I am guessing that an early release of iOS 4.3 will hurt 3g iPad 2 sales.

[vrDrew]

Why the early drop?

My guess is that Apple is anticipating a lot of work for their servers on Friday afternoon as a million or so people activate their new iPad 2s. And so rather than have them competing for bandwidth with millions of iPad 1 owners who are updating to OS 4.3 on the same day, they pushed the drop date up by 48 hours.

By the way, I just updated to 4.3, and it is appreciably faster, especially on graphics heavy webpages.

 

[r2b2007]

I just downloaded, completed multiple test.

Thanks Apple, I just saved $500.

I was ready to buy now I am not...

 

[anthonymoody]

WHOA. I have now changed my plans. I am not buying an iPad 2 this Friday. And in all likelihood will wait until iOS 5 before re-evaluating.

Safari is waaaay faster. And mail is more responsive. Noticeably.

To my shock, this is going to tide me over for a bit. We'll see if iOS 5 bogs the thing down again, but for now, the added horsepower no longer seems as imperative to me. The thickness/weight savings would've been nice to be sure. But taken as a whole, it's not enough to get me to upgrade on day 1.

This is shocking to me, to be honest! If you've followed my exploits (see my signature) you'd know why.

I think Apple erred mightily in releasing 4.3 before Friday. The OP is right.

 

[FrancoRumors]

So after upgrading to 4.3 I have decided to get a 16GB wifi ipad. The first time around I purchased a 64 GB 3g. Personally I do not come close to using 4 GB of data on my iphone or on the iPad. Also, I was able to sell my iPad 1 the first week of february for $725. I am scaling back on the storage as well because I don't think it is necessary to carry around my entire itunes library or all of my photos. I mostly use the iPad for convenient couch use of safari, apps (such as amplitube) and reading ibooks.

Being able to use use hotspot with 4.3 is definitely the way to go FOR ME. If I am in a no wifi zone I will just turn on the hotspot in my pocket. I used it for a little less then an hour (55 minutes) and the battery on my iphone went from 99 to 88 percent. I had the screen off on the phone the whole time.

I understand some people are on the road alot...so draining their battery and using up their data allotment is no good. Also the hotspot performance from my iphone 4 paired with my MBA was great. I was able to watch a movie on netflix fullscreen while I installed photoshop and illustrator CS5 in the background (from usb drive - not over the air). I also had to download the silverlight update for netflix before watching the movie...it was only 15 mb or so but it was faster then i expected for hotspot tethering. Just as fast as some of the crappy wifi networks you get in a public place.

All of this only applies to my personal usage and needs from these devices but wifi tethering is a major factor in my iPad purchase this time around. Even though I lost about 100$ on my iPad 1 I still feel like I am getting an iPad 2 and 100 bucks back by upgrading.

 

[BradClarke]

I just downloaded, completed multiple test.

Thanks Apple, I just saved $500.

I was ready to buy now I am not...

yes 15 Million other people must of said the same thing yesterday.. Apple will be screwed.....


Sales wont be effected because of the update coming out early, its not like they did it on accident lol. It still doesn't fix the fact the the original iPad isn't white, or has cameras, or 512mb of ram, or a dual core processor, or thinner, and can run the new iMovie app. A update that basically just fixes web page load times doesn't add any of those features. If you really were going to get the iPad 2 you would be getting it for one of the benefits above, otherwise there is no logical reason for you to have even though about upgrading in the first place.

Your ignorance is bliss.

 

[FrancoRumors]

One more time for clarification:

I'm not saying apple will sell less iPads in total because of the 4.3 release.

I am saying that this time around - more people may buy a wifi iPad instead of a 3g ipad since wifi hotspot tethering via iphone 4 is now available.

 

[HommePomme]

As a Canadian who doesn't live under the archaic variable charges for the same data (how is it even legal in the States??), I can definitively say this makes all the difference in my iPad 2 purchase decision.

