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Apple iPad Pricing and Availability: $600-$1000, March 1st?
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Agree completely. This is what is frustrating about Apple - you think they could have pushed integration of devices or features a step further. But they compromise to get the device out into the marketplace and go for form over complete functionality and we are seduced by what they have put in and become willing to overlook what they have missed....
I wonder if the leaked shots of the impressive looking mock ups of the Microsoft Courier device have forced Apple to show their hand first and launch before the product is really ready. In which case we all end up waiting for Rev. B.I really want to love that tablet, I do. I can find a place for it in my set up - if it does what I want. I have visualised it on a stand beside my bed or in my office at home, streaming BBC iPlayer or sitting on the sofa, browsing the web, making notes in meetings. The space which is currently filled by my 10" Dell netbook. However, I fear disappointment lies ahead. Past experience tells me we might be getting a big iPod touch running a pared down Mac OS/iPhone OS. Which has a lovely form factor. And a massive price tag. A MacBook Air type launch where for 30 seconds you think 'Wow, look at that!' and then examine the specification and realise its a non-starter. Sigh.
The speculation and anticipation of joy/disappointment is half the fun with Apple, though. Its like waiting for your exam results, you hope/fear it will go one way or the other - elation or crushing defeat
This tablet will be heavily marketed towards education, especially K-12 to dump text books, or greatly reduce them. I agree there will be SKU that has no contract required for less than $700.00 Phone coverage will be a built to order or different SKU. No elementary school is going to subscribe to a data plan.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Not just picking on you- there seems to be an abundant supply of people who believe that there is this magical source of free 3G. There is no such thing as free 3G. Amazon does not own a 3G network to include for free. Apple does not own a 3G network to include for free either.
The illusion of "free 3G" is accomplished on the Kindle by building the price for each download into the media you buy. Kindle is very much a media consumption device, far from a general web browser (though there is very limited web browsing functions included)... very, VERY far from what we perceive as the Safari general browsing experience we anticipate on this new thing.
Here's the key: the median size of a Kindle book is 368K (yes that's K). For that, about 6 cents is added to the price of that book, which is how you pay for that "free 3G". The cost per megabyte that Amazon has negotiated for this 3G is 15 cents PER MEGABYTE, which is both FACT and crazy expensive for 3G. So if we assume Apple could negotiate the same deal, here's some simple math to illustrate how much extra would have to be added to the price of various forms of iTunes media to deliver the same "free 3G" as on the Kindle:
- A text heavy (just like Kindle) book around 368K should cost about the same as a book on Kindle (and deliver the same very limited experience)
- An 8Mb iTunes Song: $1.29 for the song PLUS 8 * 15 cents or $1.20 to pay for the "free 3G"
- A 700Mb TV Show: $1.99 for the show, plus 700 * .15, or $105 for the "free 3G"
- A 1400Mb Movie: $14.99 for the movie and 1400 * .15, or $210 to pay for the "free 3G"
Could Apple negotiate a better deal than Amazon for this "free 3G"? Maybe. We can pad that maybe with a lot of hope (and what's best for consumers thinking), but we should respect that Amazon is a big, powerful, smart company too, who likely has great negotiators fighting for the best possible 3G deal for their products. But, even if we hope our way to Apple getting their "Free 3G" deal down to 12 cents, 10 cents, even 7.5 cents per Megabyte (twice as good as Amazon got), the math to include the free 3G in iTunes media above minimal, text-heavy (Kindle-like) books is still ugly.
There is no national source of free 3G to plug into. Somebody (aka YOU) pays for 3G service one way or another. If you want anytime, anywhere access, it will be much cheaper to add a contract than paying the Amazon Kindle "free 3G" way. And THAT is exactly how the owners of those 3G networks want it to work. They can't win by giving away their network service. They can't win by heavily discounting their service solely to help Apple sell more Tablets. They win by getting as much as they can for their service.
If there was such a thing... if there was a way to get 3G anytime, anywhere access for cheaper than what it costs now... Apple would have already seized upon that option and leveraged it to sell many more iPhones to all the people who find AT&T contract too expensive.
I don't know about the US, but in the UK the O2 3G network was collapsing under the weight of iPhone data alone. God help us if an even more multimedia intensive device ends up on a 3G data plan with O2 (the network which had the initial UK exclusivity on iPhone sales).
