*** Official iPad 2 Launch Thread and other things announced on 3/2/11 ***

[Patranus]

I know im probably the only one, but im still going to the hp touchpad. Im an anti-apple guy but im real surprised that Apple put out the specs today and can deliver it next week.

It is amazing how Apple is able to deliver.

The competition has had an entire year to get their products out the door and they are still scrambling to come up with their first generation hardware.

 

[MagickMan]

It is amazing how Apple is able to deliver.

The competition has had an entire year to get their products out the door and they are still scrambling to come up with their first generation hardware.

You can turn a multi-billion $ company on a dime with enough money and good leadership. They've proven that.

 

[Svnla]

Apple newbie here.

Not sure if this question already asked or not but which place will be the best (lowest price) to buy the new Ipad2? Apple.com? Newegg? Any other places? I need two of them as presents in 2 months (May). TIA.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Also, as much as people like to hate on the 7 inches, it's the perfect size for something you want to actually take with you on public transportation and hold in your hand for any period of time.

 

[MagickMan]

Dear god, I can't believe I missed that post.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Apple newbie here.

Not sure if this question already asked or not but which place will be the best (lowest price) to buy the new Ipad2? Apple.com? Newegg? Any other places? I need two of them as presents in 2 months (May). TIA.

iPads aren't discounted often, usually the best deal is to find them online with free shipping and manage to avoid paying taxes.

check out the retailers here: http://www.appleinsider.com/mac_price_guide/

You'll have to call them to see if they have any discounts, free shipping, and if they charge sales tax in your state of residence.

It's unlikely you'll find any deals to be honest, it's a new, and likely popular product.

 

[cronos]

LMAO. Apparently my mind wasn't in the gutter when I read that post the first time

 

[zerocool84]

It is amazing how Apple is able to deliver.

The competition has had an entire year to get their products out the door and they are still scrambling to come up with their first generation hardware.

It takes time to create a whole new OS which is what everyone is basically doing. Apple didn't, they just upscaled their already existing OS. That's not to excuse them as they should have been doing tablets before but it does take time to create a new OS.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I think it's going to be this fall going into the holiday season. Great time for consumer. People who are buying $500+ tablets now are going to feel like idiots.

I dunno, while the parts for a tablet are less than $500, R&D, marketing etc eat up a lot of profits, plus Apple sells it's stuff directly, retailers get a razor thin profit margin on Apple stuff, essentially so they can increase foot traffic and sell accessories with high profit margins.

Manufacturers are going to have problems with dropping prices on their offerings, and maintaining any kind of profit margin on the Android tablets. For instance, the nook colors on eBay are being sold for less than it costs to manufacture them, while B&N hopes to make some $ on ebook sales to make up the difference.

Moto is going to screw up it's margins by offering the "free" upgrade to 4G, plus it's not going to be making the kickback profits from the carriers as many are cancelling their data plans ASAP. Plus Moto is going to have to work on updates to it's notoriously forever in Beta OS by Google, Honeycomb likely won't be very stable for months, if I were to guess, they'll need at least 2 revisions, likely 3 to get a decent experience...

The last time RIM released a product that was an Apple product killer was the gen 1 Storm, and we all remember how that turned out... Hopefully they learned from the Storm fiasco.

 

[puffywulf]

It is amazing how Apple is able to deliver.

The competition has had an entire year to get their products out the door and they are still scrambling to come up with their first generation hardware.

It might be coincidence, but I was watching a TED conference on Hulu and the main speaker mentioned that Apple differentiates their products from others (HP, Samsung, Motorola, etc.) because they think different.

They basically answer the 'why' rather than the 'what' - essentially they make people like us believe they really care and believe in the products they make rather than make a product for the purpose of gaining massive amounts of money, which probably explains why they constantly innovate compared to the others who just follow and copy.

 

[MrX8503]

It takes time to create a whole new OS which is what everyone is basically doing. Apple didn't, they just upscaled their already existing OS.

iOS was released in 2007, most likely it was in development in 2004-2006. iOS was originally created for tablet use, so during those years Apple had a vision of an all touch tablet, while Motorola, Nokia, Samsung etc were thinking of what feature phone to push out next.

Apple is going to release two tablets, where everyone else hasn't released even 1 yet. It wasn't obvious then, but when Apple released iOS in 2007, they were poised to leapfrog the competition for the next 4-5 years.

The fact of the matter is that everyone started way too late in developing a mobile touch OS.

 

[zerocool84]

iOS was released in 2007, most likely it was in development in 2004-2006. iOS was originally created for tablet use, so during those years Apple had a vision of an all touch tablet, while Motorola, Nokia, Samsung etc were thinking of what feature phone to push out next.

Apple is going to release two tablets, where everyone else hasn't released even 1 yet. It wasn't obvious then, but when Apple released iOS in 2007, they were poised to leapfrog the competition for the next 4-5 years.

The fact of the matter is that everyone started way too late in developing a mobile touch OS.

