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Apple Unveils New iPad

adeelarshad82 writes "As expected, Apple announced the new iPad complete with a Retina Display, quad-core processor, 4G LTE, and an improved camera. The new iPad will run the rumored A5X processor, which according to Apple will provide four times the performance of the Tegra 3. The revamped tablet will also include a 2048-by-1536 display, apparently the most in any mobile device. And finally with 4G LTE, the new iPad will provide up to 73 Mbps download speeds; partners for which include Verizon, Rogers, Bell, Telus, and AT&T."

103 of 989 comments (clear)

  1. Quad core by WilyCoder · · Score: 5, Informative

    Quad core graphics, not quad core CPU...

    1. Re:Quad core by siddesu · · Score: 5, Funny

      Okay, I get that, but is the display really made from retinas? And whose retinas were those?

    2. Re:Quad core by djh101010 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Foxcomm employees, haven't you been watching the news?

    3. Re:Quad core by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, he works at Foxcomm. :P

    4. Re:Quad core by fafaforza · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hmm, I was going to post a jocular response, but then remembered that these are real people with parents and siblings committing suicide that we're joking about.

    5. Re:Quad core by awkScooby · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, it is an eyePad...

    6. Re:Quad core by geekoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

      no. It's like you paid for the critical operation that kept me alive. IT didn't matter how much it was, if you didn't do it, I would have died.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    7. Re:Quad core by Americano · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not to get too Apple fan boy-y, but Microsoft's investment wasn't *that* big.

      In dollar terms, perhaps not. In crowd-psychology terms? It was huge. It was Apple being able to allay investors' fears: "Look, we have this commitment from a hugely successful hugely profitable company like Microsoft. Do you really think they'd give us this money and make this commitment if they thought we were circling the drain and about to fold?"

      There's a reason why their stock went up about 33% that day, added ~800 million to their market cap, and effectively doubled their stock price from the time Gil Amelio left. When you're a publicly traded company that needs money to keep operating, having a big, wealthy company say "These guys are doing great things and we want to work with them," is a pretty helpful vote of confidence.

  2. Hipsters ASSEMBLE by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

    Camp in line to receive the latest helping of mana!

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Hipsters ASSEMBLE by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're just pissed no one is queuing up to buy Gameboys any more.

    2. Re:Hipsters ASSEMBLE by Sebastopol · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hipsters have moved to 'droid. Where have you been, man?

      --
      https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
    3. Re:Hipsters ASSEMBLE by Ihmhi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think it's actually spelled "manna" in this context, but hell - there could be something there trading Greater Mana Potions, sure.

    4. Re:Hipsters ASSEMBLE by White+Flame · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This thing is a $500 compact 2048x1536 LCD monitor for all I'm concerned, and to me that's a very welcome product. I don't give a rat's whisker about Apple's ecosystem otherwise.

      (Now, to wait for sanely available purchases and software support to allow that use...)

      However, to be fair to your stated point, the iPad line really is the first time that Apple has made an inexpensive product relative to the market. Pre-iPad, tablet PCs were slabs that were more expensive than laptops, typically starting in the $1500-2000 range. The iPad came out far cheaper than any competitor could have hoped to (due to price lock-ins from suppliers as prices were increasing), and pulled off a good form factor. Things have normalized more nowadays, but Apple actually had an undercutting product.

    5. Re:Hipsters ASSEMBLE by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I remember all the rampant rumors and speculation leading up to the iPad. The lowest price guessed was $800. When it was announced at $499, Apple's competitors must have crapped in their pants. The main problem with the speculation was that everyone was expecting Apple to make a tablet like MS made tablets: a laptop with a touchscreen. Apple instead offered a larger version of an iPod Touch. While it doesn't offer the computing solution a laptop offers, Apple correctly gambled that most consumers didn't want that solution. They wanted a larger iPod Touch.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  3. Nice upgrade, but no big surprises in the new iPad by xmas2003 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Glad to see this finally announced/released and while I'd love to exchange for my iPad2, I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade. Without Steve Jobs doing the dramatics, watching the Live Blog was almost as exciting as Watching Grass Grow.