Mac Touch is a terrible name. I'd be willing to wage in the thousand dollar range that it would not be called Mactouch. And according to your missing link theory, there should also be a MacBook Touch.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
$1000 is just a setup
Put yourself in Apple's shoes. You like your margins (didn't you notice how proud of them they were in yesterday's financials?) You have a track record of high-end pricing that still sells a lot of product in the marketplace. No one puts the name "Apple" and "low price leader" in the same sentence... ever.
In the last 6 weeks or so, we've seen dozens of rumors suggesting a price of $1000. We've seen 1 (ONE) rumor suggesting a "shockingly low price" without actually spelling out that price.
If you are Apple, you want price expectations just prior to the launch to be higher than the actual price you roll out. That's the easiest way to make a high price seem like a bargain... one of the simplest tricks of good marketing.
I've seen thread after thread with lots of comments calling prices in the $300-$600 range. I've seen lots of posts within those threads saying "I'm not buying it if it is more than ($300-$600)". Now, go through this thread, and that range has generally slid upwards. That is good marketing building up the price expectation right on schedule.
Very simply: make the people think $1000, then roll it out at about $799 and it will be seen as a bargain... even at $799. Make the $799 version the unsubsidized one, then offer a subsidized version for around $300-$500 and the crowd will oooh and ahhhh even more: "what a bargain! Maybe I should buy 2 at that price!".
That is how Apple sells those of you who don't want another contract at $799 (a bargain compared to your expectation being set at $1000), as well as the bigger crowd at $300-$500 who will take a contract in exchange for an even lower up front price. I believe the "shockingly low price" rumor was probably true, from someone who saw where the subsidized pricing will fall.
That’s my guess (and has been all along): $799 unsubsidized, (about) $349 with contract.
Don't be so easily fooled by one of the simplest new product launch marketing tactics.
Put yourself in Apple's shoes. You like your margins (didn't you notice how proud of them they were in yesterday's financials?) You have a track record of high-end pricing that still sells a lot of product in the marketplace. No one puts the name "Apple" and "low price leader" in the same sentence... ever.
In the last 6 weeks or so, we've seen dozens of rumors suggesting a price of $1000. We've seen 1 (ONE) rumor suggesting a "shockingly low price" without actually spelling out that price.
If you are Apple, you want price expectations just prior to the launch to be higher than the actual price you roll out. That's the easiest way to make a high price seem like a bargain... one of the simplest tricks of good marketing.
I've seen thread after thread with lots of comments calling prices in the $300-$600 range. I've seen lots of posts within those threads saying "I'm not buying it if it is more than ($300-$600)". Now, go through this thread, and that range has generally slid upwards. That is good marketing building up the price expectation right on schedule.
Very simply: make the people think $1000, then roll it out at about $799 and it will be seen as a bargain... even at $799. Make the $799 version the unsubsidized one, then offer a subsidized version for around $300-$500 and the crowd will oooh and ahhhh even more: "what a bargain! Maybe I should buy 2 at that price!".
That is how Apple sells those of you who don't want another contract at $799 (a bargain compared to your expectation being set at $1000), as well as the bigger crowd at $300-$500 who will take a contract in exchange for an even lower up front price. I believe the "shockingly low price" rumor was probably true, from someone who saw where the subsidized pricing will fall.
That’s my guess (and has been all along): $799 unsubsidized, (about) $349 with contract.
Don't be so easily fooled by one of the simplest new product launch marketing tactics.
Very good point, especially since we know Apple have done a few controlled leaks on this one.
Especially if as someone pointed out yesterday (sorry I do not remember who - or I would give credit) they call it the:
Mac's iPad
When has Apple ever given us a new product at a price we liked?!?
I fully expect a $900 unsubsidized price tag - thin and sexy will cost you. Just look at the Air - the least-powerful MacBook with the fewest features and still 300 bucks more than a 13" MBP.
My iPod Touch will be just fine for now.
I fully expect a $900 unsubsidized price tag - thin and sexy will cost you. Just look at the Air - the least-powerful MacBook with the fewest features and still 300 bucks more than a 13" MBP.
My iPod Touch will be just fine for now.
When has Apple ever given us a new product at a price we liked?!?
I fully expect a $900 unsubsidized price tag - thin and sexy will cost you. Just look at the Air - the least-powerful MacBook with the fewest features and still 300 bucks more than a 13" MBP.
My iPod Touch will be just fine for now.
Macbook Air is a good comparison.
Steve Jobs' Keynote got oohs and aahs, and lots of press.... but when the hype wore off and the product was analyzed, it was pretty anemic. I fear the tablet is going to be a lot of hype, but when you look at the price, value and stats, people are not going to be happy.