Well we can only assume iOS was originally created for tablet use since that's what they said and we have no proof it was and I never trust anything Apple people say since they're notorious liars. I don't believe it but that doesn't matter as competition is just finally coming since creating a new OS does take time and they have to to one up Apple.

 

[Aikouka]

One thing I'm curious about... how well can I connect a WiFi iPad using my cell phone? I don't have an iPhone 4, so I obviously don't get the hot spot feature, which will most likely cost money anyway. Are there any options available to me if I jailbreak my phone?

Also, is it possible to just pull the SIM out of my phone and put it into the 3G iPad? Given I have a 3GS, it might not work since the newer iPad may use a mini-SIM like the iPhone 4 does.

Apple newbie here.

Not sure if this question already asked or not but which place will be the best (lowest price) to buy the new Ipad2? Apple.com? Newegg? Any other places? I need two of them as presents in 2 months (May). TIA.

I'll probably be picking one up from Apple directly as I save about $25 through my work's EPP that they have with Apple. I'm still debating which model to get though!

One question I have about ordering from the Apple Store... I could have sworn that some people that ordered a brand new device on Friday had it shipped to them with Saturday delivery. Will Apple do this again? I'm tempted to get a nifty engraving, but I'd want the toy to play with over the weekend especially .

 

[theeedude]

I dunno, while the parts for a tablet are less than $500, R&D, marketing etc eat up a lot of profits, plus Apple sells it's stuff directly, retailers get a razor thin profit margin on Apple stuff, essentially so they can increase foot traffic and sell accessories with high profit margins.

Manufacturers are going to have problems with dropping prices on their offerings, and maintaining any kind of profit margin on the Android tablets. For instance, the nook colors on eBay are being sold for less than it costs to manufacture them, while B&N hopes to make some $ on ebook sales to make up the difference.

Moto is going to screw up it's margins by offering the "free" upgrade to 4G, plus it's not going to be making the kickback profits from the carriers as many are cancelling their data plans ASAP. Plus Moto is going to have to work on updates to it's notoriously forever in Beta OS by Google, Honeycomb likely won't be very stable for months, if I were to guess, they'll need at least 2 revisions, likely 3 to get a decent experience...

The last time RIM released a product that was an Apple product killer was the gen 1 Storm, and we all remember how that turned out... Hopefully they learned from the Storm fiasco.

Its a problem for OEMs, but great for consumers, and Google.

 

[Pliablemoose]

One thing I'm curious about... how well can I connect a WiFi iPad using my cell phone? I don't have an iPhone 4, so I obviously don't get the hot spot feature, which will most likely cost money anyway. Are there any options available to me if I jailbreak my phone?

Also, is it possible to just pull the SIM out of my phone and put it into the 3G iPad? Given I have a 3GS, it might not work since the newer iPad may use a mini-SIM like the iPhone 4 does.



I'll probably be picking one up from Apple directly as I save about $25 through my work's EPP that they have with Apple. I'm still debating which model to get though!

One question I have about ordering from the Apple Store... I could have sworn that some people that ordered a brand new device on Friday had it shipped to them with Saturday delivery. Will Apple do this again? I'm tempted to get a nifty engraving, but I'd want the toy to play with over the weekend especially .

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=855169

You can trim your SIM card and grab a SIM card adapter to use it in your iPhone. You will need to change your APN as well http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/

You can also jailbreak your iPhone and use MiWi to tether to your iPad.

http://intelliborn.com/mywi.html

 

[intextra29]

One thing I'm curious about... how well can I connect a WiFi iPad using my cell phone? I don't have an iPhone 4, so I obviously don't get the hot spot feature, which will most likely cost money anyway. Are there any options available to me if I jailbreak my phone?

Also, is it possible to just pull the SIM out of my phone and put it into the 3G iPad? Given I have a 3GS, it might not work since the newer iPad may use a mini-SIM like the iPhone 4 does.



I'll probably be picking one up from Apple directly as I save about $25 through my work's EPP that they have with Apple. I'm still debating which model to get though!

One question I have about ordering from the Apple Store... I could have sworn that some people that ordered a brand new device on Friday had it shipped to them with Saturday delivery. Will Apple do this again? I'm tempted to get a nifty engraving, but I'd want the toy to play with over the weekend especially .

To answer your first question, if you jailbrake your device, you can download MyWi from Cydia, which will allow hotspot functionality without paying ATT.

In terms of the microSIM card for the iPad2, there are cheap $3.99 SIM cutters out there - check here http://www.pimfg.com/Product-Detail/SIM-CUTTER that'll cut down your SIM card to a microSIM card. Also, if you need to go back to the 3GS, it comes with adapters to convert back to a regular SIM card.

I think Apple might do it again for delivery on Saturday. It certainly is a good advertising promo and will definitely give them a heads up in sales.

 

[MikeMike]

gah... if only i had a pocket that could fit an iPad in...

honestly the biggest thing holding me back... I have a laptop that i use all the time, and ill have a smartphone that i use while elsewhere...

maybe ill convince my father to buy my mom one so she can sit in the living room with him instead of in the office area, while she plays card games on the computer...

