back to article You like iPads, you like things called 'Air'. You will LOVE this puppy

As expected, Apple refreshed its iPad lineup on Tuesday morning. Unexpectedly, it renamed its top-of-the-line 9.7-inch tablet to the iPad Air. Seeing as how the MacBook Air has been one of Apple's most successful products in recent years, it's perhaps no surprise that Cook & Co.'s marketing folks decided to borrow some of that …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Innovation ...

    ... we've heard of it.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Take the best tablet and make it better. Can't wait to see apps making use of 64bit and the A7 power - time to upgrade my iPad 2 ;-)

    1. Pookietoo
      FAIL

      Re: Take the best tablet and make it better

      By fitting a motion sensor that can't quite get directions right?

    2. WhoaWhoa

      "Take the best tablet and make it better. Can't wait to see apps making use of 64bit and the A7 power - time to upgrade my iPad 2 ;-)"

      If only they had. Both. Either.

    3. mrfill

      "Take the best tablet and make it better. "

      Yes, the new Nexus is very good indeed.

  3. Christopher Rogers

    Hard Acts to Follow

    Cook and David Moyes could console each other on how the last boss made their lives so much harder...

    Today was a day of meh from Apple, Nokia took the spoils.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hard Acts to Follow

      Noki-who - really. Meh - Maverics and new apps would have been significant on it's own - oh and Maverics is free whereas Windows 8 is how much as an upgrade...??

      Add in the new iPads, new Macbooks, Mac Pro etc. and it's a lot to announce.

      1. WhoaWhoa

        Re: Hard Acts to Follow

        "oh and Maverics is free"

        Guess you didn't notice where they hid the price.

        So their business model is still working with their target audience, poor b*st*rds.

        1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
          WTF?

          Re: Hard Acts to Follow

          Would you please enlighten us as to where Apple has hidden the price of Mavericks?

          My 2009 MacBook is downloading it now. The front page in the apple store clearly says FREE.

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Mike Bell

      Re: Hard Acts to Follow

      "Today was a day of meh from Apple"

      Rubbish. The announcement that Apple's desktop OS is from this point hence to be free was pretty big news.

      1. WhoaWhoa

        Re: Hard Acts to Follow

        "Rubbish. The announcement that Apple's desktop OS is from this point hence to be free was pretty big news."

        Have I got a deal for you...

        - From now on I'll sell you fries at twenty dollars a helping and give you free ketchup.

        - Yo! No one else gives free ketchup. High-five me for that!

      2. Christopher Rogers

        Re: Hard Acts to Follow

        Just like google's. Their apps are free too. And its only big news if you own an intel based Mac.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Faster, lighter, thinner, iOS 7, 64bit A7 what's there not to like and sets the bar that bit higher. Sure there will be plenty of Android people criticising but they would never have bought it anyway. For someone buying a new tablet or upgrading an older iPad it's a great option. Nice to see the older (and still perfectly good) iPads still being sold at lower prices.

    1. hammarbtyp

      old ipad still too expensive

      "Nice to see the older iPads still being sold at lower prices"

      Yep yesterdays technology sold at todays prices. Google must be really worried

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: old ipad still too expensive

        It's Apple's older technology but still people want it because it's still very good.

        1. Darryl

          Re: old ipad still too expensive

          It's Apple's older technology but still people want it because it still has an Apple logo on the back

          FIFY

          1. Captain Queeg

            Re: old ipad still too expensive

            Both versions are equally valid....

        2. WhoaWhoa

          Re: old ipad still too expensive

          "It's Apple's older technology but still people want it because it's still very good."

          Did you consider the possibility that it's aimed at the sort of buyer who doesn't know any better and never really understood those computer thingies anyway?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: old ipad still too expensive

            Ah, you mean around 95% of the market. The overwhelming majority who don't sit there trying to score points using benchmarks and becoming sexually aroused by discussions around such main stream subjects as memory bandwidth or heat dissipation. :-)

            That same segment most, if not all manufacturers are chasing.

            It seems to me that being a geek in any way shape or form these days is a losing bet. In most cases a device will do all anyone needs but playing the geek game will always see something else made by someone else being in some minor respect "better".

            Better, I think, to make your own decision and enjoy your purchase - life's too short to get lost in worthless stats for the sake of them today..

          2. @991e

            Re: old ipad still too expensive

            i.e. most consumers!!

        3. Christopher Rogers

          Re: old ipad still too expensive

          Its still for sale cos Apple know the dangers of holding stacks of old stock, so they do what they do best, re-market it.

