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I find this interesting. Among my friends (I am in college) they are all disappointed that apple doesn't update their hardware as frequently as other companies. To non tech savvy people to wait 6 months to buy a new product is unheard of. They will just go out an buy the top of the line android tablet that came out days ago since they don't want to by a 5 month old device from Apple.

Really? 5 month is too old for a college student?

When I was in college I had a desktop, I so badly wanted a laptop but I didn't, because I was a broke college student. I didn't want to put it on my college loans.
 
I find it surprising people have the money to buy a new top of the line tablet every 5 months while in college, what happened to the days of living off Top Ramen for months at a time?


I find this interesting. Among my friends (I am in college) they are all disappointed that apple doesn't update their hardware as frequently as other companies. To non tech savvy people to wait 6 months to buy a new product is unheard of. They will just go out an buy the top of the line android tablet that came out days ago since they don't want to by a 5 month old device from Apple.
 
A significant number of people use tablets primarily for Internet, books, e-mail, and maybe a couple of games (the most popular of which tend to be available on all tablets). These are things that can be done well on any top tier tablet (be it Apple, Android, or Microsoft).

I'm not saying Apple doesn't have the most "complete" app store, but the reality is that it doesn't matter for a significant number of tablet users.

And then realize that
1. There is almost no good app for android tablet than iPads
2. They will discover that they won't have OS updates as on iPads and discover that their brand new hardware will be outdated faster than the 5 months iPads...

That's what happened to my friends thinking the same of yours. Now they have iPads and the only tablet that could make them switch (if any) is the surface.
 
I find it surprising people have the money to buy a new top of the line tablet every 5 months while in college, what happened to the days of living off Top Ramen for months at a time?

I lived off Top Ramen all last year (going into Junior year) and when I was feeling high-class, Rice-a-Roni. :p
 
... with many observers believing that Apple would continue to update the two lines simultaneously going forward.

And those observers would all be morons. So Apple has been known to religiously adhere to release cycles and simultaneous product launches since... WHEN???


I find it surprising people have the money to buy a new top of the line tablet every 5 months while in college, what happened to the days of living off Top Ramen for months at a time?

I lived off Top Ramen all last year (going into Junior year) and when I was feeling high-class, Rice-a-Roni. :p

Sorry, I tried Ramen once, and gave up. I had a bread maker (WAY better than sliced bread by about a century) and made tuna salad sandwiches. I never got laid, but I had awesome projects. Trade-offs.
 
Some next gen iPads will be LARGER than 9.7"

According to a trusted confidant.

Would not be surprised if Apple launch something to compete with the innovator form factors coming from the Windows 8 and Android camp, such as ASUS Transformers and Windows convertibles.

But done properly.
 
Digitimes notwithstanding it makes perfect marketing & sales sense to put the mini & 9.7 on separate launch schedules. I think DT's timeline is off though. I can see the iPad 5 launching in July for back to school & mini in Oct for holiday.

Regardless, no way the mini 2 does not launch before the holiday sales season.
 
I find this interesting. Among my friends (I am in college) they are all disappointed that apple doesn't update their hardware as frequently as other companies. To non tech savvy people to wait 6 months to buy a new product is unheard of. They will just go out an buy the top of the line android tablet that came out days ago since they don't want to by a 5 month old device from Apple.

And when I was in college, we had to buy our own stuff. For many of us, we did not have $400 in disposable finances to spend on anything other than books, tuition, and for the fortunate, the one computer. :)
 
I think since they appeal to different sorts of people, Steve will want to stagger the releases. It just makes the most sense.

Steve Jobs passed away 2 years ago...

I even googled him for you

Steve Jobs
Entrepreneur
Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs was an American entrepreneur and inventor, best known as the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. Wikipedia
Born: February 24, 1955, San Francisco, California, United States
Died: October 5, 2011, Palo Alto, California, United States
Education: Reed College (1972–1974), More
Children: Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Reed Jobs, Erin Siena Jobs, Eve Jobs
Awards: National Medal of Technology, Grammy Trustees Award,
 
Really? 5 month is too old for a college student?

When I was in college I had a desktop, I so badly wanted a laptop but I didn't, because I was a broke college student. I didn't want to put it on my college loans.

Dude, my papers for the first 2 years of school were done on a typewriter, LOL. :D I would've paid a lot of money for a working backspace key. :p
 
Since Apple knows how much the mini with Retina will cannibalise the sales of the 5th gen iPad, it would certainly make sense to release the 5th gen first to soak up some of the impulse purchases with their premium device before introducing the new mini.

By that logic, perhaps we would also see the iPhone 5S before the fabled cheap one too?
 
I never got laid, but I had awesome projects.

