They’ve done it again. Those boys at Cupertino are going to ransack your wallet a second third fourth time with the iPad, a totally new and innovative (read: it’s been done before) perfectly hyped and marketed brick that is going to perform exactly the same functions as the iPod Touch/iPhone, but with a better specification and a larger screen size (that shouldn’t have borders, but I guess they’re there to create an illusion of scale).
Do it like Nintendo
That means what it says. I’ve always been one to noitice the parallels between Apple’s business model and Nintedo’s. Sell the same old junk every generation/three quarters, modify the software a bit and add a gimmick. Have they no shame? What’s the gimmick this time? Well, if you count pricing plans as a gimmick, that’s two. The other is the ability to use (almost) all the App store apps. Wait, that’s software-centered marketing. I guess the gimmick is the iPad’s screen size. Here’s the gimmick. Seriously, what’s in this thing that makes it different from the iPhone/Touch? They’re practically performing the same stunt they did with the initial iPhone release. No, the browser won’t have flash support (but you do get a built-in Youtube application, akin to the iPhone). No, you don’t get significant Bluetooth support (again akin to the iPhone). See this guy? He’s doing exaclty what he could be doing with the iPhone/Touch, in fact that also happens to be one of the first thing any iPhone/Touch user does. Are you starting to catch my drift yet?
Are you seeing any parallels here to the iPod Touch/iPhone business model?
Without 3G (akin to the iPod Touch having no 3G/phone capabilities):
• $499: 16GB
• $599: 32GB
• $699: 32GB
With 3G (akin to the iPhone being an overpriced iPod Touch with phone capabilities):
• $629: 16GB
• $729: 32GB
• $829: 32GB
You get one with an extra aerial/connection option, and one without. Except the price difference is roughly $200, yet you still buy these damn bricks! Oh well, it looks good enough; it is essentially an oversised iPod Touch/iPhone. The A4 looks like a decent system-on-a-chip, but again, nothing innovative here. I would have been somewhat impressed had this sported an OLED screen, but hey, they are doing it like Nintendo after all…
Lol shame, shame means nothing to those scumbags over there.