      2. Philippe

        Re: old ipad still too expensive

        Those iPads 2 are bought by schools and/or companies. (mine being one of the them).

        Yes those customers were worried of being forced into changing cases, charging devices and car setup if the iPad had been replaced by a similarly priced iPad4.

        It's not about the specs, it's what you do with it and believe it or not many companies have far more use for those than they have for the latest Nexus (however "good" and however priced).

    2. SuccessCase

      A potentially "killer" (overused word that) aspect to this new iPad, that surprisingly wasn't particularly discussed, is the much enhanced gaming potential it holds. The 64bit processor and beefed up graphics are, with this generation, now close to matching (if not exceeding an xBox 360) console level of graphics. Pretty good for a non-dedicated mobile gaming device. I expect some premium franchise games will now get ported (or new iPad specific versions produced). latest Modern Warfare, Grand Theft Auto etc.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. poopypants

        @SuccessCase (much enhanced gaming potential)

        Sure, casual games on the iPad will get better. They will still only be casual games, however.

        Tablets will always be a casual games ghetto, simply because the form factor will never allow for a GPU that comes anywhere near the performance of larger, mains powered dedicated games consoles.

        Every increase in tablet GPU performance will be exceeded by a greater increase in contemporaneous console and gaming PC performance.

        Yes, the casual games will get better. There will be no comparison however with the experience that will come from, say, using the Oculus Rift with dual 4K screens running at the required minimum 60fps on a high end gaming PC (http://gamerant.com/oculus-rift-4k-resolution/).

        1. JDX Gold badge

          Re: @SuccessCase (much enhanced gaming potential)

          iPad is already more powerful than a gaming rig from a few years ago, so I'm not sure what your point is. A console is always far less powerful than a gaming rig but consoles are where the majority of non-casual games are played.

          The issue with iPad is the UI, not the processing grunt.

          1. CaptainPedantic

            Re: @SuccessCase (much enhanced gaming potential)

            Tablets will always be suited to casual games because the input system is so basic. Touch is great for popping bubbles but not much use for 3D games.

            For console-like games, you need console-like input devices such as joystick, wiimote, kinect, etc.

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

        3. JLV
          Thumb Down

          re. Tablets will always be a casual games ghetto

          Hmmm. To each his own.

          I have a PS3 and an unused Wii. I also had an Xbox gen 1.

          My background is hardcore wargames, strategy and FPS or RPG. Much prefer turn-based over real-time in most strategy/wargames. Past games: early Civs, Steel Panthers, pretty much the entire Total War series, Barbarossa, Quake. Most of these were on PCs.

          There are excellent games on consoles (I mostly like RPGs). But they do not really correspond much to what I like on PC games. Tablets have a better chance to evolve in that direction.

          The problem as I see it is the limited way a console allows you control things quickly. You can run, turn and hit action keys very well.

          You can't really aim quickly like you would with a mouse pointer, nor can you navigate complex menus to check/activate items, or group select units. Forget the complex commands you can have with keyboards. So there are whole categories of games which drop out of consoles, though there are other categories that are best on consoles.

          Btw, a similar problem happens when people try to use a TV/console to surf the web. It sucks, because of the controls.

          Civ on a tablet (iPad in this case, but it could be a Samsung) is much less dumbed-down than Civ on a PS3. Battle Academy is a fairly challenging turn-based wargame. Total War is stripped down, but not an easy game to beat.

          The price of tablet games IS casual, sure. And there are plenty of stupid games on tablets (Unhappy Volatiles comes to mind). But tablets come closer to delivering a mouse/keyboard combo's fine-grained UI than a console's controller or a WII/Kinect. For the games I like, that's an edge.

          Just because it ain't got fast graphics doesn't mean you can't code a clever game. Quite the contrary in fact - too many classic games are mangled when the focus is only on graphics.

      3. Eddy Ito

        "now close to matching (if not exceeding an xBox 360) console level of graphics"

        You are aware you are comparing a brand spanking new iPad that goes for several times the price of an old and fading gaming console, aren't you? Comparing the two is a bit like comparing pears to papaya since the new Xbox One will be about the same price as an iPad Air but that's about where the real comparisons stop. Sure, they both have processors and run software but so does the ECU in my car which, to put it in context for whatever it's worth, is close to matching if not exceeding the processing power of the 80286 I had a couple decades ago. Sorry, to me both comparisons just sound silly.

      4. Ben 54

        Did you just???

        Did you just compare the performance to an XBOX360? Well, not going to rip into the tech details there, not worth my time. I will reserve my conversation with people of my peers who actually design and work with HW and SW design.

