Apple to Launch 128 GB iPad on February 5 for $799/$929

[carl0sian]

I think I will wait for the 128gb version to decrease to price of current 64gb

 

[spooky23]

This is the beginning of the end for apple. So not even 12 months since the iPad3, 4 since iPad4, they are bringing out rehashed models. This is reminiscent of the iMac when it was catering the masses instead of actually pushing boundaries.

Mr Cook needs another Mr Jobs to oust him and takeover apple and make apple what it used to be - innovative. Not just playing catchup.

I doubt I'll be upgrading my iPad3 anytime soon.

They will release a sexy looking 5th gen in late 2013 and break all records again. You underestimate the pull Apple have with the people who already own their products. And newbies to tablets will lap it up further.

Upgrading tech specs every year is fine and allows people to actually enjoy the product without collapsing from envy with whatever is next up in the cycle.

Personally, don't even think apps have caught up with the current ipad 4. But alas, this is the consumer driven world we live in. Competition is vital for innovation. Just don't think Apple can/want to/should innovate every 6 months.

 

[Squilly]

I hate the idea of a 128gb iPad.... that's just my opinion. I barely use up 16gb.

 

[Jetson]

People who still don't have enough room on their 64gb version, just have too much junk on there, or should just use a laptop.

"No one will need more than 637 kb of memory for a personal computer."

- OR -

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981



I've been yelling for MORE storage capacity for the longest. Seems someone finally heard us.

And as someone earlier said, why not give us 256 GB?

And this pricing structure is too expensive.

 

[Arran]

announced yes, launched, not quite yet.

Feb. 5th for anyone who wants it.

And March 5th for 256 gb!

Just kidding (or am I?)

 

[barkomatic]

This is the beginning of the end for apple. So not even 12 months since the iPad3, 4 since iPad4, they are bringing out rehashed models. This is reminiscent of the iMac when it was catering the masses instead of actually pushing boundaries.

Mr Cook needs another Mr Jobs to oust him and takeover apple and make apple what it used to be - innovative. Not just playing catchup.

I doubt I'll be upgrading my iPad3 anytime soon.

I've got an iPad 3 as well and I still love it--so I think your concern has nothing to do at all with Apple's competitiveness and everything to do with your emotional need to have the latest model. Releasing new options and new models more frequently is not going to be the beginning of the end--its what Apple needs to do. I don't know if you remember how hot laptops used to be but Apple used to update those very frequently also -- sometimes just a few months after a previous update. That was due to very aggressive competition.

Now, that same environment exists in the mobile device industry so the same pattern is necessary.

 

[ctdonath]

Apple is losing the hardware specs comparison battle. They have better systems, but you wouldn't know it from the spec sheet.

I'm of the increasing opinion: spec sheets are, when used for primary advertising, excuses for inadequacy.

We all know that you can get a tablet with an equal "spec sheet" for dirt cheap - yet it's the $499-929 tablet which is storming the industry. Comparing on hardware specs alone is idiocy; people DO know has better systems, precious few people care about spec sheets beyond 16/32/64/128 wifi/ATT/Verizon black/white Gen2/Gen4/mini choices. Cheaper/better products exist, yet the total market for alternative tablets barely keeps up with one product with a few variations.

Most users don't care about spec sheets. They care "does it work? is it good enough?" Spec sheets, when presented as an answer, are an attempt to fling obtuse numbers at the customer to convince him "it's good enough ... no, really, it is". If the specs - and what the system does with those specs - are good enough, nobody cares about the specs because it's good enough. If the user is asking about specs, or the salesman feels compelled to push them, ain't good enough.

 

[Karma*Police]

This doesn't look good for an early release of the 5th Generation

I agree. But that aligns with their expected earnings growth of only 5-10% this quarter which is what hammered their stock... I'm guessing many investors didn't factor in the fact that they probably won't have a major product announcement.

 

[Shearwater]

Apple is dead.....long live Sample!....

 

[jdmagoo1]

The ipad 4 was a useless update. Apple should have just waited until march to release a proper ipad 4 and ipad mini.

They should at least roll out a retina mini

Hardly useless, for everybody outside the us it brought 4g and a good bump in processor speed. Those two things alone made it a significant update.

 

[rmantiasr]

128GB iPad

Doesn't interest a person who already has the first iPad, great product by the way! Make it interesting for people like me and those who want to make a BIG jump in their computing. It would be great if you could out design the window version copies that have a keyboard to go along with that new 128GB iPad that can be disconnected like theirs, don't just add memory without vision! You are getting FAT in your thinking Apple!!