    --
    Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
  4. Someone take that awesome display... by bemymonkey · · Score: 4, Interesting

    And put it in a netbook with a Thinkpad-style trackpoint... I'd buy that right away.

    1. Re:Someone take that awesome display... by unclepedro · · Score: 4

      Yeah, I'm pretty ticked that the new Lenovo X220T (T is for tablet) has a 1366x768 screen. You're telling me an iPad3 -- an iPad -- is going to have ~4 times the screen real estate? GAR GAR GAR GAR

    2. Re:Someone take that awesome display... by vitaflo · · Score: 4, Informative

      You're not getting any more screen real estate on the iPad3, you're just getting twice the resolution. There's a difference. The browser for instance will still tell websites the device width of the iPad3 is 1024x768. So the same website on the iPad2 and iPad3 will have the same layout and width, but the iPad3 will look less pixilated.

  5. 73mbps... by Professr3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wow! You'll be able to reach your 3GB cap in 5.19 minutes! What'll you do for the rest of the month? :D

    1. Re:73mbps... by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

      Bask in the afterglow of that glorious 5.19 minutes.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  6. Re:Thicker and heavier than the iPad 2 by dingo_kinznerhook · · Score: 5, Informative

    0.07 pounds heavier. I stand corrected.

    --
    "God does not play Minecraft with the world." - Albert Einstein
  7. Look it's Malibu Stacy. by ddd0004 · · Score: 4, Funny

    but she's got a new hat

  8. Upgraded Apple TV announced by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apple also announced a new Apple TV that will have 1080p for the same price as the current generation: $99. I didn't read any other changes.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    1. Re:Upgraded Apple TV announced by Overzeetop · · Score: 3, Interesting

      On the contrary, most of those suck if you're not a tech geek. I've tried 3-4 different boxes, and the ATV2 was the simplest to set up and the simplest for my family to use, without needing constant hand holding. I got a Roku and practically nothing worked on it. I even set up the ATV2 and Roku side by side and the Roku streaming choked on Netflix while the ATV streamed without stopping to buffer every couple of minutes. At the time, they were both $99. Guess which one got sold on eBay?

      I've also tried WMC, XBMC, Popcorn Hour, and one or two other (though it's been a couple of years). None of them are as simple as the AppleTV with Plex for streaming local media. FWIW, I did try the Plex client on Roku and, at least for a month after the release of the current gen of players, Plex was hopelessly broken. It may have been fixed by now.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  9. Bandwidth by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can just see it now. Taking home the new ipad3, turning it on for the first time, excited for the fast download speed and massive processor, and the first message that appears:

    You have exceeded your bandwidth quota for the month. All network apps disabled

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  10. Re:yawn by willie3204 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I saw somewhere that there are about 1300 of said Chinese co-eds at the gates every day trying to apply for a job at the plant

  11. Re:Still don't want one by Picass0 · · Score: 4, Informative

    So get a bluetooth keyboard.

  12. Re:yawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    They have these things called "jobs." You should look into that.

    Not any more. I'm surprised you didn't see the coverage. It was everywhere. I wish Dennis Ritchie had gotten as much.

  13. siri by Demoknight · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am pretty surprised that siri is not fully implemented on this device. it is only being used for dictation

    1. Re:siri by Grizzley9 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If it's like dictation on the iPhone then its almost the same thing. It uses the same voice and has all the dictation abilities of Siri. Using the handicap accessibility feature to add "speak" to the copy menu, it can even read to you any highlighted text at varying speeds (great for listening in the car to emails, notes, or reviews).

      My guess is they are artificially holding back on that small switch for the next iPhone release or iOS 6.0. Siri is much more useful on an iPhone than on a tablet in it's current state. Until they allow Siri to (officially) start interacting more with some 3rd party apps and controlling settings in iOS then there isn't as much of a point by putting it on a tablet. They aren't as mobile as phones.

    2. Re:siri by wanzeo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Mobile computing companies are all deathly afraid that their customers will wake up one day and realize that a tablet and a phone are the same device, just in different sizes. That is why you can't get cellular voice service on a tablet, and probably why you can't get siri as well.

      God forbid, users might choose between tablet or phone, instead of having both.