        Lets talk architecture. Yes, it's a 64bit processor. Hooray you say? Well, it's because all fanbois are sheep, and just knows terminology without actually understand the implications. Let me clarify this point, unless software were written to utilize the low level changes, and actually were optimized for it, the gain is zero (sorry, some existing apps might have a negative gain). This has been the issue on all platforms, as soon as they migrated from 8 to 16 to 32 - there were always new obstacles to overcome. For one, memory. I will not going into mem structures with fanbois, since most will not understand 99% of it, but it's best you read up and educated yourself. There is so much more apple is not telling people on this change, it's a joke.

        And btw, enjoy your Samsung manufactured processor (yes fanbois, your enemy actually MAKE your beloved brain for your ithingy).

        1. Philip Lewis
          IT Angle

          Re: Did you just??? @Ben 54

          The 64bitness is far less important (as you point out) than the fact that it is a newer ARM revision, which amongst other things adds registers - the benefit of which you ought to fully understand.

          Apple are not hiding anything nor claiming anything that the new architecture is not.

          Get over yourself!

          (That being said, xBox vs. iPad was a strange comparison)

        2. Frankee Llonnygog

          Re: Did you just???

          Yes, the Apple-customised ARM processor is made in a Samsung fab which Apple will switch production to and from whenever it suits them technically or commercially. What's your point?

        3. SuccessCase

          Re: Did you just???

          @Ben 54

          Actually you, like many people on this subject, are talking horse manure.

          http://www.mikeash.com/pyblog/friday-qa-2013-09-27-arm64-and-you.html

          What's that about fanboy's being sheep? Applies to tech half-heads who regurgitate what they think they know before checking out the actual capabilities of the thing they are commenting on.

          Additionally your remark re-Samsung. They are a fab plant. They won't know the logic of Apple's customisation. Their contract will forbid them even reverse engineering it (which is now very difficult to do in any case). They can't use the processor if they want to. Samsung themselves use off the shelf arm processors and Apple employs more chip designers than Samsung. Apple are in fact one of the world's largest employers of chip designers.

          1. Philip Lewis

            Re: Did you just???

            "Apple are in fact one of the world's largest employers of chip designers."

            Sadly, this factoid does not stop the fandroids spouting of about how Apple is not a tech company though, does it.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Fixed!

      An Android tab, for someone buying a new tablet or upgrading an older iPad is a great option.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Fixed!

        No. No it isn't.

  5. ThomH

    Do space optimisation nerds exist?

    Is there a hardcore of designers who obsess over every millimetre in the same way that some programmers obsess over every processor cycle? I think maybe some of us are finally learning what it feels like to be the one giving the glazed-over look following an optimisation boast rather than the one receiving it.

    1. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: Do space optimisation nerds exist?

      Oh dear, that's just too true.

      On the other hand, without size optimisation if things were to go the same way that most Windows applications operate with regards to the optimisation of processor time, we'd be stuck with tablets that are about 2 metres thick.

      Efficiency != Buy newer hardware

  6. Tommy Pock

    The old New iPad

    It was - is - called 'The New iPad'. I'm already confused

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So far from being the champions of usability and making software useful Apple seem to have turned in an engineering willy waving company trying to amaze people with rather pointless stats.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I would not call significantly better battery life and memory compression just 'willy waving' - but oh if Google / Samsung had done it - well guess in 6-12 months they probably will.

      1. WhoaWhoa

        "I would not call significantly better battery life and memory compression just 'willy waving'"

        Exactly.

        If you're reduced to boasting about business as usual in the technology industry (yeah, battery got better, yeah, memory got better, yeah, CPU got better, etc.) it's better to keep your willy out of sight.

        Or you could take the t*ss*r approach and stick a glowing Apple on it. Cool. Not.

      2. Steven Raith

        "I would not call significantly better battery life and memory compression just 'willy waving' - but oh if Google / Samsung had done it - well guess in 6-12 months they probably will."

        *cough*

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zram

        I believe it works in the same manner - compressing swappable items in RAM, etc.

        That's been in the kernel as staging (experimental) since 2.6.37.1 - AKA Feb 2011. And wiki reports Chrome OS already uses it.

        So hardly revolutionary. Interesting to see it be used by default, and hopefully it might save me having to close my 400 tabs in Firefox (lazy bugger, me) as it gobbles up 3+gb of wired RAM....

        On the rest of it, was surprised at the free Mavericks update (which is now installed - I'll have to suppport it to a degree), and price changes on the MBA/Retina MBP range...