 

[tanker5]

next iPad pricing

I think iPad pricing will be adjusted with the release of a new model later this year.

$449 16 gb
$549 32 gb
$649 64 gb
$749 128 gb

But I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[cappadonna]

Quote from the last Town Hall meeting:
"Making new products that customers love is the priority. Revenue and share price is just a by-product of Apple’s efforts."

They don't want to make money

Just like samsung doesn't want people waiting in lines for their products

 

[axonic labs]

Stock implications

If it sells well it will help with Apple's iPad ASP (Average selling price) which has been lower due to the iPad mini and will also improve gross margins.

 

[MTL18]

This is the beginning of the end for apple. So not even 12 months since the iPad3, 4 since iPad4, they are bringing out rehashed models. This is reminiscent of the iMac when it was catering the masses instead of actually pushing boundaries.

Mr Cook needs another Mr Jobs to oust him and takeover apple and make apple what it used to be - innovative. Not just playing catchup.

I doubt I'll be upgrading my iPad3 anytime soon.

Where have I heard this before.... Ah yes, before most Apple product releases!

It is a stop gap product that offers more storage and will reclaim some of the profit lost to the iPad Mini. It really is not that bad.

I will not be upgrading my iPad 2 anytime soon either - because it still works. There are plenty of people with maxed out 64s, dated iPad 1's and those that are not in the market yet. This will target them.

 

[ctdonath]

I hate the idea of a 128gb iPad.... that's just my opinion. I barely use up 16gb.

So...don't buy a 128GB model. Get a 16GB model. No need to "hate".

I've been using iPad since 30 minutes after the first 3G model came out. I've got hundreds of apps, a huge music collection, thousands of photos, and hours of home video thereon. I'll take all the space I can get.

 

[840quadra]

Smartest move. Sell it at the current 64GB price, then drop the price on the 64GB and lower models, but, that's just me.

 

[Hellhammer]

1. iOS devices tend to be short of "excess" space. So another Flash chip goes where? In a OS X device there were already generally two storage devices present ( 2 HDDs , HDD+ODD , HDD+SSD+ODD , etc. ). In iOS devices there is generally just one.

2. Cheap flash and and performance flash tend to have different wear characteristics. Increasing the wear level for a marginal improvement is highly dubious. This also means two different controllers since the characteristics are different. That isn't really cost effective either.

You don't need two separate chips to do this. Some of the blocks can be run in SLC mode whereas the rest would run in MLC mode, which would increase performance since programming a single bit is significantly faster than programming two. SanDisk does this with some of their SSDs, it's definitely doable in eMMC form factor as well.

 

[deputy_doofy]

Apple is losing the hardware specs comparison battle. They have better systems, but you wouldn't know it from the spec sheet.

Interesting point. I argued this with two videos.
Android doing a piano app (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7bsYXuD8EXY) vs. an iPad 2 running Garageband (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tvg2iQVQ0uA).

I made sure all still-running apps were off on the Android device before testing. Fair is fair. Secondly, Garageband is a resource hog. The iPad trounces the Android device. At the end of the day, Android ***NEEDS*** numerous cores just to get the basic fluidity of an iPad 2.

 

[Jax44]

I could have sworn that the iPad came with more than just 16 gigs of storage space. Doesn't it have a screen? What about a metal casing? Processor? Why are people buying a huge flash storage device?

The device is the same for all storage capacities, only the storage changes. The more storage you buy the less it is per gb.

 

[Zcott]

If they discontinue the 16gb version, I hope they drop the price point of the 32 to the 16gb price. As a 16gb-er myself, this is good news

 

[surjavarman]

$300 for 112 more storage?

No thanks I'd rather buy a faster 240gb ssd from intel and save $50

 

[HarryKNN21]

Also have to look at an MBA now.

iPad has too many drawback to work with it. It's just for consuming content and too heavy. Falls on my nose when I fall asleep

A $1099 11" MBA with 128GB of SSD would be good, and a $1199 13" MBA will be more future-proof

----------

They'll find a way to increase MBA prices, just to create adequate space between "deals"

Maybe couple years later, Tim says: We are going to do off the MBA, as we found that the market doesn't need physical keyboards anymore

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Why more expensive?

Moore's Law and also price per gigabyte has dropped by 50% in the last 12 months should mean the 128GB should be cheaper than the 64GB retina model when it launched.

This is Apple, remember.

 

[alent1234]

no thanks, too expensive

i will rather buy newer smaller capacity ipads and keep my old ones than have one huge one