Being a robotics and electrical and computer engineering double major at an engineering school, really cool projects do just that...

... especially if you're devious. ;)

It some tasty stuff though.

Absolutely. I've found when you add a box of the chicken flavor to some condensed chicken noodle soup it really comes together.

It's a full meal for a little over $2.00, and a week's worth of sodium in one sitting.
 
Well to produce retina mini's they will need IGZO if they want to retain thinness and batterie life. Apple has yet to use that tech in any product they make.

Tim Cook comments at All thing Digital hints Apple doesnt wants to use OLED, so IGZO is pretty much the only choice left at this time. I am hoping they use it too on the big ipad and dont only rely on thin bezels to reduce weight.

----------

Since Apple knows how much the mini with Retina will cannibalise the sales of the 5th gen iPad, it would certainly make sense to release the 5th gen first to soak up some of the impulse purchases with their premium device before introducing the new mini.

By that logic, perhaps we would also see the iPhone 5S before the fabled cheap one too?

Depends, if margins are the same, it doesnt matters. For the low end what I would do is still offer the current ipad mini at a reduce price when the new one gets out.
 
A significant number of people use tablets primarily for Internet, books, e-mail, and maybe a couple of games (the most popular of which tend to be available on all tablets). These are things that can be done well on any top tier tablet (be it Apple, Android, or Microsoft).

I'm not saying Apple doesn't have the most "complete" app store, but the reality is that it doesn't matter for a significant number of tablet users.

If they don't care about it, then they don't care if the tablet is 6 months old neither ...
 
And when I was in college, we had to buy our own stuff. For many of us, we did not have $400 in disposable finances to spend on anything other than books, tuition, and for the fortunate, the one computer. :)

Same here. I managed my student loans, by eating and living frugally, and working to pay them off, so when I left I owed less than $5,000, and I paid that off within the year.

I think when you have student loan debt, like some students, of like $80,000, what's another $1,000?

I think more students today have the idea that they 'NEED' the latest and greatest, the processor that is 10% faster, and feel that it is a 'investment' in their future success, when the accumulated debt is really what will bring them down later in life.

I've still got an original iPad 1. I'm waiting to see if the iPad 5 is a cost/benefit for me to upgrade. There are no doubt students with an iPad 4 who will upgrade to the iPad 5 regardless, as they don't put cost into the equation.
 
Retina MacBook Pro getting slimmer but Air still around...iPad getting smaller and slimmer but Mini still around...pretty soon, the differences in their product lines are going to be measured by millimeters and ounces. And it's going to get harder and harder deciding what to get when everything is virtually the same form factor.
 
I find it surprising people have the money to buy a new top of the line tablet every 5 months while in college, what happened to the days of living off Top Ramen for months at a time?

you sell it to some clueless foreign student and upgrade to the next one :D
 
What are the expected specs for the iPad 5?
I know it will be slimmer, weight less, and be smaller. What about processor, RAM, etc...?

Thanks!
 
I wish people would stop demanding a retina iPad mini.!!

it doesn't NEED a new screen to be "retina", its already close enough to make no difference (Same res as the iPad, smaller screen = small pixels anyway, i know i cant make out individual pixels unless i hold it stupidly close to my face)

Id rather they keep the resolution as is, because that will reduce the power consumption needs for a high res screen and more graphical horsepower and extend the battery life, something that's far more precious than a higher resolution screen you cant notice is higher resolution.

I can easily see the difference between the resolution of my iPad 4 and the iPad mini. To me, the difference is huge and there is no way that I would get a non-retina mini.

I find it surprising people have the money to buy a new top of the line tablet every 5 months while in college, what happened to the days of living off Top Ramen for months at a time?

I don't know about buying new tech every 5 months, but it's not that hard to earn enough to update once a year, even in college. I'm going into my Junior year of Engineering with a 15" MacBook Pro, an iPad, an iPhone, a pantry filled with good food, and no student debt. I work an internship during the summer that pays enough to finance a pretty good college life. In case you are wondering, no, my parents aren't paying for me... and this coming fall will be the first semester that I have received scholarship money.
The secret is to swear off girlfriends during your college years ;)
 
I think there is a big chance the iPad Mini update will trail the full size iPad as (assuming the Mini gets retina) it will be pretty tough to produce enough of both the devices to satisfy demand if released side by side. The current Mini was pretty difficult to get hold of after the rush of the launch wore off. Two big releases at once (especially if they are gonna use IGZO displays on both devices) would push all the factories to breaking point! Also considering a budget iPhone/iPhone 5S is most likely also in preparation for summer or fall launch. It would be a pleasant surprise to see a new full iPad at WWDC, but it is very doubtful.
 
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