        Overally a more interesting announcement than I was expecting. Still a bit 'meh' about the Mac 'Pro' though. It can edit 4k in realtime - woo. In a year, most real workstations using addin cards (RED Rocket etc) that can gobble up the full PCI-E 3.0 x16 bandwidth will be doing 4k editing in multiples (or is it fractions? You know what I mean) of realtime...which you just can't do with Thunderbolt 2 to the best of my knowledge - not enough bandwidth, period.

        I'll definitely have a play with one if I get the chance though - shiny stuff is shiny stuff, regardless, and I like shiny stuff.

        Steven R

    2. Toothpick
      Stop

      ...... trying to amaze people with rather pointless stats

      Isn't this the domain of Samsung?

    3. Darkimmortal

      Not even particularly impressive stats either - the Sony Xperia Tablet Z was released 6 months earlier and is 0.6mm thinner. And on top of that it's waterproof and has a micro SD slot.

      1. joejack

        @Darkimmortal

        Started looking at the Xperia after seeing your post. It also has an FM radio, IR with nice TV guide app, NFC, a higher res camera, and is about 20% cheaper. Hm.

    4. Goat Jam

      "So far from being the champions of usability and making software useful Apple seem to have turned in an engineering willy waving company trying to amaze people with rather pointless stats."

      With Jobs gone then this was inevitable. Jobs understood that the vast majority of people are not obsessed with engineering checklists and that is why, under the Jobs regime, (almost) every time apple released a product two things happened:

      * A brief flare of nerdrage erupted on the Interwebs because the new device did not support <geeky things>

      * The other 99% of the population didn't care and thought that this new shiny thing was a must have because it was easy to use, partly because it wasn't over burdened with <geeky things> they didn't care about.

      Now that Jobs is gone they have Tim Cook, and let's just say that Tim Cook may be a fine administrator but I don't see him standing up to say NO! to a phalanx of beardies who are suggesting that adding more <geeky things> would be a good idea because, uh, Samsung are doing it.

      1. Martin 71 Silver badge

        That might be very GOOD for Apple. Because the missing <geeky things> currently make the iDevices markedly inferior. While geeks tend to be a small proportion of the population, they punch above their weight in buying power.

        Incidentally, I'd rather see a thicker device form factor, with a MUCH longer lasting battery. Can you imagine how long a modern mobile phone with a battery making it the size of a late 90s one would last?

  8. Jim McDonald
    Thumb Up

    Credit where credit is due, it is the benchmark device for its class.

    No mention of battery life, assuming it's no worse than iPad4 then the only think to dislike is the price.

    1. WhoaWhoa

      "Credit where credit is due, it is the benchmark device for its class."

      Its class being other iPads?

  9. Ralph B

    So, no iPad mini with Phone functionality?

    Pity.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So you want a Dom Joly iPhone?

      I'M ON THE IPHONE!!!

      NO, IT'S CRAP! TOO WIDE!!!

      1. Shagbag

        Re: So you want a Dom Joly iPhone?

        Like those people you see holding up their tablets to take a picture. LOL. The sad bastards.

  10. Chris Miller

    "We've always thought that taking photos or videos with an iPad was, well, more than a wee bit silly."

    And yet I've lost count of the number of people I see doing exactly that. And yes, they do look silly.

    1. blamblamblam

      I'm a professional filmmaker and I would beg to differ, sir; I think iPads are great for taking photos and videos - we've spent all our lives peering at tiny little LCDs or through viewfinders when we make images; finally a nice big picture to look at. Really lovely IMHO, a big step forward.

      1. MrXavia

        Weird, while I am only an amateur photographer, I find I taking photos with a real viewfinder much better than with an LCD, the exception being when I am using the LCD to allow me to take a photo from a point I cannot get my head to...

        Sure the big screens would be great to review the photos, or even as a remote viewfinder, but NOT as the main viewfinder physically attached to a camera...

        Hmm Samsung do a remote viewfinder on their cameras I think!

      2. WhoaWhoa

        "I'm a professional filmmaker and I would beg to differ, sir; I think iPads are great for taking photos and videos - we've spent all our lives peering at tiny little LCDs or through viewfinders when we make images; finally a nice big picture to look at. Really lovely IMHO, a big step forward."

        Eat your heart out, Canon, Nikon, Leica, Sony... - you're designing it wrong.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          I don't suppose that you've noticed that the professional filmmakers that use DSLRs as their shooting devices (an ever growing number) rarely use the tiny LCD on the back of the camera.

          No. They buy (quite expensive) larger monitors that they can use to actually see focus.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I thought professional film makers used Red cameras

    2. JohnnyHands

      Do they look less silly taking photos if it's an iPad Mini?

