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How can someone justify buying an ipad2?
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floopy123
04-10-2011
The top ipad 2 comes with 62 gb hard drive (no 3G capability) with dual processor and retails at £559 from PC world.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/ipad_h...ommercial.html

A laptop can come with 500 gb hard drive with dual processor and retails at £329.97 from PC world:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pav...97940-pdt.html


How can the ipad2 be value for money when its hard drive spec is very small? Surely the price of the ipad2 should be around 200 quid (taking into account its relatively tiny hard drive space). Even if people like the functions of an ipad2 - it seems a huge rip-off. The hard drive spec is too small to justify such a price tag. No wonder Apple is such a rich company when they charge so much for their products!
neo_wales
04-10-2011
Someone has the money and likes an iPad they buy it, simple as that.

I won't buy off Steve Jobs but millions of others do, their decision.
floopy123
04-10-2011
Yes, I accept people buy the product but it's a downgrade in technology. I know it's a tablet which is all the rage these days but the hard drive space is a rip-off based on the price. 300 quid or so for a 500 gb laptop hard drive is much better value for money. It's sad to see companies like Apple exploiting people. I'm not suggesting the ipad2 isn't a good product, I'm sure it's great but the price tag is, quite frankly, disgusting. But as you say, if people want to buy it, it's their choice.

And consider this, in the future the ipad 3 and ipad 4 will have even bigger hard drives. Perhaps 100 - 200 gb. So how much is Apple going to charge for them? 800 quid? 1000 quid?
emptybox
04-10-2011
The whole point is, the iPad (and most other tablets) don't have hard drives at all.

That is, they have solid state memory rather than mechanical drives. I think they use flash memory similar to SD cards etc?
That means they can be lighter, slimmer and cooler running than laptops, but are more expensive at the moment.

I agree though that they are over-priced for the mass market, and will have to come down to between two and three hundred pounds before they become widespread.
Staunchy
04-10-2011
Originally Posted by floopy123:
“And consider this, in the future the ipad 3 and ipad 4 will have even bigger hard drives. Perhaps 100 - 200 gb. So how much is Apple going to charge for them? 800 quid? 1000 quid? ”

Years ago a 100MB hard-drive cost Moore than a 3TB hard drive does today.

Quote:
“Yes, I accept people buy the product but it's a downgrade in technology. I know it's a tablet which is all the rage these days but the hard drive space is a rip-off based on the price. 300 quid or so for a 500 gb laptop hard drive is much better value for money. It's sad to see companies like Apple exploiting people. I'm not suggesting the ipad2 isn't a good product, I'm sure it's great but the price tag is, quite frankly, disgusting. But as you say, if people want to buy it, it's their choice.”

It's noticeable that most of the other big name tech companies sell tablets in the same ball park price area so in the case of the iPad either everyone else is over charging too, or Apple have got the price point just about right (I was surprised by the iPad's low price at launch).

Drive space isn't such an important factor for a computing device these days, with the ability to stream from the web or local networks many people will never get close to filling up the hard drives that come with more traditional modern machines and tablets don't need them because of the way they are intended to be used. Tablets are more like consumer devices than traditional computers so comparing price simply by performance and specs isn't really applicable.

In addition the importance of size and weight in a tablet contributes to the price, no doubt Apple's ambition is to make an iPad so thin you can shave with it, so components need to be specially designed and manufactured for each new model. You can't just slip in an off the shelf laptop battery into a tablet, it's too thick and too heavy.
finbaar
04-10-2011
Apple make 40% profit on their devices. I heard on a tech podcast that HP, who are getting out of the hardware bussiness, only made 20-30 dollars on each laptop. You get what you pay for. Not.
pumazooma
04-10-2011
Most people don't buy the top end one.

Also HD space isn't much of a comparison.I bet the vast majority of people don't get anywhere near 200Gb of total info on their computers.

At the end of the day though, they're different things. A laptop is a bit more serious for computer use, easier to type on, bigger screen, but the ipad and other tablets are smaller, lighter, more convenient (instant on), and have 3 or 4 x the battery life. They're like coffee table computers. You can pick it up, read an email or check a web page and put it down again. No need to boot up, wait for it to do all that (windows has never been the fastest at getting going). Also they're much simpler to use. None of this left click, right click, folder and files business. My 76 year old mum can use an ipad cos she just points to what she wants and there's only one application on the screen at once. A PC on the other hand is a much more complicated thing to use.

Laptops and tablets all have their place because they do slightly different things.

I've got both and I use both all the time. The iPad is so much more convenient for a quick surf or play about but I use the laptop for anything with more typing like forums.

These topics have been done to death though. If you like it and can afford it, get one. If you don't and you can't see why people get one, then don't buy it. But I can never really see why that means people have to slag off others for doing so (and that's a general point, not directed at the OP).
unique
04-10-2011
Originally Posted by floopy123:
“The top ipad 2 comes with 62 gb hard drive (no 3G capability) with dual processor and retails at £559 from PC world.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/ipad_h...ommercial.html

A laptop can come with 500 gb hard drive with dual processor and retails at £329.97 from PC world:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pav...97940-pdt.html


How can the ipad2 be value for money when its hard drive spec is very small? Surely the price of the ipad2 should be around 200 quid (taking into account its relatively tiny hard drive space). Even if people like the functions of an ipad2 - it seems a huge rip-off. The hard drive spec is too small to justify such a price tag. No wonder Apple is such a rich company when they charge so much for their products!”

they are two entirely different things for entirely different purposes

one is lightweight and portable, you can hold in 2 fingers, it's instantly on, you can wave it about and not damage the storage. it fits in an envelope and takes about the same space as a book. it's for easy portable use

the other, you need to sit down to use, you can't hold it in one hand and easily type with the other

you are also comparing the high end of one line of devices to the bottom end of another. chalk and cheese

if someone could take the ipad2 and sell it for around £200 then they would. but look at all the ipad copies and no-one has anything around that price point that's any good. the ipad copies that are close to it's capabilities are around the same price. so your argument could apply to the galaxy tab, the maltesers pad or the mars bar. the only cheaper tablets are frankly crap

if you want to shrink stuff down to make smaller and lighter, it usually costs more money in the tech world
wildphantom!
04-10-2011
Hard drive space isn't the issue anymore, if Apple (or any other tablet maker in fact) put a 100GB+ HDD on their device as many people say, it would be heavier and a lot hotter.

