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All iPads The great memory rip-off
- Thread starter superduperdom
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Well, being that this is an iPad forum, and the topic of this thread is the iPad "great memory ripoff", I naturally am referring to Apple.
I'm confused as to this reference to other makers. Google charges $40 for their upgrade from 16 to 32 GB. Microsoft charges $100 and Samsung doesn't even have that many storage options. Just because they can?
Accusing anybody of gouging, ripping off, outrageous prices, blah, particularly when undeserved, doesn't sit well with me. Im sorry you think I'm just defending Apple. They don't need me to defend them.
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Because that's all you get for $300?
speaking of poor analogies... you are comparing what exactly? Poor options in your elected officials and the cost of a luxury item like the iPad? not even the cost of the luxury item itself, but rather the cost of incremental improvements to said item?
What Apple pays for storage is irrelevant. Nobody is forcing you enter this market. You do not NEED to have an iPad of any storage capacity. If you elect to buy one, then by definition you decided that you would rather have one than your $500+
You were not ripped off, you got what you paid for. This is pretty basic economics.
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to you maybe. but once again, value is subjective.
I can't believe the crap some people are willing to spend their money on, but who am i to say what something is worth?
If someone is willing to pay X for Y then Y is worth precisely X.
Now if you are telling me that by rip-off you think "hey, ~112gb of storage is not worth $300 to me" then fine - i have no argument with you. In fact I would be inclined to agree as it isn't worth that much to me either. Hell, even if you were really arguing for an attempt to "educate" people on the real costs so that they can be more informed consumers which you will no doubt attempt to do then maybe - But that's not what the author of the article, you or several other people in this thread are arguing, is it? You are saying that they are actively "ripping people off," profiteering or price gouging which are all absurd characterization for a very basic principle of economics: supply and demand dictates market value.
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it's not about defending Apple - it's about defending freedom. Apple is free to price their merchandise however they want and you are free to buy or not buy them.
Of course there isn't any collusion - nobody is being defrauded. Every maker pushes the same markup because that markup is the market value.
We just happen to be talking about Apple and the iPad because this is an ipad forum.
Yes! That is the only difference between the models..
Plenty of things in life are a rip off, apples storage pricing just happens to be one of them.
if you pay for something and get what you pay for then calling it a rip-off means you expect to get more than what you paid for. That right there is called a sense of entitlement.
That's not my point. When you pay $800 or $500 for an iPad, you get more than just the sum of its parts. There's software and services you get. So everything from iCloud to iWork to iLife to all those returned iPads, the money to pay for all of that needs to come from somewhere. The $300 extra is not just for the 112GB. It's part of a pricing strategy to get revenue to cover all expenses, not just parts and labor, and make profit.
When you buy a small soda or a large soda, you think the 50 cents or the dollar is just the extra ice and soda and larger cup?
I'm calling it a rip off because even super high end enterprise drives don't cost $300 for 112gb.
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That's not my point. When you pay $800 or $500 for an iPad, you get more than just the sum of its parts. There's software and services you get. So everything from iCloud to iWork to iLife to all those returned iPads, the money to pay for all of that needs to come from somewhere. The $300 extra is not just for the 112GB. It's part of a pricing strategy to get revenue to cover all expenses, not just parts and labor, and make profit.
When you buy a small soda or a large soda, you think the 50 cents or the dollar is just the extra ice and soda and larger cup?
Don't act like apple doesn't have sufficient profit in the base model. They make far more than the cost of the parts. They just want more and they can get it. It doesn't mean it's a good deal.
I'm sorry, I forgot too much profit is bad.
No, it's not a good deal. If you want a good deal, go buy a Kindle or a Nexus. You want the best combination of hardware, software, and services on the market today? You gotta pay.
I'm sorry, I forgot too much profit is bad.
No, it's not a good deal. If you want a good deal, go buy a Kindle or a Nexus. You want the best combination of hardware, software, and services on the market today? You gotta pay.
Or you can get a more reasonable deal on the 16gb.
so? those "super high end enterprise drives" aren't in an iPad.
but there it is - "sufficient profit"
you think they make enough, do you? maybe the government should step in and nationalize the computer industry?