    3. PJI

      But they don't care because they're taking the photo, not in the photo and it happens to. E the camera they've got with them with a good instant review ability.

      Don't be jealous. Just do the same.

  11. Greg J Preece

    and it also includes the battery-saving M7 motion processor that's in the top-of-the-line iPhone, offloading sensor-monitoring and processing duties from the A7

    That would be the motion processor that's turned out a bit dodgy?

    Oh, and graphs without numbers == meaningless. Those are practically the same curve, yet one is "8x faster" and one is "72x faster". Get lost.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Based on iPad3 & 4 benchmark results, I see no reason to disbelieve them. iPad2 smashes iPad1, iPad3/Retina smashes iPAd2, iPad4 smashes iPad3. The stats are on the web for all to see.

      Whether all this power is of any use is a different question - the other manufacturers are increasing the grunt of their devices just as quickly.

      1. Greg J Preece

        Based on iPad3 & 4 benchmark results, I see no reason to disbelieve them. iPad2 smashes iPad1, iPad3/Retina smashes iPAd2, iPad4 smashes iPad3. The stats are on the web for all to see.

        I'm not contesting that newer chips are quicker, that just makes sense, but if the numbers are real, then why use bullshit graphs to show them? Why not have a real graph, if you're not exaggerating things?

    2. Paw Bokenfohr

      Quick research...

      "That would be the motion processor that's turned out a bit dodgy?"

      No, as I'm sure you know...! You're just trolling with this. It's not the copro (mopro?) in this case, it's a difference in calibration between one brand of sensor and another, and was resolved by 7.0.3 anyway.

      I'm sure that won't stop the haters banging on about it for the next year though.

  12. A Butler

    A thinner tabler is that it, how robust, it will need a bulky case????

    My god talk of little innovation and small progression, a thinner tablet with an incremental processor upgrade??

    Most people bulk out the iPad with a protective case so their is little point in a thinner tablet. Especially since you have spent so much money on a thin tablet you are going to buy the obligatory bulky protective case since we can only assume it will be near impossible to fix should you let it drop.

    A bit of an own oxymoron from Apple a thin, weak, expensive device that users will bulk out with a protective case to protect it.

    1. Franklin

      Re: A thinner tabler is that it, how robust, it will need a bulky case????

      One might, if one were to be a bit pedantic, suggest that moving from a 32-bit processor to a 64-bit processor is something that qualifies as a bit more than an "incremental" upgrade.

      But far be it from me to be that pedant. Carry on!

      1. Ian Yates
        Headmaster

        Re: A thinner tabler is that it, how robust, it will need a bulky case????

        "One might, if one were to be a bit pedantic, suggest that moving from a 32-bit processor to a 64-bit processor is something that qualifies as a bit more than an "incremental" upgrade."

        I, however, will be pedantic and say that I think it is exactly an "incremental" upgrade... what other increment is there from 32-bit? 33-bit? 48-bit?

        I can't make a comment on whether it will be more than incremental for performance, though.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. Philip Lewis

          Re: A thinner tabler is that it, how robust, it will need a bulky case???? @Ian Yates

          Re: A thinner tabler is that it, how robust, it will need a bulky case????

          Hmm, while I do not recall a 33 bit architecture, we certainly have had 36 & 48 bit architectures in the past as well as varying number of (n)bit memory addressing systems where n>32, so yes, there are other values of the increment.

          The big changes in the A7 chip are not the 64 "bitness" of it, and your claim to know something about this subject suggests you might do well to actually brush up on the subject before ranting away and making yourself look silly.

          On second thoughts, rant on ...

    2. JDX Gold badge

      Most people bulk out the iPad with a protective case

      Do they? The smart cover seems more common and that is also very thin. If like me you have a full case which protects front AND back, you have a point, but most people seem to eschew such bulky cases.

  13. Stephen 11

    As for the camera? We've always thought that taking photos or videos with an iPad was, well, more than a wee bit silly.

    The author has obviously not visited Asia.

    1. Ted 3

      Nah, not just Asians. I know one (very Anglo) Apple fan who insists on using his iPad to take pictures rather than his iPhone. I pointed out that not only did this look silly, but that the camera on the iPhone would yield better pictures. He tried to argue that the cameras were exactly the same, and I could not be bothered to direct him to the tech specs.

      I think it has something to do with the bigger screen. People equate the immediate viewing experience of "iPad photo is bigger on that big screen, thus is better" (actual megapixels and f-stop ratings be damned).

