iPads

[Pheat]

I sell mp3 players mp4 players tablets and various other electronic goods from china

I myself use an apple I pad by far the best tablet on the market for many reasons

But expensive

You. Get what you pay for apple goods are the best on the market by a mile

[BadWingman]

 

You. Get what you pay for This I agree with. apple goods are the best on the market by a mile This I would say is Fanboy talk.

[Touchagrey]

 

Do you mean the ipad or the ipad. lol. The first and third gen are the same name. The current generation 16gig ipad is still $499. USD, last time I checked. $329. is probably either the entry level mini or the ipad II.

 

Have to admit that I'm confused about your comment. You're not bothered by Apple's profit margins, as you get value for your dollar, but your dollar is only stretching half as much in terms of actual value if half is going right into Apple's pocket. If a company breaks even on the device, then you are getting 100% value on your dollar, no? Apple is already the world's most valuable company, and has crazy money reserves, so I'm not interested in lining their pockets on those types of margins anymore. They should give their customers a break on this price gouging. At least hit the same margins as the rest of the electronics industry--15-25%. 50% and up is just plain crazy.

Yes, iPad mini is their entry level iPad product. Same processor and resolution as iPad 2, better cameras, same apps and software ecosystem, smaller sized screen. We WERE talking about the entry level price.

 

Value is measured by the utility to ME. Has nothing to do with manufacturing cost or margins. My personal perception is that the iPad far better serves my needs than any of the competing and lower priced Android models, and that I'm willing to pay a premium for that privilege. I don't view the buying process as comparing one bag of integrated circuits, batteries, LCDs, and touch screens, with another bag. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

 

I don't begrudge your exercise of choice in a free market. Given that you feel there are other products that suit your needs rather than those from Apple implies there's no price gouging going on. The definition of price gouging is: prices obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits. Given the plethora of tablet brands, models, and software ecosystems available at a wide range of prices, the free market is doing fine. Apple seems to make tablet products which are priced quite high in comparison to others with the same manufacturing cost, yet they still can't make them fast enough to satisfy demand. Kudos to them!

 

As I said from the beginning, I'm no Apple fan-boy. I don't buy Apple desktop or laptop computers. For the things I do, the Apples are less useful than the straight-up PCs I do purchase. Oddly enough, my Windows and Linux PCs are better for what I use them for because I've transferred some of my computer usage to my iPad. I rarely web browse, participate in forums, do email, watch video, shop, etc... on a PC; most seems to happen on my iPad. What's left for the PC is software and multimedia development. Eclipse, Netbeans, Adobe Creative Suite, etc... run equally well on a PC vs an Apple, and the hardware cost is 1/4 in the PC world.

 

 

[Little Evil]

Yes, iPad mini is their entry level iPad product. Same processor and resolution as iPad 2, better cameras, same apps and software ecosystem, smaller sized screen. We WERE talking about the entry level price.

 

Value is measured by the utility to ME. Has nothing to do with manufacturing cost or margins. My personal perception is that the iPad far better serves my needs than any of the competing and lower priced Android models, and that I'm willing to pay a premium for that privilege. I don't view the buying process as comparing one bag of integrated circuits, batteries, LCDs, and touch screens, with another bag. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

 

I don't begrudge your exercise of choice in a free market. Given that you feel there are other products that suit your needs rather than those from Apple implies there's no price gouging going on. The definition of price gouging is: prices obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits. Given the plethora of tablet brands, models, and software ecosystems available at a wide range of prices, the free market is doing fine. Apple seems to make tablet products which are priced quite high in comparison to others with the same manufacturing cost, yet they still can't make them fast enough to satisfy demand. Kudos to them!

 

As I said from the beginning, I'm no Apple fan-boy. I don't buy Apple desktop or laptop computers. For the things I do, the Apples are less useful than the straight-up PCs I do purchase. Oddly enough, my Windows and Linux PCs are better for what I use them for because I've transferred some of my computer usage to my iPad. I rarely web browse, participate in forums, do email, watch video, shop, etc... on a PC; most seems to happen on my iPad. What's left for the PC is software and multimedia development. Eclipse, Netbeans, Adobe Creative Suite, etc... run equally well on a PC vs an Apple, and the hardware cost is 1/4 in the PC world.

 

I appreciate the well thought out reply. I like debating topics with people who clearly understand what they are talking about. However...