  14. Re:Still don't want one by CRCulver · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I want a keyboard.

    Meh, content creation is sooooo passé. All the cool kids today are consuming content provided by others, such as large media conglomerates desperate to get you to download their app. Don't you want to be cool?

  15. Re:yawn by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Informative
    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  16. 73mbps != 4G by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    You will never get that speed on the device. I have a 4G LTE cell phone and it doesn't even get 10% of that speed.

    Hell it shouldn't even be allowed to be called 4G. The 4G standard is 100Mbps for high mobility devices (cellphones in cars) and 1Gbps for low mobility devices (people walking down the street or in their homes). This is a fraud in advertising.

    1. Re:73mbps != 4G by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Informative

      Hell it shouldn't even be allowed to be called 4G.

      That's what the standards body thought too, but the telcos started marketing 3.5G as 4G and the standards body did the worst possible thing and caved.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:73mbps != 4G by wickedskaman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's what the standards body thought too, but the telcos started marketing 3.5G as 4G and the standards body did the worst possible thing and accepted the money.

      FTFY :)

      --
      Sand's overrated... it's just tiny little rocks.
  17. The Screen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That screen is just incredible. I mean, here I am working on a dual monitor setup - two 22" 1680x1050 monitors, side by side. That's about 3.5 megapixels. But along comes the new iPad, with a 3 megapixel screen in a 10" form factor - 85% of the pixels in about 15% of the area. Crazy. I'm not planning on buying one right now (already have iPad 1, which at this point I'll use until it dies), but I'm really glad that somebody is pushing screen resolutions above the relatively low 1080p we seem to be stuck with today on virtually every LCD.

    1. Re:The Screen by labnet · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not sure why the media is playing down this as non event upgrade. I agree with the parent that the new screen is incredible.
      5 years ago I could get 1920x1200 in a 17" laptop. Now they are all gone with 1920 x 1080 the highest offer (which are even hard to get with 1600x900 being more common), which is a sucky resolution for CAD & programming work.
      Maybe with windows non vectorness the PC comapnies had too many returns when people with poor eyesight returned hi res offerings?, but man I would love a 2560x1600 17"/19" laptop.

      --
      46137
    2. Re:The Screen by rsborg · · Score: 5, Interesting

      That screen is just incredible. I mean, here I am working on a dual monitor setup - two 22" 1680x1050 monitors, side by side. That's about 3.5 megapixels. But along comes the new iPad, with a 3 megapixel screen in a 10" form factor - 85% of the pixels in about 15% of the area. Crazy. I'm not planning on buying one right now (already have iPad 1, which at this point I'll use until it dies), but I'm really glad that somebody is pushing screen resolutions above the relatively low 1080p we seem to be stuck with today on virtually every LCD.

      The sad thing this device exposes is how current desktop operating systems don't handle resolution independence nearly as well. I have 3x1080p 24" screens on my work desktop setup, and I still have to squint to see stuff because Windows7 and the apps I run have built-in assumptions about pixel sizing. Hopefully Win8, ChromeOS or OSX-next help to resolve this.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    3. Re:The Screen by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The reason for it is not to push the resolution beyond 1080p, which is fairly pointless on a screen that size. They did it because they have to double the previous generation 1024x768 screen so that all the old apps can scale exactly 2:1. The decision not to make apps resolution independent like most other systems is forcing Apple's hand.

      It's actually not so good for web browsing. Images at 1:1 scale are too small and 2:1 is too large like 1024 is. 1280 pixels is the sweet spot for browsing which is an awkward 2:3 that is exactly what they tried to avoid with apps.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  18. Oblig Oatmeal by Terrasque · · Score: 5, Funny
    --
    It's The Golden Rule: "He who has the gold makes the rules."
  19. the new ipad by Twillerror · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is literally the new name. Am I the only one that thinks this is lame. Would Steve have ever okay this?

    1. Re:the new ipad by Wraithlyn · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I seriously do not get the problem some people seem to have with this.

      I have a 2011 Macbook Air, not a Macbook Air 3. My friend drives a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier, not a Chevy Cavalier 17 (or whatever it would be). Apple just announced the 2012 model iPad. What is the big deal?

