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

[yeah]

Especially since you can get an entry level MacBook Air for $999

Yeah, for 64 GB

 

[smallnshort247]

I've been using the cloud to store a lot of my music/stream majority of my movies so I guess it's not a big deal to me. Still, I'm sure a lot of people will be pumped for the extra space!

 

[1Alec1]

Meanwhile, the iPod classic doesn't even have Lightning. Soon, it's going to have less capacity than an iPhone. It's definitely dead.

 

[cube]

Sorry, now I want the thin bezel iPad.

 

[Sedrick]

$1000 for an iPad?

 

[jonnysods]

16gb isn't enough space anymore, given the size of iOS6. Sucks up too much space IMO.

 

[xofruitcake]

It would have made more sense for them to have released this with the 4 in Nov. Waiting another 6 months to release an upgrade just so it coincides with a product refresh? That doesn't make any sense.

May be the technology is not ready? Apple rely on the technology from it's supplier. Samsung mass produce the 128 GB flash chip in Sept. Intel and Micron ship their 20nm 128GB chip in Dec... It sound about right that Apple ship 128GB version of Ipad now..

http://www.eetimes.com/design/memory-design/4396594/Samsung-mass-producing-128-GB-embedded-NAND

Dylan McGrath
9/19/2012 1:29 AM EDT
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has commenced volume production of 128-gigabyte (GB) embedded NAND for next-generation smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, the company said Wednesday (Sept. 19).

Samsung (Seoul, South Korea) said it began production of the 128-GB embedded multimedia card (eMMC) Pro Class 1500 NAND in late August, a month after it began delivering eMMC Pro product in 16-, 32- and 64-GB densities.

[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]

According to Kathy Thomas, a NAND flash product marketing manager at Samsung, the Samsung chips are the industry's first 128-GB embedded NAND devices with a random write rate of 1500 IOPS (inputs and outputs per second) that support Jedec's eMMC v4.5 specification, which standardizes advanced features to improve performance, efficiency, security and reliability. Toshiba Corp. has since 2010 offered 128-GB embedded NAND chips that support the previous version of the standard, eMMC v4.4.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/intel-and-micron-produce-first-128gb-nand-chip

Intel and Micron have produced the world’s first 128Gb NAND chip using a 20nm process.

Currently producing 64Gb NAND chips on a 20nm process, Intel Micron Flash Technologies (IMFT) is set to begin manufacturing the 128Gb chip in the first half of 2012, which the high-capacity chips showing up in smartphones, tablets and SSDs in 2013.

A package using eight of these chips would put 128GB of storage on the tip of your finger. The new Flash chips are also promising faster transfer speeds, up to 333 megatransfers per second (MT/s).

 

[CosmoCopus]

Jeez...a thousand dollars for an iPad?? .......no thanks

 

[Bubba Satori]

I'm surprised people expected a price drop. Unless you want the stock to drop another 10%.

Do you want to pay more for your car to boost the car company's stock?

 

[S.B.G]

Do you only keep txt files on your device?

No I don't. But 16GB is fine for my needs.

 

[nostresshere]

Who will pay almost a 1000 dollars for an iPad?. Seriously, what would be the profit be on that thing, maybe 300-400 dollars to make, so 600 dollars profit?

Two issues that are not related.

People will pay what works for them - logically or emotionally.

Profit is up to the seller. If they can make a big profit, they will.

 

[cmichaelb]

Makes you wonder why they didn't just wait until now to release the 4th gen with the extra storage (and the other updates), rather than two 'updates' 4 months apart.

They did the same thing with the release of the 1st gen iPod touch. It released in September and the 32GB version came out in January or February.

Don't forget Lighting connectors too. They wanted all of the line on the same connector.

This is likely a knee-jerk reaction to the iPad Mini. This is a great way to increase ASP by increasing margins. Notice how this is not available in the iPad Mini (yet).

Force people back into the regular iPad and have them pay a premium for storage they desperately want. It is a smart move IMO.