I hope I am wrong....
What if it's closer to $500?
Then we should assume that we're hallucinating, and thank Jobs for recommending LSD therapy.
</sarcasm>
If it's $500, you won't want it. If it's $1000, you'll want it but might not be able to afford it.
But it will be $899 - so you won't know which it is.
I don't see that happening. What could they limit to 3G from WIFI? That would be such an artificial limitation that people would REVOLT! Also, the cell phone networks are strained enough as it is. Limiting functionality to 3G would make no sense and not be wise. I say no!
I am conducting a poll on here right now, and so far 95.92% of people want to buy iSlate WITHOUT a contract!
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/854010/
Indeed. As the iPhone has already shown us, it is far more likely that you will need a wi-fi connection in order to make full use of the device, and that certain things will be disabled or limited on the 3G.
Don't Need An iPhone XL
Well, I lost interest if this tablet does come with some form of the iphone software & not at least a lite version of Snow Leopard. I don't need another device with the iphone software. I bet this doesn't even come with a dvd drive, how could it if it has any version of the iphone OS. I'm sure not a buyer at any price over $399, which is what a nice netbook sells for.
Well, I lost interest if this tablet does come with some form of the iphone software & not at least a lite version of Snow Leopard. I don't need another device with the iphone software. I bet this doesn't even come with a dvd drive, how could it if it has any version of the iphone OS. I'm sure not a buyer at any price over $399, which is what a nice netbook sells for.
Agree completely. This is what is frustrating about Apple - you think they could have pushed integration of devices or features a step further. But they compromise to get the device out into the marketplace and go for form over complete functionality and we are seduced by what they have put in and become willing to overlook what they have missed....
I really want to love that tablet, I do. I can find a place for it in my set up - if it does what I want. I have visualised it on a stand beside my bed or in my office at home, streaming BBC iPlayer or sitting on the sofa, browsing the web, making notes in meetings. The space which is currently filled by my 10" Dell netbook. However, I fear disappointment lies ahead. Past experience tells me we might be getting a big iPod touch running a pared down Mac OS/iPhone OS. Which has a lovely form factor. And a massive price tag. A MacBook Air type launch where for 30 seconds you think 'Wow, look at that!' and then examine the specification and realise its a non-starter. Sigh.
The speculation and anticipation of joy/disappointment is half the fun with Apple, though. Its like waiting for your exam results, you hope/fear it will go one way or the other - elation or crushing defeat
Somehow you get the sinking feeling that this is going to be another road apple. There are indications that whatever it will be called will not have Flash capability. If so, it is worthless paperweight. (Steve lied when he promised "all the internet" with the original iPhone.) I get the feeling that it will be lacking a lot of other things that are so basic that anyone outside the reality distortion field would say "well, yea".
Sadly, even if it is a crippled device, there will be people running in to haul it off and proclaiming it to be wondrous, a magical thing.
Yes, prepare to be disappointed. Very disappointed. Steve just doesn't "get it". There is no one at the mother ship to set him straight.
Oh well, you always have your Dell.
Edit:
P.S. Oh well, there are a bunch of new netbooks coming out with the second generation Atom chips and probably one with an Nvidia Tegra 2 SOC which should have decent to good battery life.
Give us a break. The world is replete with devices that are anything but worthless and which don't run flash - the iPhone first and foremost amongst them.
Nobody has the illusion of "free 3G". I'm sure everyone here knows that with the Kindle that the price of the data connection is put into the price of the unit and into the price of each download. The thing is, Apple needs to go this route. Having ANOTHER contract for ANOTHER data plan is only going to piss a lot of people off. Sure some will go for it, but not as many as Apple would probably like. I know I won't go for it.
I think it's a false choice. Likely you can use wifi whenever you want, and if you feel like paying more you can use 3G. If it's verizon, you can either get a contract or pay-as-you-go (like I do for my verizon aircard). Is there a chance you'll be able to use an app or two (iTunes store, appstore) on 3G without a contract or paying the carrier yourself? Maybe, but unlikely.
Read the whole post, please. Steve lied. He promised all the internet. Whether you like it or not, there are a great many (and growing) number of web sites you simply can not navigate without Flash. The buttons and various and sundry items necessary to navigate the sites are in Flash. Go install Firefox and then the Flashblock add-on. You will then see just how widespread Flash is.
I am glad that you enjoy being among the crow praising the virtues of a crippled device.