      Most brands drop "numbered sequels" after a certain point. MS Office anyone? Or how about Windows? (Yes, they went BACK to numbers, that probably had something to do differentiating the fuck away from Vista).

      And no, "The New iPad" is NOT *literally* the new name. You think that's going on the box? It's just the "iPad". This year's iteration. The end.

      --
      "Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
  20. Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs... by internet-redstar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... no he is no Steve Jobs, he even forgot to tell the public WHAT THE NEW IPAD IS CALLED! ... ipad 3, ipad HD? iPad Retina? He could have done better!

    1. Re:Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs... by Howard+Beale · · Score: 4, Funny

      please be ipad hd, please be ipad hd (registered ipadhdsucks.com)...

    2. Re:Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs... by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, this is the best and biggest iPad they've made, so the obvious choice is - The iPad Maxi !

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    3. Re:Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs... by nightfell · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's just iPad now. Like MacBook, iMac, etc, iPod, etc.

  21. Hopefully this will usher in higher-res monitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm just hoping I'll finally be able to get a monitor with a similar resolution for a reasonable price. If Apple can make a 10" display with that many pixels, plus other computer guts, for $500, I don't think a 22-24" monitor with that resolution for $500 is too much to ask.

  22. Re:Not quad core processor by Tr3vin · · Score: 4, Informative

    But in the mobile world, most rendering is done through tile-based deferred rendering. The frame-buffer was already being split up during rendering, so having cores work in parallel isn't that big of a change.

  23. Re:lol by White+Flame · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The same resolution as my old CRTs, which I absolutely, wholeheartedly welcome back.

  24. Re:Nice upgrade, but no big surprises in the new i by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's OK. iPad is still in the rapid growth phase. They need to appeal to people who don't yet have an iPad, not people who already have a slightly older model.

  25. Re:Still don't want one by wickedskaman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who hurt you?

    --
    Sand's overrated... it's just tiny little rocks.
  26. Re:Still don't want one by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So don't buy one. Geez. I don't have a need for a dump truck, a B-52 or a complete set of Star Wars action figures, but I don't particularly care if other people find them interesting or useful.

    Do you log into the American Dolls website to say you don't want one of those either?

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  27. Re:Nice upgrade, but no big surprises in the new i by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Everyone who ever took a photo cares about white balance. They might not know the phrase white balance. But they care if the pictures look too orangey or too blue. And auto white balance means that problem is mostly fixed without ever having to learn what white balance means.

  28. The one downside... by sootman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is exactly what everyone predicted, and I'm fine with that. I'm just a hair disappointed that the front camera is still VGA. Even if FaceTime is bandwidth-limited or someting, it'd be nice to take pictures of, say, yourself and your kids in greater than 0.3MP.

    Oh, and the name--iPad, iPad 2, The new iPad. :-( Reminds me of my file versioning system: index.html, index-old.html, index-new.html, index-newer.html, index-newest.html, index-final.html, index-absolutely-final.html, index-final-i-swear-to-god-i-mean-it-this-time.html...

    --
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  29. Re:Nice upgrade, but no big surprises in the new i by rampant+mac · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Without Steve Jobs doing the dramatics, watching the Live Blog was almost as exciting as Watching Grass Grow."

    Tim Cook may be as wooden as a door, but that man knows distribution. Jobs may have had the charisma, but Cook deserves a lot of the credit getting Apple to where it is today.

    --
    I like big butts and I cannot lie.
  30. Which is an... odd way to talk about graphics by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Graphics is so highly parallel that the concept of a core doesn't really apply to graphics processors, at least ones I've seen. You talk about them in terms of shaders, ROPs, TMUs and so on.

    1. Re:Which is an... odd way to talk about graphics by beelsebob · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The concept of cores absolutely does apply – the term "it has 2000 fragment shaders" is a misnomer – in reality, it should be "it can run 2000 fragment shaders on its 2000 shader cores".

    2. Re:Which is an... odd way to talk about graphics by Xrikcus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Oh I don't know about that. I gave a talk only last week in which I described AMD's latest GPU (HD7970) as having 32 cores and I ran that content past some of the chip's architects first. If you look at the design of the chip it quite clearly has 32 cores: 32 scalar cores each of which having 4 16-wide SIMD units hanging off the side.