  14. John Savard

    On the name

    Calling it the iPad Air is legitimate, given that it is thinner and lighter than its predecessors. I approve of the improvements in CPU and graphics performance, but I'm puzzled how they were achieved if it still uses the same processor. Perhaps that wasn't clear in the article, and they actually are using a different implementation of the same architecture.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The same old

    Pity they didnt suffix it with an "S". and the $100 increase for every incremental iteration of memory (which actually cost pennies these days) is eye gouging.

    Where are the panting fanboys having orgasmic gasps ? OR is it that Apple have shafted them so deep, that many are saying, enough is enough !

    So whats new? 64 bits processor? Thats all? Does it wipe my bottom?

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lol @ the hate.

    Typical; fAndroids and arm-chair experts criticising the best technology company in the world.

    Now there's a surprise.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Lol @ the hate.

      and, as with every other Apple release in the past five years, the haters will be shown to be wrong in their analysis and their opinions. Their bile will be on view forever here on the interwebs for all to see - lol.

      The problem is that the haters simply can't get past their envy and hatred for the world's most successful company, a company which continues to provide an enormous number of punters with exactly what they want - apparently.

      And for the logically challenged, this statement does not preclude that other manufacturers can and do provide what other punters want.

      They simply cannot come to grips with the fact that their opinion has no merit and is worthless. Sadly we must read these broken non-insights in here on a daily basis.

      Interestingly, I heard some idiot analysts on Bloomberg today, they sounded like the haters in here - clueless morons as well - I say this having had first hand experience with quite a few WSAs (aka. wankers)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Lol @ the hate.

        Nope, the derision of the maps app was bang on the money. Even the iTards thought it was crap.

        1. Philip Lewis

          Re: Lol @ the hate.

          The maps app is fine, better in many ways than its predecessor (features Google refused to offer on the iDevices). However, Apple aligned itself with one of the world's major suppliers of data to feed their own app, and the completeness & quality was not to the same level that Google provided previously.

          These are two statements of fact, and the end user experience was not up to Apple's standards and worse in many ways than the app that Google had previously provided.

          The fact that everyone (including you I guess) blamed the poor user experience on the App, merely indicates the lack of nuance and understanding that the anti-Apple (and pro-Google) brigade demonstrate on every available occasion.

          The whole exercise was Google throwing its weight around, successfully.

          Don't let the facts get in the way of your bias though, carry on.

      2. WhoaWhoa

        Re: Lol @ the hate.

        "Re: Lol @ the hate.

        haters... wrong in their opinions... bile... can't get past their envy and hatred... logically challenged... opinion has no merit and is worthless... broken non-insights... idiot analysts on Bloomberg... sounded like the haters... clueless morons.... wankers"

        No hate there, then. Nice to have a balanced appraisal of those "haters".

        Are you a "Genius" (Sales Assistant), by any chance?

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Lol @ the hate.

        What is this nonsense I see everywhere nowadays about "haters"? I might think something is poorly designed, unpleasant to use, inconvenient, even plain dumb. Or I might dislike something (such as crayfish, let's say). How does ANY of that make me a "hater"?

        Looks like a rather simple-minded way of poisoning the well wholesale. "Anyone who disagrees with me is a HATER" (and that's obviously a bad thing to be).

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Lol @ the hate.

        The whole point of business is to find someone really stupid, and rip them off.

        It isn't Apple that people are laughing at, it's their customers.

    2. WhoaWhoa

      Re: Lol @ the hate.

      "Typical; fAndroids and arm-chair experts criticising the best technology company in the world.

      Now there's a surprise."

      Yes. The thought they they are the best technology company in the world would, indeed, come as a surprise.

      Most litigious? Least value? Highest on the iChav scale? Most undeservedly self-congratulatory and unwarrantedly boastful?

      No surprises there.

    3. Ben 54

      Re: Lol @ the hate.

      I suggest you read up on who actually MANUFACTURE the processor in your ithings. Apple assemble, they hire foxcon to do their dirty work. They don't manufacture any processor themselves. How can you even class them the best tech company when they are merely assembling other peoples tech? Even more embarrassing, the "brain" is made by the people fanbois hate all the time. Don't believe me? One example of the 5s http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/20/samsung-confirmed-to-be-manufacturer-of-apples-new-a7-chip-in-iphone-5s

  17. Oninoshiko

    Have they fixed

    that the speaker point out the back of the damn things?