 

Apple made it quite apparent that the mini is not just a smaller ipad--that it is more of its own category. I kind of agree with that sentiment, and don't consider the mini the entry level unit for the ipad series. Rather, I consider the 16gig version of each model the entry level. I hadn't even considered the mini in my initial post, so when I was referring to "entry level", I meant the 10" 16gig 3rd gen wifi. I'm no fanboy either. I use what works. I will admit being a little disgruntled with Apple's pricing over the years, having ended my Apple computer purchase history with their beige box G3 series running OS7. Things just got way to pricey in Apple land, and like you said, I could just as easily run content creation software on a PC at a fraction of the cost. My Macromedia/Adobe products ran great on a PC, so why pay the premium? That being said, I do think Apple is currently price gouging (thanks for the definition, btw ;) I'm not sure I even want to open this can of worms, but they are price gouging by suing everyone in the industry over IP rights. While some lawsuits might make sense, the majority are frivolous claims to elementary industrial design concepts like rectangles and colors. It has allowed them to crush the competition in terms of industrial design, or rather allowed Apple to not have any competition in industrial design. With Apple in control over concepts like aluminum unibody, you are now paying their premium because they have the only tablet on the market that has that feature. There are only so many ways you can make a functional tablet, and Apple claims rights to some of the most basic concepts. it forces the competition into designing away from clean, intuitive designs, because Apple owns those rights. Just imagine what the flatscreen TV market would be like if Apple cornered that market early? That's a market where all devices look pretty much the same and function pretty much the same, yet there is still healthy competition. It would have been a 2, maybe 3 horse show, instead of the dozen or so quality brands you can buy today. What if Ford told BWM to stop using aluminum frames, as they were the first to use it (just an example, no idea if true).

 

So, I don't personally find value in the ipad. As I've said already, I do think Apple has the best hardware right now, but I think the prices are artificially inflated. It is the best because Apple isn't allowing competition. Samsung and Asus have done a commendable job working around these design obstacles, but they are still getting sued by Apple for IP infringement. The reality is, the competition won't be on an equal playing field until judges start throwing these cases out. Then all these companies will go back to innovating instead of designing around IP. When that happens, Apple will be forced to drop their prices. In the mean time, Google is going to continue to develop quality electronics and skip over the high-end industrial design in favor of undercutting Apple's pricing. I didn't even bring up Android vs IOS, because those are just about equal playing fields in my mind now.

[Touchagrey]

@Little Evil - I don't disagree with much in your reply. Much of the issues you rightly speak of relate to underinvestment in expertise and capacity at the US Patent and Trademark Office. I don't think they have the skills or the manpower to properly evaluate patent applications, and their fallback is to rely on the court system to do their work. By their nature, juries are in no way capable of resolving the technical or business complexities of patent disputes, but conveniently the financial burden of the dispute falls on the litigants and not the USPTO.

 

Don't know if you've had much hands on time with the iPad mini, but it actually is a delightful device, most definitely a full fledged tablet. In every way, other than screen size, it is equal to, or better than the current iPad 2. Give it a try before you discount it as being a non-contender. It may still rankle you with regard to margins and pricing, but I don't think it will disappoint functionally in comparison to its big sisters.

 

IOS vs Android...too many issues to discuss here. The closed IOS ecosystem tends to result in a more consistent user experience and generally more reliable apps, at the expense of locking out a lot of innovative apps that turn up in the Android universe, not to mention all the good porn. Initially I thought I would not be able to tolerate the confines of all the walls setup in IOS, but in my day to day use, I rarely come up against the problems I originally imagined would be the iPad's undoing. Don't think I'm trying to justify my choice after the fact. I simply find the IOS experience is worth the trade offs. I've even stopped jail breaking my devices. Never found it that useful.

 

All that said, ICS or Jellybean are also good software, when run on a decent tablet. Much more fun for the hacker genes in me. Don't think anyone reading this thread will go wrong with a quality Android tablet, although I still think the sub $100 Chinese ones are fatally flawed (sorry ScumBag.)

 

Anyway, the real debate here is which tablet is the most effective chick magnet in Pattaya. I'm already way too much a hansum man to need such an artificial prop. My big gut and open wallet seems to be all that's required to nail 'em whenever Mr. Happy demands attention!

[duffMaster]

 

Apple is already the world's most valuable company, and has crazy money reserves, so I'm not interested in lining their pockets on those types of margins anymore. They should give their customers a break on this price gouging. At least hit the same margins as the rest of the electronics industry--15-25%. 50% and up is just plain crazy.

I think they going to have to rethink. The competitors products are getting better and better and they are already there or pretty damn close when it comes to the phones. Many people love their Samsung galaxy 3 , HTC or Nokias Luminas and Apple has lost the edge it once had. The IPhone is a great phone but you can do the same or even more on the competitors products and Apples user friendliness OS just don't have the same advantage as before, Android and the new Windows 8 are catching up fast.