 

[runawayprisoner]

It takes time to create a whole new OS which is what everyone is basically doing. Apple didn't, they just upscaled their already existing OS. That's not to excuse them as they should have been doing tablets before but it does take time to create a new OS.

Problem is, scaling up amobile OS is not that easy. If it was, the Galaxy Tab and the myriad of Android tabletd running 2.2 should have been much more successful. Honeycomb shouldn't have been necessary, and the competition shouldn't need much faster hardware to beat the original iPad.

 

[Kaido]

Out of those hundreds of millions I suspect quite a few use 3rd party alternatives.
When I got the first Shuffle back in 2006 I found about 3 or 4 that worked great.

I wonder how much of Apple's success is due to iTunes vs. perceived popularity in the social game. Back in college in the early 2000's, Apple's MP3's started getting "cool" and white earbuds were the thing to be seen with, probably swelling the most around 2005 or so. I don't think most people understood the value of having an ecosystem to plug into - being able to easily buy and sync songs to your portable MP3 player. Now it's a HUGE deal because it's all about the apps, and Apple has the most apps, and everyone wants what their friends have.

I think Apple played their game right - push the popularity angle with an underlying support structure of (1) easy & intuitive user interface, and (2) an ecosystem for games, apps, etc. So people get hooked by the cool factor and then stay hooked because it's easy to use and convenient to buy stuff from. At the iPad 2 event, they announced that they had paid out 2 billion dollars to developers already - I think it's a similar concept to putting candy at the checkout line at the grocery store, you always end up snagging a Snickers on your way out - waaaay too easy

 

[MikeyLSU]

wow, ebay people are stupid. I see plenty of ipad 1s selling for more than you can buy one new from apple.

Apple is selling new ipads for $400, some on ebay used are going for $450, and yes this is the 16GB WiFi pad.

So much for trying to get a good deal on an older one.

 

[SAWYER]

craigslist in my area is flooded

 

[ponyo]

craigslist in my area is flooded

That's why I'm not even going to try sell ours. My daughter will get iPad1 and wife will get the iPad2. Works perfectly for us. Now I just have to find the tablet for me. Hopefully Playbook will be it. Or cheap Tab1.

 

[MikeyLSU]

a ton on craigslist in my area also but everyone is asking $400-$500 for base model.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Can't wait for iOS 4.3 release. WiFi Hotspot, and FINALLY streaming from iTunes to iOS devices. (iTunes Home Sharing)

iPad2 looks really nice, especially for 499$.

 

[Doboji]

What you post is arguable.

First, the hardware specs are largely equal with Xoom. I don't know if I'd say superior. The raw hardware performance of Xoom might be slightly better but I doubt it'll be by a whole lot. At least not enough in my eyes to label one superior. The Xoom would have to seriously outperform the iPad 2 for me to call it superior. They're both using 1ghz dual core ARM CPU's. The rest of the hardware specs from size to storage size are largely equal. The main question is the difference in GPU performance.

Second, iOS has some things it doesn't do better than Android but it does have other things it does better. Android's main strength is in its ease of customization while iOS's main strength is ease of use. The main areas where iOS needs to improve is a widget interface for its home screen and better notification. That's largely it. From the standpoint of what type of apps you can create with Android that you can't do with iOS...I can't think of one. In terms of apps you can create for iOS, the main thing is avoiding Apple's iTunes TOS. I'd call Android different but I don't know if I'd call it superior to iOS.

What we don't know is CPU performance.... but IMHO we can all safely assume that both Tegra 2 and the Apple A5 are more than capable of smoothly powering anything we're doing on the tablets. Thats not where the specs are superior... here's where they are.

Xoom - 1280 x 800 vs 1024 x 768 - iPad2
Xoom - 1GB Ram vs likely 512MB Ram - iPad2
Xoom - 32GB Flash + SD Slot vs NO SD Slot
Xoom - 10.1 Screen vs 9.7 Sceen - iPad2

FWIW I also like the form factor of the Xoom better than the form factor of the iPad..

In terms of the software experience... IMHO I am bored to tears with iOS... grids of icons galore... I'm just not impressed. Honeycomb however really provides an enjoyable software experience... Of course this is just my opinion, it's kinda like I enjoy a stick shift car better than an automatic. iOS gets the job done, for my Mom it's great... for me it's just boring.

The licensing and marketing is where Apple wins... the fact that there is no Android store where I can easily go and buy TV shows and movies to download to my tablet is a HUUUUGE negative for Android. Also Apple has tremendous brand name power... people know what they're getting with Apple... there's no mystery, they know they'll get quality. The same is not true of Motorola or Samsung. Again this doesn't mean the product is better... it just means Apple as a company has a much better reputation.

I hope that Samsung decides to release Media Hub for the Tab 10.1... if they do, then that's my next tablet. Otherwise I'll have to figure out how to easily steal movies in a useable format.. since that seems to be easier than buying/renting them these days.