of any size nor do they have any idea of the quantity needed to keep display costs acceptable.
I’m not saying Apple couldn’t do it ... I just think they’d be flat out stupid to throw away good money making their own displays.
It’s kind of like the “Apple Car” thing that fizzled out ... why would they want all of that overhead associated with manufacturing cars ... leave that to the pros ... sell what they’re best at ... high profit margin computer hardware running their software.
I don't think it's that big a thing to worry about. Going with a fully laminated display was the way Apple was able to thin down their iPad line. That is about the only real advantage of laminating the glass to the LED display. It makes that unit monolithic and adds to the cost if you drop the iPad and crack it. Before, it would be likely you'd only have to replace the glass, a much lower cost component than the entire display. With a laminated display, that is not an option, you have to replace it all. . . which means you have to have it done by a tech who can do a security register it to the other security registered components, otherwise it cannot be updated. Just replacing the glass doesn't require registration of the glass component.
This would be just as accurate at pointing and clicking as your iPad Air, but you'd have a Retina screen.
I carry my iPad Pro everywhere.
I own a small business. I have been known to reply to emails at 10:00pm. If we eat at a restaurant, I will try to talk to the manager/owner and discuss their uniforms. I am always selling and my iPad has the screen size to get an idea across that just doesn’t work with a phone.
My iPhone 7 is used primarily for texting and voice.
As for being and iZombie, F#CK YOU and your bullsh!t opinion. I have been a certified Microsoft Network administrator. I was selling IBM Compatibles in 1984. I don’t need attitude from some a$$wipe who wouldn’t know a good product from a bug-infested Windoze piece of crap.
Go play with your Android, you creep.
Our current iPad Pro (replacing a VERY old iPad1...or something) achieves the following:
1) It supplies financial support to my wife’s business including inventory management, invoicing and point of sale operations.
2) It gives her reliable email contact including send and receive while we are servicing her customers in remote areas (except in the WayOutBack parts of our state where the cell service doesn’t work and we can’t even find a wifi signal)
3) It works for us. Might not work for “EVERYBODY”, certainly is not necessary for anyone else unless they choose to make it a requirement or even a damn whim.
4) It gives me the opportunity to watch posters use up bandwidth to express their outrage about all of us morons out there who buy something they choose not to purchase.
....on that subject, I’ve gotta ask. Don’t you have a life outside of stalking Apple posts?
I’m almost as weary of this stuff as Sword is....
I love my iPad we have 3 in my house. Absolutely love the thing.
I love my iPad. I am on my second one and my wife her first. I sold the old one for about 75% of what I originally paid for it.
Prior to the iPad I was on either my desktop or laptop pc most of the time. Now the desktop is only used for financial transactions and the laptop is a backup in case I need a little more mobile horsepower.
I can do everything I need to do on my iPad and God knows it is much easier to read than the the tiny screens of a smart phone, especially for us oldsters.
For me the iPad is not a fad nor a novelty item, it has become an everyday tool for me.
I bought a $79 Kindle Fire for my grandson and he uses it for play. In a pinch I could use it as I do my iPad, but without the speed, battery life and broad selection of apps.
Did I mention I love my iPad?
My Android? The only reason I use it is because, MS seems to have given up on their Windows-based smartphones, otherwise, it wouldn’t be Android or iOS.
In any case, you are one of the tiny group that has found iPads useful, but not everyone in business needs iPads, and in reality, no regular user needs an iPad. Fact is that, if the iPad had never been developed, you would have found some other device to get your ‘work’ done. IOW, if iPads were to disappear from the gadgets landscape, you would have to find some other device to take its place, and you wouldn’t even miss it after a few weeks with some other “non-iPad” gadget.
Nevertheless, there are millions out there who are nothing more than iZombies, even if you don’t feel like one yourself. So, go “F” yourself, and go find something better to do your work with. Toys should not be used for real work.
I got a Kindle fire hdx a couple of years ago. I love that thing. I watch movies and surf the web, write on it, etc. It’s just better than a phone for the sound and video.
About 300 million iPads have been sold since 2010. You are delusional if you think they aren’t useful.
You have a bad case of ADS and need professional help.
:)
My daughter doesn’t like touchscreens much either - so her tablet case includes a feather light keyboard. She also has a word processing program on it...she can effectively use it as a computer wherever she goes. She also has a voice app so it functions as her phone at practically no cost. Her biggest reason to have it is to make graphic artwork. Its not an IPad...just a freebie I got when I bought my Android phone. I actually regret giving it to her, as I could use it.
Different strokes for different folks.
Sad about the mini. My iPad mini has been in daily use since 2013. It’s showing its age but is good, including for watching Netflix and other videos.
Now with my large iPhone 6+, the iPad is less necessary to carry with me, but I can’t kill it just yet. I also have a Kindle Fire which I’m using more and a MacBook I’m still getting used to.
They the Lamborghini of computers.
They don’t need to pay.
It is a coveted machine
Yes, each to his or her own; and many thanks for saying that, instead of trashing me, for having less than NO need for an iPad or its equivalent.
Its in a drawer. It won’t charge properly anymore.
I don’t know.
I’m guessing I did something to the part the plug went into. It’s the old style (about an inch long).
It acts like it has a short...if I hold it tight it will charge but the second I put it down the connection is lost.
The ONLY reason that I have been on this one long, is because I was trashed and impugned for saying that I have no use for an iPad...which lead to other posts from me, to reply to other replies.
Talk about "using up bandwidth"....that's what you and others have done since I first posted to this thread, instead of just passing over that post. ;^)
You can buy books on Amazon and use them on a Kindle device or app for a fraction of the price of a hardback or paperback.
I’ve bought lots of books for $.99 through it.
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