    Seriously, who though this was a good idea, you have to turn it all the way up to hear it, and bother everyone in the room. I always end up coming up with a mess of a contraption using menues or placemats to bounce the sound off of. Every time I want to watch a video on my iPad, one of the only things it's really good for, I need a Rube Goldburg machine just to hear it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Have they fixed

      And you will still buy that expensive tat, innit?

      1. Oninoshiko

        Re: Have they fixed

        Actually, I won it in a drawing.

        No, I would not pay what they ask for it.

  18. IHateWearingATie

    iPad looks good to me.

    Although I've now moved into the Android ecosystem entirely with Android tablet and phones, I can still appreciate the great engineering that goes into the iPad. The 4 was lovely, and it looks like the air will be even better.

    However, there's no chance I'll be buying one- a nexus 7 and cheap windows laptop cost about the same (£500 or so) and are more flexible for my needs

    1. DrXym

      Re: iPad looks good to me.

      Apple devices generally look amazing but they're too expensive, especially beyond the base model (those with more storage + 3g/4g variants) and when the cost of peripherals is factored in.

      The reason Android has exploded as a platform is because tablets exist at all price points and it's not hard to find a perfectly good tablet for < £200 in 7" and < £300 in 10". And if someone does have the cash there is a choice at the top end too, some such as the Galaxy Note 10.1 could give the iPad Air a run for its money in terms of features and functionality.

      1. Philip Lewis

        Re: iPad looks good to me.

        "The reason Android has exploded as a platform is because ..."

        ... it is free for manufacturers and they can sell cheap crap using it, at price points for which there is always a ready market. Oh yes, and the fact that geeks like it.

        There are exceptions, Samsung, Sony, Google Nexus.

        I wonder what the sales of non-name Chinese underpowered, unusable crap tablets is compared to premium products?

        1. James Hughes 1

          Re: iPad looks good to me.

          Chinese cheap tablets sell well, and generally work fine. Not as quick, but handle games and video playback well, both of which are a major use case.

          But if you want to go a bit more expensive? I just bought a 9" Nook HD, for £129, and its utterly great. It does absolutely everything I need just as well as an iPad would (not to say that would be the same for other users). So, can anyone explain what benefit the extra processing oomph of this latest iPad is?

  19. Arctic fox
    Headmaster

    Am I the only one who blinked at the following?

    "calling the slab the lightest full-size tablet in the world."

    Where did they get that definition from? There are larger tablets, virtually all high-end kit, don't they count?

  20. emmanuel goldstein

    Whither goest thou, Apple in thy shiny car in the night?

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Par for the course

    It seems the only unexpected thing about Apples announcement was the fact that they called it the iPad Air...

    It was nothing we didn't expect, the iPad mini design, which was lighter and thinner. I don't blame Apple though and I think it will be a big seller. They are taking the same approach that they use with their Macbooks and the fact they called it the iPad Air seems to point to them going down that route too.

    Who can blame them for making revisions to a winning formula? I don't own one (I prefer Android personally) but this is a successful product that they've made thinner, lighter and faster. Yeah you could add a USB port or a HDMI out, but that's not their plan their end game is to get you on the iTunes and AppStore gravy train so your content is all in the cloud and you use Apple TV if you want to view things on the big screen..

    I think we will start to see another model next year onwards being realised where they'll do a pro version alongside the Air version. Maybe the pro version will run OS X and be aimed more at people who design and do computerised drawing and include a stylus

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    All together now...

    "IMPROPER LINE EXTENSION!"

    And yes, that was meant to be shouting. What was the point of the MacBook Air? Laptops were big and heavy and awkward to lug about, so let's make one that's small and light.

    What's the point of the iPad Air? Fondleslabs, er, tablets are small and light and child's play to carry around, so let's, er,...

  23. DrXym

    Late to the party

    The iPad Air is largely comparable to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. The iPad Mini's "retina display" is no different from what already exists in the Nexus 7. Both iterations are as horrifically expensive as their predecessors.

    It's no wonder the market went blah at the news.

    1. Philip Lewis

      Re: Late to the party

      "It's no wonder the market went blah at the news."

      You don't really understand the market do you?

      The market moved leading up to the release, where everyone placed their bets. This is how it works.

      The market will now stabilise to the level the market assesses looking forward including the evaluation of the affects of the now released products (rather than speculation).

      1. Philip Lewis
        Megaphone

        Re: Late to the party

        Down vote me all you want, it won't change what it says on my CV, or the facts of the matter.

  24. Powderfinger
    Paris Hilton

    Swype?

    I've heard no mention of the new iPad's ability to use fully functional swype typing. That is the main reason I gave my 4th generation iPad to my son and got a Nexus 7. Processing speed was an issue as well on that iPad, but that is addressed in this newer version. Paris! Because she knows power of a swipe. That is all.