I'm on the Rogers/Fido network and they have made it very clear that as long as you have a data plan over 1gb/month, they will not differentiate the data usage between tethering and personal hotspot. My guess is that they do not offer it on the 500mb plan due to people blowing through that data far before the end of the month and then incurring (and complaining about) the outrageous overage fees.

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carrie...free-on-rogersfido-with-1gb-higher-data-plan/

This is awesome news for anyone with an iPhone 4 who is deciding on which iPad to buy. I, for one, will save my $130 and go for the wifi-only model. I think tapping a few iPhone settings to "on" is a small price to pay...Who doesn't carry their phone around with them all day anyway?

Same here, 100%. I'm upgrading from my 64GB 3G iPad to a 64GB WiFi iPad 2. In Canada, it's a no-brainer if you own an iPhone 4

 

[stabile007]

WHOA. I have now changed my plans. I am not buying an iPad 2 this Friday. And in all likelihood will wait until iOS 5 before re-evaluating.

Safari is waaaay faster. And mail is more responsive. Noticeably.

To my shock, this is going to tide me over for a bit. We'll see if iOS 5 bogs the thing down again, but for now, the added horsepower no longer seems as imperative to me. The thickness/weight savings would've been nice to be sure. But taken as a whole, it's not enough to get me to upgrade on day 1.

This is shocking to me, to be honest! If you've followed my exploits (see my signature) you'd know why.

I think Apple erred mightily in releasing 4.3 before Friday. The OP is right.

Monday I got an iPad 1 two actually one for me and one for my g/f. I banked a lot on what I heard with 4.3 improving the experience quite a bit. Specific benchmarks not with standing I think it was still the better choice. I saved $100 per iPad and still get a completely usable device (I had a gift card that helped out a large bit of the purchase and we wanted two so it was easier to stomach the smaller amount out of my pocket).

I think iOS 5 will take a lot more advantage of the hardware then iOS 4.3 does but thats not going to be out at least until June or July when the iPhone 5 comes out (Similar to other years) or it could be even later then that since the iPad iOS 4 release took a while. Like many others I also dream of the day a retina style display becomes feasible on the iPad and I am sure Apple is working hard on it but they know the $500 price tag is vitally more important then any other part of it.

 

[Mattstkc]

+1

Convenience > MyWi

As for effecting sales, I doubt it.

convenience doesn't burn two batteries at once and doesn't require an iPhone and an iPad on and charged at the same time.

 

[zemzabob]

I,m selling my iPad 1 to a buddy for $500 it's a 64gig wifi only model, and I'll be buying a 64gig iPad 2 wifi + 3G. To tell the the truth I just like to have the latest and greatest. I will get a iPad data plan or a mobile hotspot device.

 

[anthonymoody]

yes 15 Million other people must of said the same thing yesterday.. Apple will be screwed.....


Sales wont be effected because of the update coming out early, its not like they did it on accident lol. It still doesn't fix the fact the the original iPad isn't white, or has cameras, or 512mb of ram, or a dual core processor, or thinner, and can run the new iMovie app. A update that basically just fixes web page load times doesn't add any of those features. If you really were going to get the iPad 2 you would be getting it for one of the benefits above, otherwise there is no logical reason for you to have even though about upgrading in the first place.

Your ignorance is bliss.

And your arrogance is laughable. Why would you presume to know what, if any, features were important to him or any other user?

Case in point: the primary reason I was going to get a 2 was the added horsepower. The way I use my iPad (see my signature) I was pretty sure I needed it as the 1 got pretty bogged down with 4.2.

But the speed improvements in 4.3 - which extend into apps like Mail, I.e. Not just safari - have made me decide to wait at least to see how iOS 5 treats the 1. If it overtaxed the hardware, or lacks features I desire on the 1, then I will get a 2. If not, then I wait for the 3 and presumably more dramatic improvements.

I was prepared to order an iPad 2 in the middle of the night. Not anymore. Apple may only have delayed the inevitable - my purchase of another iPad. But for the moment they lost at least one sale. Why is that so difficult for your to comprehend?