      Of course, how the marketing department at Apple defines cores is open to question, but 4 strikes me as a reasonable number for an embedded GPU. The ARM Mali designs are around that kind of core count.

    3. Re:Which is an... odd way to talk about graphics by blueg3 · · Score: 5, Informative

      But in general it can't. GPUs are designed differently and don't actually run a large number of different shaders in parallel. They use a combination of multicore processing and data-parallel execution to run the same shader (or a small number of shaders) on a large pool of data in parallel. A lot of it is more similar to SIMD instructions available on many CPUs than multiple cores.

    4. Re:Which is an... odd way to talk about graphics by d4fseeker · · Score: 4, Informative

      No and yes.
      A dual-core CPU as first produced by Intel really was only 2 CPU's on a single die.
      However a real multicore CPU has multiple calculation cores while sharing certain parts (e.g. a common L3 cache or the ALU) and using a ultra-high-speed inter-core communication system

      Furthermore a x86 CPU is huge due to it's sheer size of internal high-clock memory, X86 instruction set with additions like 64-bit, Hyperthreading,....
      ARM CPU's as found in your mobile devices are a lot smaller due to a different (smaller) instruction set and being optimized for size, not high performance.

      A GPU core on the other hand is even smaller (only several thousand transistors as compared to several millions in an average CPU) as it has only one and one purpose alone; mathematic calculations.
      At least that was true untl OpenCL and Cuda came along, now they can execute -with great performance loss as compared to int and float calculations- other commands.

  31. Re:Still don't want one by Score+Whore · · Score: 4, Funny

    No pun intended, but it'd make a great thin client alternative to a laptop.

    Consider you had a "case" that you could dock the iPad to that had a battery, keyboard, mouse, charger, and possibly speakers. Combine some VPN software and RDP/VNC and it'd be pretty sweet for the occasional traveler.

  32. Re:New iPad by UnknowingFool · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If by "quality" you mean a tablet that many reviewers called rushed and incomplete, after a year, finally got the features everyone expected at launch, and has very few applications to this day, I'd hate to see what you call "poor".

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  33. Re:Still don't want one by thomasw_lrd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because you aren't the target market. The target market is people who want to read email, watch youtube, check facebook and surf the web. Tablets are for consuming on.

    I own an iPad 1. Its more convenient to sit on my couch, read a magazine that was delievered wirelessly, play a quick game that I either got for free (or paid $.99 for). It's nice at work to listen to music, and the battery life is amazing. Lasts from 8 in the morning until I go to bed. No need to lug around a cord for my laptop. No I can't create on it, wouldn't want to. I have a desktop and a laptop to do "real" computing on.

  34. Re:Hopefully this will usher in higher-res monitor by __aarzwb9394 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Fingers crossed also that it might prompt a return to a more useful aspect ratio in affordable monitors.

  35. waiting for the competition by Skapare · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... which will hopefully have an open platform version somewhere so I can run my own stuff on it.

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  36. Re:Still don't want one by SimplyGeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They have those. They're called "laptops".

  37. Re:Still don't want one by Americano · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's just crazy talk.

    EVERYBODY wants an American Girl doll.

  38. Good luck with that... by l00sr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Judging from the history of these things, Apple probably has the entire supply tied up for the next 18 months.

  39. Re:Nice upgrade, but no big surprises in the new i by JBMcB · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The best camera is the one you have with you. The iPad in your backpack is better than the DSLR in your closet at home.

    --
    My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
  40. Re:Still don't want one by afidel · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yep, that's what we did for our 150+ business users that we gave iPad's to, cover with integrated Bluetooth keyboard.

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  41. 3G and LTE? by Overzeetop · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So, there are two models, an AT&T one and a Verzon one, but they both have UMTS/HSPA/GSM bands that would cover the "world" but also AT&T 3G service.