 

The new tablets from Samsung, Windows, Sony, Asus get great reviews even if IPad is still no:1 ...but for how long? I own a IPad myself , it's great! , but I'm not going to make a promise that next tablet is going to be an Apple product. I make my choice based on the product , prestanda , quality and of course price . This was the reason why I rejected iPhone 5 for the New Nokia with Windows 8. I saved 250 USD. I'm very happy with my choice, it's a great quality phone and cudos to Microsoft whom have done something right for a change , with a user friendly operation system.

[Derbytony]

Are you sure it is not a fake? 4000 Baht sounds awfully cheap for a Samsung.

 

 

That sounds nothing like the one that I have been shown..... Although I have to say that it is a direct import at cost price.

 

 

 

Definitely a fake. It is printed Samsung on the front, albeit not quite straight. I knew it was a fake when I bought

it, but thought it might last a bit longer than a couple of weeks!!

[Touchagrey]

The new tablets from Samsung, Windows, Sony, Asus get great reviews even if IPad is still no:1 ...but for how long?.

Agree that Apple needs to stay on their game. However, when the Mini was announced, I thought WTF, this is way overpriced and a major bonehead move on Apple's part. Meanwhile, in the States, if you don't pre-order one today (Dec. 8) you're not going to get it for Christmas. Chain stores are all sold out... all thats left is a delayed pre-order direct from Apple (can you say "Max Margin?") Shows ya what a stupid market forecaster I am! We'll have to see whether all those great reviews for the competitors turn into lumps of coal or gold in the companies' Christmas stockings.

[PepeLePew]

BTW, I've spent much of my life thinking poorly of Apple fan-boys, yet my iPad is, hands down, the single best gadget I own and use for hours every day. My work exposes me to the competition (mostly Android tablets), and for me, the iPad is worth every over-priced dollar. Just my personal experience. YMMV

 

I have to agree 100% and I'm no fanboy. In fact I hate Apple and the way they control every little thing about their products however I have recently got an iPad and it is by far and away the best tech purchase I have made in years. I think I'm at the stage in life where I can't be arsed with messing about. Just like when I buy a TV I simply want to turn the thing on and see it work.

 

I heard Apple described as being a 'gated community within the internet' and I think that's an accurate statement. No jail breaking for me!

 

As for buying fake electrical goods in Thailand - don't bother. You are simply buying frustration and disappointment.

[honkytonkjim]

Ipad is without doubt the best gadget on the market. I bought my ipad 2 last year and I am soon to buy a newer model next month.

 

Costs more but worth it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[honkytonkjim]

Oh and get it jailbroken. IOS 5.01 using Cydia and it's great

Use the camera kit to enable an SD card slot and you never have to use the iTunes anchorage. I just transfer films and music straight across. Get iFile and that exposes the underlying file system so you get a windows explorer style interface.

 

It's great.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Scumbag]

Oh and get it jailbroken. IOS 5.01 using Cydia and it's great

Use the camera kit to enable an SD card slot and you never have to use the iTunes anchorage. I just transfer films and music straight across. Get iFile and that exposes the underlying file system so you get a windows explorer style interface.

 

It's great.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

This for me is the thing that totally turns me off about Apple products. Why should I have to have a work-around to use a product, that I have paid for, the way I want to? For me the freedom to do as I wish far out-weighs the benefit of a product 'that just works'. I can understand why people want something that they can not fuck up but I like to be able to fiddle with things behind the front door.

[PepeLePew]

 

This for me is the thing that totally turns me off about Apple products. Why should I have to have a work-around to use a product, that I have paid for, the way I want to? For me the freedom to do as I wish far out-weighs the benefit of a product 'that just works'. I can understand why people want something that they can not fuck up but I like to be able to fiddle with things behind the front door.

 

I think that's one of the beauties of an iPad. If you want it to 'just work' it does. If you want to fuck it up, you can!

 

Lots of stuff about Apple still bugs me though. As mentioned the standard photo file handling sucks but there are plenty of apps that let you handle them and organise them like any normal human would. iTunes is a pile of shit. I avoid it as much as possible which is difficult but ultimately rewarding. To be fair though all operating systems have their idiosyncrasies. As I have no intention of writing my own I put up with them. I looked at a few android tablets and they seem nice enough and certainly do the job. For me though the iPad was just the easy option. I knew it would do what it said on the tin, it has by far the best apps and App Store and just feels the nicest to me.