Home General Chat
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨
Options

iPad already available in the UK!?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I've just clocked that atleast 2 hops are selling the iPad already.

Is it worth buying it now though? Surely the price will drop when more and more retailers start stocking it?:chin:
«1

Comments

  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why do you want one?! They suck balls... Seriously, what isn't it like 16gb memory? Just get a laptop!
    Xx
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well to be honest I mainly intend to use it as a e-reader. I've been thinking abotu getting one for a while (an e-reader i mean). I've been holding out though cause I think it would be pretty cool to have all the other functions as an extra.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You can still buy a e-reader for a hundred bucks. Put it this way, Apple is again making double off the RRP of the iPad. The iPad isn't in the UK yet, only America. No doubt those ones listed are imports from America, don't buy one. The 3G version will also be out late April. (Notice how the ones listed there are only WiFi, which makes me think they're imports even more.)
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't see why anyone would want the iPad (apart from, as mentioned, Apple fans). It uses an LCD colour, backlit screen - surely the readability and battery life must be much worse than any E-Ink based E-book reader?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Apple products are good. Especially when not in the hands of apple fanatics.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MrG wrote: »
    Apple products are good. Especially when not in the hands of apple fanatics.
    Yeah but the iPhone/Pad etc aren't innovative - they just replicate features already out there and put them in a shiny package. People thought the iPhone 1G was amazing, when it only had a VGA camera and couldn't even do MMS.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't see why anyone would want the iPad

    No? Imagine you have a complete technophobe, someone who is terrified of computers. The iPad hides the OS, hides the folders and files. They can surf the internet, listen to music or watch videos on a portable device that doesn't scare them or need much of an investment to get over the skill hump.

    I'm baffled that people don't understand the appeal of the iPad. It's not intended to replace laptops, it's a different beast. It's a portable entertainment device; it'd be easier to go on the internet or watch videos on it in bed than it would be on a laptop. And it's more portable than a laptop. Every laptop I've ever owned gets hot as hell if I put it on my knee. There's an extra layer of portability that just appeals to me.

    I don't need one. I probably won't get one for awhile. But the whole 'it's just a bigger iPhone' thing...well fucking duh. But the iPhone is awesome. And the iPad has the potential to be.

    ETA: I'm already hearing things about stage managers using the iPad to keep tracks of things during rehearsals and shows. That's pretty cool.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Apple fans call themselve geeks/nerds/computer buffs, your description is true of what all their products are for, so it's hardly geeky and marketed to those kinds of people, as Sassy said.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    SassyLulu wrote: »
    Well they aren't marketing it to that demographic.

    They aren't marketing it yet.

    And I'll bet if you showed your Dad the iPad, sat him down with one and let him see what it was, he'd think it was great. And far less intimidating than a PC.

    Hell maybe Apple are going to follow the Malcolm Gladwell mavens approach to marketing. Let tech savvy kids sell it to their parents and relatives. Who knows?

    I just think it's cool. Don't need one, but it's cool. And I still think John Gruber is right:

    "Used to be that to drive a car, you, the driver, needed to operate a clutch pedal and gear shifter and manually change gears for the transmission as you accelerated and decelerated. Then came the automatic transmission. With an automatic, the transmission is entirely abstracted away. The clutch is gone. To go faster, you just press harder on the gas pedal.

    That’s where Apple is taking computing. A car with an automatic transmission still shifts gears; the driver just doesn’t need to know about it. A computer running iPhone OS still has a hierarchical file system; the user just never sees it.

    That’s not to say there aren’t trade-offs involved. Car enthusiasts (and genuine experts like race car drivers) still drive cars with manual transmissions. They offer more control; they’re more efficient. But the vast majority of cars sold today are automatics. So too it’ll be with computers. Eventually, the vast majority will be like the iPad in terms of the degree to which the underlying computer is abstracted away. Manual computers, like the Mac and Windows PCs, will slowly shift from the standard to the niche, something of interest only to experts and enthusiasts and developers."
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JavaKrypt wrote: »
    Apple fans call themselve geeks/nerds/computer buffs, your description is true of what all their products are for, so it's hardly geeky and marketed to those kinds of people, as Sassy said.

    You've lost me.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't understand what you're saying.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    SassyLulu wrote: »


    Ummmm.... yeah they are :confused:

    They started marketing it as soon as it was announced. As soon as Steve Jobs stepped on to that stage, they started marketing it.

    :confused:

    You said they weren't marketing it to people like your Dad. I said they're not doing that yet.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    "Well they aren't marketing it to that demographic"

    "They aren't marketing it yet."

