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Is the iPad a bit too expensive

S

Stirolak123

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 12, 2010
447
0
I noticed a lot of people on kotaku and ign complaining about it's price and for some reason co paring it to a netbookdespitethe fact net books cant play games either and have crappy battery life. Just read the comments here to see what I mean:
http://ds.ign.com/articles/110/1104955c.html

And obviously it ia very competitivericed compared to other tablets and the Mac book air which also does about nothing in terms of final cut, Photoshop, etc. And is also a novelty item without much gaming. But when you compare the iPad and it's functions to the not much more expensive MacBook pro, that also has up to 10 hours battery life, and can play modern games with its grhic chip than I start to question myself. Anyone feel the same and about apples strange pricing arrangements to ita products? The nook also has lots of potential as its half pri e and can probably do eventually all the ipad does except gaming which the ipad currently does bad anyway (almost all its games are iPhone ports or carbon copies).
 
They are absolutely right. iPad is very expensive and we have a galaxy Tab at 600 dollars....
 
if the 16gb wifi was about $300, i would have bought six of them. instead i bought one at $500 when it was released.
 
So where are these other tablets? I see $159 on Walgreens.com and the Galaxy at $600 for much smaller screen.

While we're at it, where is the Android equivalent to the iPod touch?
 
rdowns said:
So where are these other tablets? I see $159 on Walgreens.com and the Galaxy at $600 for much smaller screen.

While we're at it, where is the Android equivalent to the iPod touch?
Click to expand...

There are numerous tablets from China with different versions of Android on them. One even boosts it has Skype preinstalled, but when you read the fine print, they tell you that because the device doesn't have a mic, or a way to plug in an external mic, Skype doesn't work. But it is installed. They also write five star reviews on different products, and justify the five stars because, what do you expect for a $100 bucks?

The links have been posted on here before, they are a joke.

Edit: Here is a link. Note that the 5 star reviews are just questions. Also note the Skype question. As Bart Simpson said, "Craptacular".

http://www.lightinthebox.com/Androi...Z-2G-ARM-11-Wifi-Camera-SMQ5453-_p124242.html
 
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I think the price is just right, but it really depends on what your expectation is with the device. I have been using windows for everything from cellphones to computers, and iPad is actually my apple product, and it is pretty impressive. I was hoping the notion ink will come out before my trip out of country, but it seems to be a vaporware like a lot of android/window/meego tablets at this point. And quite frankly there just aren't enough support system for the non-apple devices. One example would be my htc hd2 cellphone, it's a great device, but I can't find any games, apps, or accessories for it. So, in the end - it's just another smartphone with potentials. iPad is different though, the itune ecosystem is setup and ready, and there are so many accessories to choose from, so in a sense, you're paying to get into all these.
 
Stirolak123 said:
I noticed a lot of people on kotaku and ign complaining about it's price and for some reason co paring it to a netbookdespitethe fact net books cant play games either and have crappy battery life. Just read the comments here to see what I mean:
http://ds.ign.com/articles/110/1104955c.html

And obviously it ia very competitivericed compared to other tablets and the Mac book air which also does about nothing in terms of final cut, Photoshop, etc. And is also a novelty item without much gaming. But when you compare the iPad and it's functions to the not much more expensive MacBook pro, that also has up to 10 hours battery life, and can play modern games with its grhic chip than I start to question myself. Anyone feel the same and about apples strange pricing arrangements to ita products? The nook also has lots of potential as its half pri e and can probably do eventually all the ipad does except gaming which the ipad currently does bad anyway (almost all its games are iPhone ports or carbon copies).
Click to expand...

The problem is, the site you are looking at is primarily a gaming site! So as a strictly gaming device, yes the iPad is VERY expensive. HOWEVER, the iPad is not a PSP, or a DS, and it should not be compared to them. It is a terrible comparison. That would be like comparing a car to a boat, and saying that the boat is overpriced because it lacks wheels. lol

In comparison to the "tablet" market, or lack there of.... The iPad is extremely reasonable. No, it is not cheap, but it really should be priced a lot higher than it is. When you think about everything that you can do with it, and the flawless design, I was prepared to pay a lot more.
 
rdowns said:
So where are these other tablets? I see $159 on Walgreens.com and the Galaxy at $600 for much smaller screen.
Click to expand...

$159?? I see one for $99. Im loving these reviews, these are EXACTLY the kind of people who i would expect to buy this...

"We've been waiting the product for 3 weeks and the result it: They sent us a broken iPad tablet PC. The touch screen didn't move to any side, it was frozen. We are really disappointed about the it! We won't recommend this product and Walgreen's store to anyone!!!!!!"