Timmy said that he wouldn't release a product for the sake of revenues..... yet he releases an iPad 4 in February 2013 with more storage at the highest premium of all iPads yet. Maybe he was right, maybe this is about raw profit and not revenue? Haha

See my note above how this mirrors the 1st gen iPod touch.

I guarantee you lots and lots of people will. Whenever you say "who on Earth would buy this?", people do. I finally accepted this after the iPhone 4S. Better to realize that people will buy something that has the Apple symbol on it for a hefty hefty premium so they can be apart of the club. This will also be the first real upgrade in anything iPad related since those that have maxed out their 64 will be hunting.

In short: lots of people will buy this.

What was wrong with the 4S? I'm on the S upgrade cycle and have no complaints.

I'm still thinking that the capacities will be 16/64/128 at the next update
Most people don't need more that 16GB. They did a similar thing with the iPod touch before the new one came out (8/32/64). With this apple gets to save them their little bit of money that they want and everyone who needs more than 16GB will be content(ish)

Excellent theory but wouldn't they just make the entry level previous gen iPad 16GB and bump the rest of the line up to 32 to start? Wasn't the 8GB iPod touch the previous generation model?

-------------------------------------

What I would really like to see is them drop the number of SKUs. They should just cut their margin a little on the iPads and ONLY have cellular models. That way EVERY iPad has that potential- which I'm sure Apple gets a cut of that monthly access fee.

 

[nutjob]

A tablet that costs almost as much as their laptops, what a great idea! That's Apple innovation for you.

 

[samcraig]

Yeah, for 64 GB

Yeah - and a device that can run real software and has a keyboard and other ports.

If your point was that a MBA would only be 1/2 the capacity as an argument why it makes more sense to get an iPad - I think you failed.

 

[stuffradio]

A tablet that costs almost as much as their laptops, what a great idea! That's Apple innovation for you.

Apple can charge whatever they want. It's up to the consumer to vote with their wallet to tell Apple what is acceptable.

 

[Hellhammer]

They should just cut their margin a little on the iPads and ONLY have cellular models.

Why? Apple is a company and their only aim is to make profit. Currently they make hefty profits from the cellular models.

 

[Technarchy]

Load up 40 Disney movies, a few dozen games and Sesame Street and you'll have a great distraction for kids during long road trips.

 

[ericmooreart]

No Thanks.

I can buy 2 or 3 4g Android tablets with sd card slots for the price of 1 4g iPad. For a a hundred or so dollars more I could buy a mackbook air and a 4G mobile hotspot.

I used to love Apple. Then I woke up

 

[zorinlynx]

They really should have dropped the 16GB model, and just sold the 32, 64, and 128 at the already existing price points.

Flash memory is cheap.

 

[iMikeT]

Even with the small leak, I think this product release was the best kept "secret" Apple has had in a while as no one seemed to have expected it.

 

[alent1234]

Load up 40 Disney movies, a few dozen games and Sesame Street and you'll have a great distraction for kids during long road trips.

with the cost of gas, why not just fly?

 

[3N16MA]

No media event, early morning press release - seems more like a reaction to a stock drop.

"QUICK! WHAT DO DO WE HAVE READY TO SHIP IN IPAD R&D? AND LET'S GET OUT WHATEVER'S STABLE IN THE LATEST iOS AND ATV BUILDS!"

Yes, Apple should do media events for a storage bump.

 

[samcraig]

with the cost of gas, why not just fly?

Have you flown lately? Yeah - such a pleasure. And such a low cost solution

 

[jmpnop]

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.

16GB iPad is pretty useless even for a none power user. 8GB iPod is similar too.

Since when were Apple products reasonably priced? Gotta pay for the shiny Apple logo

 

[bbeagle]

Do you want to pay more for your car to boost the car company's stock?

Car manufacturers charge $600 for a package with a $50 radio.

Everyone does it, not just Apple.