    So, can I buy the Verizon model and slip in an AT&T card for now? 4G won't get to my area for a couple of years yet, but Verizon is more likely to have the better coverage when it happens.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  42. Re:yawn by slew · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not by much. Inflation rate is pretty much nil these days (CPI when ipad2 launched ~217, CPI today ~227). @$500, that's only about $20... Since the wholesale electronics probably got cheaper it's probably a wash for Apple's profit.

    On the other hand, median wages have been falling, so relative to typical purchasing power, the price has gone up.

    Of course just like any electronics, the specs always get better for new models, so that isn't anything to sneeze at.

  43. Re:Queue the stupid by thoth · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't get the Apple hate... well, I get part of it. It must feel good to trash some product/company, makes you feel superior (I guess). Since their success defies geek sensibilities (?) their customers must all be sheep or something.

    But isn't this just the free market at work? It isn't as if they are like Microsoft* in the 90's, using their monopoly to rake users and customers over the proverbial barrel. They are selling into a very competitive market, doing the best thing of inventing stuff people want (not just pulling a Microsoft* and hanging out for ~4 years working on their copy), and raking in the money as stuff flies off the shelf to happy customers in record numbers. Selling the number of items they do, week after month after month after year, and maybe just maybe they've figured out the key component of the market: selling stuff customers want to buy.

    If the only way you can rationalize their success is claiming the bulk of their sales is to fashion conscious wealthy hipsters chasing status symbols, you are deluded worse than the customer base that exists in your imagination. That explanation might fly for low numbers over a few quarters, but this is the same crap critics have been leveling for nearly 10 years of their gizmo selling. Time to grow up and deal with it. Or even better, do the "free market competition" thing and create better (better as in defined by the market) alternatives. Or, hang in the shadows crying about how the market isn't obeying your carefully constructed world view.

    They're working constantly to keep ahead of Google/Android... customers and the industry benefit, right?

    *Not trying to throw Microsoft under that bus, but that's just how its turned out over the last ~12 years or so.

  44. who's on first by skydude_20 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Costello: What’s the name of the new iPad?
    Abbott: The new iPad.
    Costello: Yes, the name of the new iPad?
    Abbott: The new iPad.
    Costello: Yes, the device just released today by Apple.
    Abbott: The new iPad.
    Costello: I know! What’s the name of the new iPad?
    Abbott: The new iPad.

    --
    Jesus saves souls and redeems them for valuable cash prizes
  45. Re:So what does all that mean? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Informative

    Wait until Apple begins to deprecate the OS on your current iPad, you'll find out ;)

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  46. Re:Queue the stupid by GameboyRMH · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You could have made the same arguments for MS in the 90s, the big difference being that Apple screws developers more than users. The popularization of curated computing is the worst thing ever done in the history of computing (for the industry itself and users, of course worse things have been done using computers). And that's all Apple's fault.

    If that isn't bad enough for you, Apple is now abusing patents worse than IBM or MS ever did, among other litigation like suing manufacturers for the use of concentric rectangles with rounded corners, and and is currently the #1 employer of ethically questionable labor.

    The way I see it if you hated MS in the 90's you should sure as hell hate Apple now.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  47. Re:battery life by Overzeetop · · Score: 4, Informative

    Same as current iPad2 (10h, 9h with 4G).

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  48. Re:Still don't want one by Isaac-Lew · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I already have that - the Asus Transformer Prime.

  49. Wow, if that isn't pointless nitpicking... by Petersko · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "excuse me here, but i thought a retina display implied ~300dpi this one falls a fair bit short of the mark if i'm not mistaken so once again apple marketing triumphs over al"l

    264 dpi, 2048x1536 in 10 inches... maybe your complaint is about some imagined deficiency, but if you'd care to explain how this is actually a failure, I'd love to hear it. Are you actually complaining that if you freeze frame and squint really hard from two inches away you can actually make out... (gasp)... pixels? Because you couldn't make them out at normal viewing distance.

    In other words, tell me how your post isn't just a knee-jerk, pointless, anti-apple jab with no redeeming value.

  50. Re:Still don't want one by rhook · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You can easily get two laptops for the price of one iPad.

  51. Re:Nice upgrade, but no big surprises in the new i by Skadet · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just what I'm looking for -- a distribution professional to do my PR.