  25. Powderfinger
    Coat

    Full Size

    My thoughts exactly, who ever said a 10'' tablet is a "full sized" tablet? It may be the most popular size but there are certainly larger ones as well. Mines the one with the empty pockets, as my 7 inch is in my hand.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    if it

    wasn't that expensive... if it run Windows OS, which I have to use as my software is windows-based :(,

    and if it didn't have that (...) glowing apple at the back - I would consider, sure ;)

    p.s.: even if the battery life were half as decent.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    still no NEW innovation

    A bit thinner and a "retina" screen? Is that it!

    I HATE fanatics!

  28. Rebajas

    8x's what in the CPU shot - not 8x the previous iPad! And likewise for the 72x in the GPU shot...

    I'm confused as to what they are comparing.

    1. Rebajas

      Thanks to whoever thumbed me down - very constructive...

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Innovation?

    New Apple kit, usual lovers v haters banter on here, even the usual Apple users complaints re whatever they think Apple should have added like mSD slots etc; dream on, its another hole in the casing and a remote chance some bright soul might find a way to boot a different OS on to an i thing.

    But all these calls for something new and innovation, what exactly was anyone expecting?

    Everything is down to money and despite Apple having a pretty decent bank balance, innovation that curtails adding to that cash pile and stock value, because thats all the shareholders are interested in, simply isn't going to happen any time soon. Ditto all the other companies.

    Real innovation will take someone with VERY deep pockets and no shareholders.

  30. kensal

    WTF - 399

    good news and updates from apple...lets face it there is no other tablet or mini-me that has the power performance or quality as their devices...its as simple as that...you'll get the odd Nexus user adding their simple suggesitons but we all know it doesn't really compare..expandable space isnt enough...however that is definitely one thing apple should start to introduce. BUT one thing that i just cant understand for the life of me which milly wood on cNET also expressed is how they can justify selling the iPAD 2 for $399..its just an insane amount for a 3yr old device...$399 my goodness...i'm sorry apple thats just damn greedy and insensitive of you to the loyal apple fanbois and anyone who actually might still want a 2..(and there are still many including schools - governing bodies - and small business and the odd cheapskate who probably still do use or want them. apart from that...keep up the good work....$399 unbelievable..lol

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You recent Nexus owners...

    ...must be kicking yourselves, crying like babies, or maybe both. Still, feel free to down vote me if it helps to validate your technology choice.

  32. Marco van de Voort

    Air

    The Air rule excludes anything from Adobe :-)

  33. Adam D

    Where's the Touch ID?

    Did the iPhone and iPad teams not talk to each other? That struck me as a rather odd omission from the new iPads...

  34. RegKees
    WTF?

    So Apple ups the performance by 100%-800% while at the same time reducing the weight by almost 50%, making for much improved usability and people still complain about a lack of innovation?

    Compare this to the new Surface 2 or lets say the Xperia Tablet Z and explain to me how those are more significant updates than what this iPad Air brings to the table.

  35. Stevie

    Bah!

    Call me again when the product is branded "Lighter Than Air". I'll buy a dozen and carry them at all times.

  36. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My daughter has one of the old ones.

    It has no 3g, just wifi.

    Bizarrely, it therefore doesn't have GPS, making it totally unusable outside the home.

    Even more bizarrely, I let her waste her money on this.

    So we're driving in the car, and I ask her for a traffic update over my wifi, and as we're going past cars, it changes where it thinks it is, based on where other people's phones have their tethering enabled.

    So useful. I can't understand why everyone doesn't have one. You can lead a chump to an Apple Store, but you can't make them think.

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's actually a little more than a pound

    Since everything, including the Macbook Air 11" at 1.08 kg (2.38 lbs) and the new iPad mini at 331 g (0.73 lbs), is listed on Apple's website so precisely, it's deceptively inconsistent for them to list the 469 g iPad Air as simply "1 pound". It's really 1.03 lbs. Apple should be more careful about things like this because someone will notice and suggest they're lying. I don't really care, but I think Apple should. They should have either found a way to cut that 15 g (or 0.5 oz) or admit that they didn't _really_ make it "1 pound". It's an arbitrary figure anyways, but if they want that ring of perfectionistic conformity to imperial or metric measurements, they should actually conform to it. Otherwise, they're just making a big deal out of something they never actually accomplished. This far into the game, Apple should be more careful, in my opinion. They've got lots of competition and their own appeal rests a lot on people assuming they're the best, without doubt....

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