Apple to upset the tech cart on Wednesday

[Ed Anger]

Knock the price down to 200 bucks and I'll think about it.

That's not going to happen and you know it.

I guess I'm not cool enough for Apple and iHipsters then.

We already knew that grandpa.

[Barrister]

That's not bad.

Seriously.  This thing is a giant iPhone.  Without subsidies, the iPhone starts at that same price.  When you consider the extra cost of the larger screen, the price seems reasonable.

Whether it's "worth it" is a whole different question, but those specs, those dimensions, that seems like a good price (but of course in typical Apple fasion if you load up the accessories and options the price quickly mounts up).

[The Brain]

I don't want it and I don't need it. And Jobs is gay.

[derspiess]

No multitasking

Kudos to them for making a $499 version, but if I were going to buy something like this, I'd go for the Archos 9 running Win7 https://store.archos.com/product_info.php?id=96

Or I'd sacrifice screen size & go with Android awesomeness: http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5it/index.html

In any case, it is amusing to yet again hear Apple act as if they invented a product line that already existed.

[Barrister]

My thought:

This seems like a device designed to be used while sitting on the couch.  It almost sounds designed to be used by my wife (who likes to watch tv in the bedroom, while surfing the web on the laptop).  It's something I'd consider buying for her, maybe for Christmas 2010.

Myself, I have trouble seeing where it'd fit into my life, although I think it sounds neat.

[MadBurgerMaker]

So this falls between a laptop and a smartphone?    As someone with a regular Windows laptop and an iphone, what does this thing give me that I don't already have?  Is it essentially just a touchscreen Netbook type deal? 

This seems like a device designed to be used while sitting on the couch.  It almost sounds designed to be used by my wife (who likes to watch tv in the bedroom, while surfing the web on the laptop).  It's something I'd consider buying for her, maybe for Christmas 2010.

Yeah both my wife and I do that while we're watching TV.  There are laptops and desktops and goddamn iphones all over this house. 

[Barrister]

In any case, it is amusing to yet again hear Apple act as if they invented a product line that already existed.

Yet amazingly they manage to get away with it, and manage to redfine the product line.

[Berkut]

That's not bad.

Seriously.  This thing is a giant iPhone.  Without subsidies, the iPhone starts at that same price. 

Except that in the real world, nobody buys it for that price - an iPhone is $199. And that $499 tag is for the completely gimped version.

The "good" iPhone is $300, so compare that to the "good" iPad at $850. You are getting into the prices for pretty decent laptops at that point.

It isn't a terrible price for Apples normal ridiculously over-priced products, but to call it "not bad" is pretty amusing. Of course it is bad, as long as you are comparing apples to non-apples, anyway.
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[Barrister]

So this falls between a laptop and a smartphone?    As someone with a regular Windows laptop and an iphone, what does this thing give me that I don't already have?  Is it essentially just a touchscreen Netbook type deal?

You've pretty much got it.  It does everything an iPhone does, yet with a larger screen (don't laugh - that could be nice for watching movies, reading books, playing games).  It does 90% of what a laptop does, yet much lighter and with better battery life.

[Barrister]

Except that in the real world, nobody buys it for that price - an iPhone is $199. And that $499 tag is for the completely gimped version.

The "good" iPhone is $300, so compare that to the "good" iPad at $850. You are getting into the prices for pretty decent laptops at that point.

It isn't a terrible price for Apples normal ridiculously over-priced products, but to call it "not bad" is pretty amusing. Of course it is bad, as long as you are comparing apples to non-apples, anyway.

Speaking of comparing 'apples to non-apples', you can't possible comopare an iPhone sold with a massive carrier subsidy (and an enormous 3 year contract) to an unlocked device.

And Speiss's Archos tablet seemed to be the same price as the iPad.

[MadBurgerMaker]

You've pretty much got it.  It does everything an iPhone does, yet with a larger screen (don't laugh - that could be nice for watching movies, reading books, playing games).  It does 90% of what a laptop does, yet much lighter and with better battery life.

Seems reasonably cool, like those Archos things speiss was mentioning.  I kind of wonder if the iPhone OS and such might be a little too limited for something like this though.  I wonder why they didn't just put....what is it Snow Leopard?...on there instead.  Surely it can run it.

[Barrister]

Seems reasonably cool, like those Archos things speiss was mentioning.  I kind of wonder if the iPhone OS and such might be a little too limited for something like this though.  I wonder why they didn't just put....what is it Snow Leopard?...on there instead.  Surely it can run it.

I think it goes like this:

-put Snow Leopard on it and you are selling it to Mac users (a small niche)
-put iPhone OS on it and you are selling it to iPhone users (a much larger niche)

Plus Snow Leopard runs on Intel chips, while this sucker uses some fancy proprietary ARM chip.  OS X apps wouldn't automatically run in the iPad, whereas one of the selling points of this thing is that each of the 100k+ iPhone apps will run on this from day one.

It sounds pretty cool.  I'm sure as hell not buying one in the immediate future, but it sounds cool.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I think it goes like this:

-put Snow Leopard on it and you are selling it to Mac users (a small niche)
-put iPhone OS on it and you are selling it to iPhone users (a much larger niche)

Plus Snow Leopard runs on Intel chips, while this sucker uses some fancy proprietary ARM chip.  OS X apps wouldn't automatically run in the iPad, whereas one of the selling points of this thing is that each of the 100k+ iPhone apps will run on this from day one.

It sounds pretty cool.  I'm sure as hell not buying one in the immediate future, but it sounds cool.

Yeah that makes sense about the sales.  I suppose I might be in the minority that is an iPhone but not a Mac user, but would probably give it more of a look if it had a "full" OS, instead of the one I'm looking at now.  I like the long battery life though.  Oh well.

[MadImmortalMan]

Yay! A Newton!

[Berkut]

Except that in the real world, nobody buys it for that price - an iPhone is $199. And that $499 tag is for the completely gimped version.

The "good" iPhone is $300, so compare that to the "good" iPad at $850. You are getting into the prices for pretty decent laptops at that point.

It isn't a terrible price for Apples normal ridiculously over-priced products, but to call it "not bad" is pretty amusing. Of course it is bad, as long as you are comparing apples to non-apples, anyway.

Speaking of comparing 'apples to non-apples', you can't possible comopare an iPhone sold with a massive carrier subsidy (and an enormous 3 year contract) to an unlocked device.

Then why were you doing so?

And Speiss's Archos tablet seemed to be the same price as the iPad.

Selling like hotcakes is that thing?