  52. Re:Still don't want one by rhook · · Score: 4, Informative

    And now you have 150+ employees who get less work done than ever before.

  53. Re:Still don't want one by pushing-robot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let's see...what apps did Apple cover in the keynote? Autodesk Sketchbook, GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, the iWork suite and a couple games. Yeah, no content creation at all.

    It doesn't surprise me that you were modded up, as Slashdot is full of geeks that spend their lives in front of keyboards. However, it might surprise you to discover that the world managed to create a great many things before keyboards were ever invented. It's hardly a requirement for creativity, and in many tasks is even a hindrance.

    Demanding that the iPad come with a built-in keyboard to suit your needs is like musicians demanding the iPad come with guitar strings or artists demanding it come with stylus support and a set of digitizer pens. The iPad is generic. If you have specific needs, buy a damn accessory.

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  54. Re:Still don't want one by Overzeetop · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, but then you'd have to carry around two laptops.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  55. Re:Still don't want one by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But I bet they feel more prestigious.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  56. Because so many applications suck in DPI by tepples · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why do all notebook displays suck in dpi?

    Because so many applications suck in DPI. Vertical market applications may not have been tested at any DPI other than the Windows default of 96. So if you set your window system's DPI so that text remains readable, your applications are likely to become ugly at best or unusable at worst. This has caused a lack of demand for laptop-sized high-DPI panels.

  57. So where are the rest of the super hi-res screens? by edmicman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Alright, so count me as a doubter that didn't think they'd pull out the super hi-res screen and keep it at the same price. So all of a sudden Apple comes out of nowhere with screen resolution that leapfrogs everything out there, including pretty much all of the LCD desktop monitors that I've used. So where is everyone else with super hi-res screens on commodity LCD monitors, laptops, etc.? Let alone Android tablets? When and where will we see those?

  58. Re:Still don't want one by afidel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Available apps, 3G connection, touch interface, weight. Also you don't have to use the keyboard, it's just there in case you happen to have a need to enter a large amount of text. They're probably not used very often but since they cost about the same as a month of data service it was a very small part of the TCO calculation and potentially added a large amount of value.

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  59. Re:Still don't want one by Sebastopol · · Score: 4, Funny

    yes, we need EVERYONE to be content creators. because if there's one thing i learned from teaching guitar lessons for 5 years, EVERYONE is a rockstar.

    --
    https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
  60. Cores: the reason by DrYak · · Score: 5, Informative

    For whatever reason, the PowerVR mobile GPUs are described in number of cores.

    Well there's a technical reason. To go back to the grand parent:

    You talk about them in terms of shaders, ROPs, TMUs and so on.

    These are organised in a module. The various different models in a range a distinguished by the number of such modules. (That's what the number of "Streming Multiprocessor" is in tables of GeForce cards).

    Either by product binning: the factory makes GPU with 8 such modules, then test how many of these are actually usable and how many have defects and then activate between 1 and 7 of them and sells them as a different product in the same range. From "GPU Destructor 990 XL-Deluxe Elite" (with 7 of the 8 core activated - and needs 3 12v connectors) down to "GPU Destructor 120 Light Laptop Edition (only 1 usable core, but sips only 30 Watts). (And some time less core are activated than actually usable due to demand and offer economic laws, leading to users who try to unlock core and convert one card to the next one in the series simply by flashing a new firmware - a classic with some GeForce series).

    Or by producing variants: Desktop range a based on a 8-module design, Laptop range have a 4 module design at a finer process, so it uses a lot less energy.
    (I know some ATI/AMD GPUs are organised so).

    In the case of PowerVR, from what I remember, GPUs were designed to be able to work in parallel (I think: each GPU taking care of a different tile of the deferred tile-based rendering). So it's very likely that maket speak "4 core GPU" means "4 modules" which in fact is "4 powerVRs working in parallel" (for a speed increase approaching 4x).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  61. Re:Still don't want one by tepples · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have a desktop and a laptop to do "real" computing on.

    But how long until the iPad becomes so deceptively capable that people buy it as their only computer?

  62. Re:Still don't want one by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can easily get two laptops for the price of one iPad.

