Apple Tablet

[n_maher]

Simple solution to that Dinny - pickup a castoff 3rd gen at a discount and wait 6 months for the Retina mini. I think Apple rushed slightly to get this mini out in time for Xmas and that they'll be higher-spec version before long. They've shown they don't give a shit about pissing off customers with untimely upgrades or better put, the sheep don't mind the buggering, so just get something to take the edge off for a little while.

[The Monkey]

^That's pretty smart.

[blessingx]

Do you think that six month rush was because of what (battery tech, parts availability, desired price or weight, new upgrade cycles, etc?). Knowing the planned pixels required, I wonder if expectations of Retina MBAs and iPad minis may be a bit aggressive.

[grawk]

that and "don't give a shit" compared to other companies upgrade cycles is a bit nuts. Apple tends to upgrade slower. Sometimes the market forces their hand.

[morphsci]

Just get an iPad 4 Dinny. You have an iPhone 5 so you only need a mini if your head is as big as Brent's.

[The Monkey]

At this point, I'm wondering how much I would use a new iPad. My son uses mine more than I do. I still prefer working and playing on a laptop more than the iPad. I guess I prefer movies on the iPad, but that's about it. I guess I'm old skool like that. So, what I really think I need to decide is whether I get the 15" rMBP or a 13" MBA. I think the mobility of the MBA wins. But not sure.

[grawk]

personally, I'd go mba

[n_maher]

Do you think that six month rush was because of what (battery tech, parts availability, desired price or weight, new upgrade cycles, etc?). Knowing the planned pixels required, I wonder if expectations of Retina MBAs and iPad minis may be a bit aggressive.

I think the rush was to get out a product to compete (or more likely somewhat crush) the likes of the Kindle Fire, Nexus 7, etc. I think they probably wanted to do a retina display since every other one of their mobile/tablet devices has one and it's a pretty clear step back for the mini to not have one. The laptops are a different game and I they aren't married to the idea of having a retina display on all of those models but I'd wager they're all headed that way as well. But the iPad mini just sticks out like a bit of a sore thumb right now with it's pedestrian pixel count. That said, I've always thought that the whole notion of a retina display was a bit of a double edged sword for Apple. On the one hand it clearly distinguished their display resolution from others. But on the other it probably limited their ability to change screen sizes when they wanted too. I'm shocked that they did what they did with the 5 in making the screen longer but not any wider. I admit that I think the Galaxy S III is probably a bit too big, but it's liveable. I don't think I could live with an iPhone after having a phone with a display as good and as large as the III. Watch a Netflix movie on it and it's game over. It has the pixel count and size to crush the iPhone 4 and I suspect the 5 (I actually haven't had one side by side with the GSIII yet). The #'s don't lie, both Apple and Android are doing very well right now but one wonders if the tide of Apple dominance isn't shifting just a bit as better and better Android phones and tablets come out. The rows of folders/icons is getting old. Everyone's iphone looks pretty much the same. They could solve this really easily, just like they did with the first iPhone that didn't have millions upon millions of apps. Develop a few, critical, in house widgets that you can make fit the graphic/aesthetic profile that you want. Give people a chance to have something other than little squares on their screen. It'd scare the shit out of Android/Google.

that and "don't give a shit" compared to other companies upgrade cycles is a bit nuts. Apple tends to upgrade slower. Sometimes the market forces their hand.

A bit nuts? Did they, or didn't they, just introduce a newish iPad to replace the iPad that they'd just introduced? What portion of the market that they currently own forced them to do that? And how about when they used to introduce a new iPhone after Xmas every year? I think they only stopped that when competition forced them to care a bit more about timing. As far as Apple upgrading slower, that's a hard argument to track when they only make one real product in each segment. Honestly I do wish that Android would be just a bit more Apple and throw some constraints at the manufacturers when it comes to resolutions, etc. But meh, my GSIII works great as a smartphone. I have no real complaints.

[morphsci]

I'd go 13" rMBP

The main reason for the ipad4 upgrade was to get all mobile devices with the new lightning connector.

Edited November 19, 2012 by morphsci

[grawk]

Apple thinks more about obsolescence than any of their competitors. Hell, they're already advertising $50 galaxy S3s. There isn't, and won't be, a used market for android devices. There isn't, and won't be, a market for used windows portable devices. There is, and will continue to be, a market for used IOS devices. That's because apple actively slows down the product life cycle. Changing the connector forced their hand, so they upgraded to match the specs of the new devices. Turns out they probably coulda waited, because windows 8 is terrible.

[The Monkey]

I'd go 13" rMBP

There's that, too, but from the reviews I've read, it seems like either go all in with the 15" rMPB or go light/mobile with the MBA.

[grawk]

what jim said. The current upgrade was to switch to the 2nd connector they've ever used. When they did it, they upgraded to the new cpu. Turns out they could have just upgraded connectors because their competitors still suck, but they pushed the cycle and upgraded cpus anyway.

[crappyjones123]

Dinny why not get an MBA and maybe a Thunderbolt Display? Portability when you want it. Big ass shiny screen when you are home.

I have a MBA right now and for the weight and convenience I wouldn't trade it for anything. My next upgrade will probably be to a 13" rmba

[Dusty Chalk]

So, what I really think I need to decide is whether I get the 15" rMBP or a 13" MBA.

That's one of those hard decisions. 'cause you really don't lose either way.