I have an iPad 2 32GB and my HDD is taken up by movies and apps and that's it! Why would i need a 100GB disk to make my device heavier?

Plus, with iCloud launching on the 12th October people can have more space if they want:

5GB is free and for an additional 10GB you'll pay £14 a year, 20GB extra is £28 a year while 50GB of extra space will be £70 per annum.
dsnik
04-10-2011
I bought one last week for the wife.
I can justify it because it makes her happy and she deserves it.
seellee
04-10-2011
I really dont understand your concern OP?! Also why focus on Apple when most of the other quality tablets are around the same price?

I bought an Ipad2 I dont need to justify that purchase to anyone but myself.

People go up town every weekend and spend £50+ on booze etc with nothing to show for it but a bad head.I find that a waste of money, but I'm not bothered if people want to do that, it's their hard earned (in most cases) money to do what they want to do.
Staunchy
04-10-2011
Originally Posted by dsnik:
“I bought one last week for the wife.
I can justify it because it makes her happy and she deserves it.”

Aw aren't you a catch
markrduk
05-10-2011
Originally Posted by seellee:
“I really dont understand your concern OP?! Also why focus on Apple when most of the other quality tablets are around the same price?

I bought an Ipad2 I dont need to justify that purchase to anyone but myself.

People go up town every weekend and spend £50+ on booze etc with nothing to show for it but a bad head.I find that a waste of money, but I'm not bothered if people want to do that, it's their hard earned (in most cases) money to do what they want to do.”

^^this!^^
heskethbang
05-10-2011
I use it as a score reader for my work as a musician on ships. Sometimes we don't see land for days, and errors would be costly in reputation as well as revenue. For me Apple gear is rock solid reliable, and I have total confidence in it.
IanN
05-10-2011
The fact that lot's of companies are adopting tablets and cloud storage suggests that the OP is wrong.

The iPad supplements my laptop usage, I use it to read reference books as I work and I use it to browse away from the desk and to take notes in meetings, it's about making me more productive and helping me to work how I want.
edEx
05-10-2011
The laptop is a device for how the world was until recently. The iPad is a device for how the world will be soon. Buy a laptop if you wish, but the future is in tablets.
alanwarwic
05-10-2011
Its a luxury item. Like many it is as much form over function.

I don't think it is how the world will be soon, though tablets will fill in a few small gaps in usage.
It will also mean that HD Netbooks like the AMD FUsion kind will become more popular.
I think Intel also lift some crippling Atom usage restrictions November too.
edEx
05-10-2011
Originally Posted by alanwarwic:
“Its a luxury item. Like many it is as much form over function.

I don't think it is how the world will be soon, though tablets will fill in a few small gaps in usage.”

It's not that long ago that people would have said the same about flat TVs.
methodyguy
05-10-2011
I have a laptop and an iPad 2 (which my parents bought me for getting good grades) and I have to say that I use the iPad more.
treefr0g
05-10-2011
I see the iPad eventually becoming a remote control for the home. I just bought a Sonos system and my iPad works seamlessly with it.
I love how I can control the music anywhere from anywhere. There are already products on the market allowing lighting, appliances, garage doors, surveillance systems to be controlled from the iPad. If you're into that kind of thing then the iPad is the perfect control centre.
the chimp
05-10-2011
Originally Posted by alanwarwic:
“Its a luxury item. Like many it is as much form over function.

I don't think it is how the world will be soon, though tablets will fill in a few small gaps in usage.
It will also mean that HD Netbooks like the AMD FUsion kind will become more popular.
I think Intel also lift some crippling Atom usage restrictions November too.”

I use my 3G iPad on the move having previously used a netbook, iPad wins hands down on everything, there's not one thing that was better on the netbook.
BrokenArrow
06-10-2011
Originally Posted by edEx:
“The laptop is a device for how the world was until recently. The iPad is a device for how the world will be soon. Buy a laptop if you wish, but the future is in tablets.”

No its not.

Apple products are designed for technophobes and media lovies.

The real world runs on real machines that are capable of doing real work.
nanscombe
06-10-2011
Another of the main differences between a laptop and the iPad / other tablets is that you don't have to turn it on a minute or two in advance to use it.


I think I'll browse the Internet:
Turn on laptop
Wait for Username prompt
Wait for desktop to appear (hibernate might be a little quicker)
Open browser and use Internet.

Or

I think I'll browse the Internet:
Turn on iPad / other tablet
Enter key code at prompt
Open browser and use Internet.

I know which one I prefer.
edEx
06-10-2011
Originally Posted by BrokenArrow:
“No its not.

Apple products are designed for technophobes and media lovies.

The real world runs on real machines that are capable of doing real work.”

It's not about technophobia, it's about manipulating information in the quickest most hassle free way possible. Although ironically the fact you just don't get how things are changing marks you out as the technophobe. Would you have stuck with MS-DOS when the rest of the world moved to Windows?
Pretinama
06-10-2011
I wanted one. It's lighter than my MacBook Pro and for general stuff that I do it's just fine.

I didn't need to justify it other than I wanted one, and I had the money. Looking at other tablets to me this came out top.

That is all.
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