    Heck, in terms of mass - with those two $250 laptops you're getting 10-20x the value in kilograms/dollar!

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  63. Re:Still don't want one by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    You're holding them wrong.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  64. Re:yawn by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Naw, it's the "best and brightest" execs that are the real expense. Foxconn workers get $0.35 an hour while the execs get $100 million bonuses.

    Which is fine. You should be paid according to what it costs to replace you.

    Just imagine if they had shitty third rate execs who only got $90 million in bonuses.

    They might have to pay the workers 40 cents an hour! The sky would fall in.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  65. Re:So where are the rest of the super hi-res scree by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Informative

    There are already a bunch of Android tablets announced with 1080p screens, starting with Asus TF700. They are probably not aiming higher than 1080p because Android apps can generally adjust pretty well to screen of a different size and proportions.

  66. Re:Still don't want one by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    I dodged that bullet. My mom got my daughter and american doll with matching pony. My daughter could car less, but that wouldn't be very likely.

    OTOH, she loves her model rocket, and is looking forward to this summers robot building project.

    so, what I am saying is.. I Win.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  67. Re:And yet the market is disappointed by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Informative

    Right. So when you didn't think AAPL was growing it was a "big yawn". Now you know it is, it's "bubble". How childish are you?

    This despite the fact that my post you replies to said iPad growth, not AAPL growth. Here, take a look at those.
    http://frncs.co/apple/

    Or look at it another way. Only 2 years on the market and Apple already sells more iPads than any PC manufacturer sells PCs.

    Bubbles are irrational rises in stock price based on sentiment. AAPLs rise is based on unprecedented sales growth.

  68. Too large? Absurd. by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    1280 pixels is the sweet spot for browsing

    It is silly to think in terms like that for browsing.

    On a smaller screen the increase in pixel density is very useful, because you are mostly looking at fairly scaled down web pages. The text can render readably even down to as small as five points or so, which makes the whole browser more usable because you spend less time zooming in and out to read.

    The iPhone4 screen has been fantastic for reading, I am REALLY looking forward to this newer high DPI screen for reading all kinds of things, browsing among them.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  69. Re:End users who don't know how to set DPI by White+Flame · · Score: 3, Informative

    "it just really doesn't work well with most people, and the software (which is *absolutely* and *inextricably* part of the technology needed for this to work) is not up to the task".

    Says who? Why do you think this is the case? And no, the software has absolutely nothing to do with it. I'm looking right now at my 22" >200dpi displays running 4pt fonts (not OS scaled) in my code editors, having salvaged IBM's monitors that used to be made for medical imaging, and yes the pixels are discernable. 99% of the onscreen text is still made with 1-pixel wide strokes and is clearly legible (at normal ~10 pt non-OS-scaled sizes) to regular people over my shoulder as I show them things. Comparable pixels are also discernable on the N800 I used to use, which is also in a similar DPI range iirc.

    Lots of high-end technical users want to do the same and run things as small & sharp as are perceptible to them WITHOUT any scaling. All's that's needed are high-DPI monitors, no OS changes at all. Works fine in Windows, Linux, and whatever else you want. Again, this is a prosumer market desire, not something to foist onto the average person.

  70. Re:Queue the stupid by Uberbah · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's the fact that this was the worst point in your crappy post. Apple makes a tiny profit off the App Store but they treat it as a loss leader. Most of the money goes first to developers, then to credit card companies, then to store maintenance, then a tiny profit left over for them.

    But, Apple Haterz gotta Hate. By any means necessary.

  71. Re:So where are the rest of the super hi-res scree by narcc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Apple painted themselves into a corner resolution-wise. They have to double it, or not change it at all.

    For some reason iOS developers all forgot how to code for multiple screen resolutions -- even though they've (for the most part) been doing it for years, and handling highly variable aspect ratios at the same time.

    Even when I'm targeting a specific mobile device, I make sure that the layout adapts correctly to various resolutions and aspect ratios. It takes very little extra work and the rewards are great when your needs change in the future and you need to port it to a different device or class of devices with different resolutions and aspect ratios.

  72. A laptop costs more than a desktop and does less. by Brannon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Your move, Einstein.