    That reads pretty clearly to me.

    Ah well.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What's the rage with the iPad? The last place where I worked sold Paceblades as far back as 2003. Plus, we sold quite a few Acer laptops that doubled up as tablet PCs by turning the screen inside out.

    www.paceblade.com

    According to Wiki, tablet PCs dated even further back than 2003.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_PC
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The iPad has been sought of for years, just Apple never released one (after their last attempt failure.)
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I would be careful buying from that site, the only places you can buy an Ipad in any UK store are Apple, PC World/Curries have exclusive rights to sell them when they come out. As far as I am aware pricing hasn't yet been released?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When i went on a holiday two weeks ago, in california. There was no iPad advertising, because there is no need for it.

    All it was, were a picture of an iPad on someones lap, and the Apple logo... Nuff said really, Apple doesn't need to do more.

    They sold 300,000+ On the first day in america, every Apple store in america, has about 30 of these out on the shelf to play with, and well everyone is in there playing with them.

    As for marketing, i think Apple have enough captive audiance to sell this without any specific effort. Considering they're the leaders in the MP3 and Phone market, and catching up on a lot of other things too... Soon probably the Tablet market.

    Just wait till they arrive in the UK. Even will the crappy exchange rate, while i was in america they were only £330, so hold out for a cheaper price.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They won't be cheaper than £330 even for the 16GB Wifi. The iPod Touch 64GB is only £306.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I can see the reason why one could be good. If what you do on the computer is mainly browsing, check email, that sort of thing, then the Ipad is a way to do all of that more simply, and with instant-on, rather than waiting for a laptop or computer to boot up. So you're on the sofa watching TV,something comes up and you think, I want to know more, whack out the Ipad and in a few seconds you can google it. Done.

    Screen quality should be comparable or better than other laptops out just now.

    The only downside really is the price. It's a premium gadget, so will be sold as such.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    But why don't you think about other Tablet devices that exist that are cheaper and better than the iPad, released previously and due to be released? Visiting Engadget alone shows quite a few.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JavaKrypt wrote: »
    But why don't you think about other Tablet devices that exist that are cheaper and better than the iPad, released previously and due to be released? Visiting Engadget alone shows quite a few.

    But then you wouldn't be part of the fad ;)
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They sold 300,000+ On the first day in america, every Apple store in america, has about 30 of these out on the shelf to play with, and well everyone is in there playing with them.
    No they didn't. They shipped 300,000 to stores, not sold to customers.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    No they didn't. They shipped 300,000 to stores, not sold to customers.
    It included pre-orders.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    300,000 sold to stores. That still 300,000 sales, maybe not to consumers. I can tell they're going to be popular.

    If you look up, that average netbook is £200, i've no idea about tablets. And a decent laptop is £350

    iPad is going to be somewhere near £350 price, i'm no apple fan boy here. But i just think that apple have the right idea about a lot of things.

    Flash looking goods, iPod+iTunes amazing idea, works a treat. They make items, well that look good, work great and fast. Amazing functionality and are a fasion item and good to show off.

    I'm in the market for a new laptop, but considering i've got my PC, and little laptop. I'm just going to buy an iPad - they're so useless and portable :)
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Here you go, iPad prices:

    http://www.neowin.net/news/uk-ipad-pricing-revealed
    iPad 16GB Wi-Fi Only - £429
    iPad 32GB Wi-Fi Only - £499
    iPad 64GB Wi-Fi Only - £599
    iPad 16GB 3G - £529
    iPad 32GB 3G - £599
    iPad 64GB 3G - £699
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    . Car enthusiasts (and genuine experts like race car drivers) still drive cars with manual transmissions. They offer more control; they’re more efficient. But the vast majority of cars sold today are automatics.

    Sorry, what country are you in? In the UK very few cars are automatics.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Whowhere wrote: »
    Sorry, what country are you in? In the UK very few cars are automatics.

    I was quoting John Gruber.

    He's American.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Does the amount of control that Apple is maintaining over content not worry anyone else? As I understand it, they are still the only retailer selling apps for iPhones (and therefore presumably iPad). They've already started putting restrictions on apps that they don't consider suitable. There would be no problem with that if everyone could make and sell apps in a free and open market, but that doesn't seem to be the case atm. Am I right in my understanding of the situation? Who controls who can make apps for iPhone, and who can sell them?

    Oh and surprise-surprise the UK is ripped off by a very dubious exchange rate on something electrical again.
Sign In or Register to comment.