[blessingx]

I think the rush was to get out a product to compete (or more likely somewhat crush) the likes of the Kindle Fire, Nexus 7, etc. I think they probably wanted to do a retina display since every other one of their mobile/tablet devices has one and it's a pretty clear step back for the mini to not have one. The laptops are a different game and I they aren't married to the idea of having a retina display on all of those models but I'd wager they're all headed that way as well. But the iPad mini just sticks out like a bit of a sore thumb right now with it's pedestrian pixel count...

Due to display structure of iOS, if the mini kept the 4:3 ratio it likely was going to be 1024x768 or 2048x1536. Or lets say they pulled off 1536x1152 compromise (and break the pixel doubling history). I could see the displays not ready yet and being available in six months, but if that's not the reason, I think its less likely most other explanations changing so quickly, no? Where Apple pulls the necessary display, graphic processor and battery components together while not increasing weight, size or price or decreasing bat life or those Apple margins (something Google and Amazon aren't worrying about) between now and April. Sure hope to be wrong, but even Apple magic has its limits. Would love Retina on everything and sure we'll get there, but the MBA Retina hopes in the press over the last year haven't been realized either.

Edited November 19, 2012 by blessingx

[Salt Peanuts]

I, for one, am glad they updated iPad when they did since I was either going to get an iPhone 5 or iPad. The updated iPad (4) made the decision a lot easier.

[n_maher]

Turns out they could have just upgraded connectors because their competitors still suck, <snip>

I'm not sure what you're talking about with this. Are you referring back to your Windows 8 comment or are you still of the impression that all Android phones suck? I'm honestly curious. I have no clue what Windows 8 would have to do with the phone or tablet realm - Windows is almost entirely irrelevent in both. If you still think all Android phones suck I clearly don't agree but know you've got your reasons. I just happen to think that the iPhone/iPad is frustrating for the same reason. Example - I wanted to download a video off of dropbox this morning onto my iPad. From what I've been able to read it's possible but amazingly non-obvious and yes, this was an actual apple file that I wanted to watch not some unsupported file format that would take a 3rd party app to watch. So neither OS has got it perfect at this point but the gulf that existed 2 years ago doesn't exist anymore either.

And I really don't get your point about resale or the used market. Who cares? I cover the cost of my phone with 3 or 4 months of what the actual service costs. The idea that people care about what they're paying for a phone just shows how stupid consumers are when it comes to spending money. It's a side benefit for Apple users for sure but not one I'm going to waste time worrying about.

[grawk]

So what I meant was that android and windows tablets still suck. Windows 8 is what is shipping on the new microsoft tablets, and I believe that's what drove the release of the ipad 4 when it came out.

As to the factor of the price of the phone vs the cost of service, the cost of service is the same no matter who's phone you have, and the cost of the phone is a one time cost. If the difference between $50 and $300 isn't relevant to you, that's great, but it's relevant to a lot of people.

[Salt Peanuts]

Dinny, like your ipad 1, my iPhone 4 is really sluggish now as well. Probably due to apps/OS getting bigger and/or being optimized for better hardware now. Having a new iPad doesn't help, but I do remember it being much snappier when I first got the phone.

[morphsci]

The timing and specs of the iPad4 release make total sense to me. It was actually the ipad3 release that seemed rushed and really pretty unnecessary.

[robm321]

Dinny, like your ipad 1, my iPhone 4 is really sluggish now as well. Probably due to apps/OS getting bigger and/or being optimized for better hardware now. Having a new iPad doesn't help, but I do remember it being much snappier when I first got the phone.

I noticed this on the iPhone 4 too.

[n_maher]

I noticed this on the iPhone 4 too.

Yup, they did the same thing to the 3G. I don't think it's a good assumption at this point that Apple hardware will function particularly well when it's 2 versions removed from current. I don't actually plan on upgrading my iPad 2 from where it is right now for the fear that it'll end up like my iPhone 3G did when IOS 4 (I think that was it) came out and rendered the phone damn near useless.

[Salt Peanuts]

Funny thig is I remember the phone being snappier after updating to iOS 6 but the performance has since degraded. I'll see if hard reset and restore will fix it.

[Grahame]

As to the factor of the price of the phone vs the cost of service, the cost of service is the same no matter who's phone you have, and the cost of the phone is a one time cost. If the difference between $50 and $300 isn't relevant to you, that's great, but it's relevant to a lot of people.

the cost of service is the same no matter who's phone you have - if all you were buying was the service. If they can offer you a "free" phone, then guess what - you're overpaying for the service.

In some countries they have this thing called "transparency" where you can compare the cost of the service vs the cost of the phone, and work out how much the effective APR is for the loan on the phone the telco is providing you with.

People who can do TCO calculations have picked up on this and engage in phone arbitrage in some markets, where they acquire in one market at resell it in another at an effective profit.

As to "used" non apple devices having no value, it would appear that some people have spotted the opportunity for arbitrage here as well.

http://www.gazelle.com/sell/cell-phone

http://sellphonebuyback.com/default/

http://www.buybackworld.com/sell-and-recycle-android

http://www.talkandroid.com/125953-samsung-offering-buyback-program-for-old-phones-if-you-buy-a-galaxy-device/

[luvdunhill]

Dinny, I have both the options you are considering. I prefer the larger Retina screen honestly, but in terms of performance they are surprisingly close.