If you could sell your $200,000 home for $10,000,000 are you expecting me to believe that you wouldn't simply because some sum closer to 200k would be "sufficient profit?"
No, not really. Last time I checked, Apple wasn't a charity.
They made $7.5 billion profit last quarter. They'll likely sell 20 million iPads in a quarter. So, reduce the price $100, that's $2 billion.
So, you are saying Apple should make $2 billion less profit and sell their iPads cheaper? Am I understanding you right? And they should do this out of the goodness of their heart, so they don't rip us off?
I'm sure Apple shareholders and the Board of Directors will go right along with that wonderful idea. I mean, it's just $2 billion? They still get 5, right?
...but I did just get a more reasonable deal on the 16gb. Assuming they wouldn't have an increase in sales volume with a corresponding decrease in storage pricing is silly. I'm sure they've calculated it optimally and that's why they priced it they way they did, but I still tell people that ask for my advice that it's a rip off. I don't know what you want from me. It's a stiff price to pay, no way around it.
I understand what you are saying. It's the whole ripoff concept I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around. I've been ripped off before. It's not a pleasant experience. I take issue with calling what Apple is doing a rip off. That's all. We can agree to disagree.
We can agree that it ain't cheap. Apple likes my money. A lot of it.
I understand what you are saying. It's the whole ripoff concept I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around. I've been ripped off before. It's not a pleasant experience. I take issue with calling what Apple is doing a rip off. That's all. We can agree to disagree.
We can agree that it ain't cheap. Apple likes my money. A lot of it.
ripoff is certainly sensationalist
but it does indeed piss me off. I would love more internal space, but I wont allow myself to buy it.
I already got hosed on the cellular/gps upgrade
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Last I checked, an Intel DC S3700 100GB cost $250-300. While more expensive than consumer SSD's, there are enterprise SSD's that are far spendier than the S3700 (ergo iPad) based on a $/GB ratio.
Returned my 128 GB Air for a 16 GB Air and ordered a 7th gen iPod Classic with 160 GB for music for $195 -I just use storage for music anyway. Couldn't be happier.
Ah yes, I meant HDDs (which I know isn't really fair) - haven't even looked into ssds for the servers at work yet, need too much space.
One other thing that DOES comeninto play here: Its not like we have the option of upgrading iPads with extra memory ourselves - kind of like you CAN skip the factory stereo upgrade at the car dealer and proly get one thats better for half the price aftermarket. In that sense, Apple DOES lock you into buying this stuff from them and ONLY from them. Its called a captive audience and therefore they can overprice the memory by about 17,000%
And, no SD card takes that option away too. Its "smart" on their part but IMO thats kind of lame. In most cases with products the consumer has more options and has some control over the upgradeability of the product. Apple locks you OUT!
Why not look at it the other way around? The 32 GB is the sweet spot, balancing the on-device storage with the access to the environment, whereas the 16 GB is sold as a minimal on-device storage with environment access, offered at a margin below what the company is willing to make on the device, yet attracting users? I'm quite confident the 16GB is a viable device when you go for homesharing and active cloud usage.
I don't believe is the attractiveness of a memory card extension. How so? From a promotional offer, I got a Samsung tablet with as low as 8 GB of memory. Well, the thing looks nice and works fine - albeit way less intuitively than the iPad - ... yet time and time again, it tells me it doesn't have enough memory to install or run things like Skype ... even if I have a 32 GB additional memory card inserted ... Well, it might also be me just being stupid, of course
That's the whole difference: after two years of using the iPad (Gen2), I still find it great ... after using the the Samsung tablet for a fortnight, I lost interest in it, and use it only when I don't have another option.
Still, one caveat: this is an opinion inspired by a promotional model; I'm quite sure Samsung makes decent stuff also, and then gets in a similar price range.
It's a matter of what you like and want to integrate with.
But never think adding a 16 GB memory card into a 16 GB device makes it even to a 32 GB device ... not by far.
A nice day to all of you.
good point. why don't they just put one of these inside the iPad?
I mean hell, that's an enterprise drive and it's only $80/TB
This doesn't make apples storage pricing any less of a rip off. Sorry I dont follow enterprise ssds, they are prohibitively expensive at the moment.