LOL, Steve Jobs would cry if he saw that someone was actually dumb enough to attach the iPad name to this device.

here is a link to the device btw...
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/ma...y-android/ID=prod6047418-product#BVRRWidgetID
 
The iPad is by all accounts the most successful tablet device ever created. Tablets have existed for years in different forms, but Apple's iPad is the first that has ever reached the mainstream in the way the iPad has. It is the device to have and is being used by everyone from kids to the elderly because it is just simple to understand.

It just works.

@likemyorbs - You should really look more into the review. The iPad has captured the public's attention so much that it has come to define what a tablet is.

Is Walgreen's device that bad? Not really. Out of the box it is running Android 1.6, but a quick check on Google will show a community build of Android 2.2 which speeds things up nicely. More tablet optimized versions will certainly improve things further. The biggest problem is the inaccuracy of the resistive touch screen vs. a capacitive screen. People buying it aren't looking for a community upgrade and hacking potential. They want a $99 iPad. That is great for Apple and bad for their competitors.
 
So, basically, what they want is a full blown desktop capable of playing the newest demanding games that lasts 12 hours on the battery, have keyboard, mouse and probably some other gaming control that fits in the 700g (or preferrably to the pocket) and costs max. 200 bucks... Oh, well, surely that is not utopian at all.
 
Id say it depends on where you live. In Europe its imho overpriced. They just made prices $=€ although one € is worth 1,4$
 
sapporobaby said:
Not expensive enough !!!!!!!!!

I demand to pay more. I hope Apple jacks up the price three or five fold. Damn I have sooooo much money to spend and Apple won't charge me enough for their products.
Click to expand...

Not sure I'd go that far lol... It is on the expensive side but well worth every penny once you have one...
Apps are in their infant stages for the iPad, we're getting iPhone roll off apps now but newer Apps will evolve for the iPad... Patience :)
 
Arminator said:
Id say it depends on where you live. In Europe its imho overpriced. They just made prices $=€ although one € is worth 1,4$
Click to expand...

There are threads here that talk about users in Europe with Apple gear getting free extended warrantee work beyond 12 months without AppleCare due to very generous consumer protection laws. Apple factors that into their price and charges you more.
 
jzuena said:
There are threads here that talk about users in Europe with Apple gear getting free extended warrantee work beyond 12 months without AppleCare due to very generous consumer protection laws. Apple factors that into their price and charges you more.
Click to expand...

Hmm - thats not really true either - well, technically it is - but it is almost impossible to get any supplier / manufacturer to actually do anything for you outside of the 'sold' warranty (12months usuallY) - it 'effectively' doesn't exist. I don't know anyone who has been successful in this line of reason - the exception that comes to mind being mercedes-benz owners who claimed that their car shouldn't have rusted in 7 years (sold with a 6 year corrosion warranty)

Here in the UK we do seem to get a rough -deal at times - the basic 16Gb WiFi Ipad is £429 here which would be about $685 - your $499 + sales tax charge make it about £100 less money to buy one in the states (which many of my friends have done!)

the worst is the new Apple TV which actually does less in the UK than the US (no tv programmes) but is charged at £99 (vs $99 in the U.S)

in response to the OP - i think that the iPad is a bit overprices - £429 + case + accessories make (the basic 16Gb, wifi) iPad a £500 ($800USD) device - I have, on three occasions, went to buy one and came home empty handed as it just isn't really worth that. (IMO, of course)
 
It's expensive, yeah.

Do I have one? Yeah. Just because I purchased one doesn't mean that the iPad isn't expensive. One can buy something where the product is still considered expensive.

To be honest, its not doing anything that I can't do on my iMac or iPhone. I'm thinking that once the competition markets a good, competitively priced tablet, it may drive Apple's pricing down...one would hope, at least.
 
jzuena said:
There are threads here that talk about users in Europe with Apple gear getting free extended warrantee work beyond 12 months without AppleCare due to very generous consumer protection laws. Apple factors that into their price and charges you more.
Click to expand...

It depends where you are at. I thought about buying it in Germany but there was only a year of warranty, thus I bought it in the Czech republic where it is more xpensive but with 2 years.
 
Its like most things you get what you pay for.... You can buy a windows laptop at £400 and it might be crap - spend more on a Mac and it will last longer....security etc..l. Buy an iPad you have a bigger iPhone / iPod touch with ios on there smooth ro run and reliable at £429, buy a samsung tablet at £499 and it's such a sluggish piece of kit when I tried it out.... The ipad does give you alot... An iPod, a portable machine for movies, a digital frame / storage for photos to transfer from camera, and thats just scratching the surfaces.... It depends on your uses but if you go ahead and total up the cost of individual items it would be expensive...
 
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