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How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

wired.com

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Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#51

Post by __chrismc »

ghaff wrote: post #42

As others have said, a lot of people already own iPads and there's nothing about the current concept/design that encourages especially upgrade cycles. Not that there's anything wrong with that from a consumer perspective. It does what it does pretty well and doesn't really call out for incremental improvements to battery life/resolution/processor power/etc. although those do naturally come about with each iteration.…

> Being able to share data plans with phones at nominal cost would be one interesting upgrade driver but that's really in the hands of the carriers and is unlikely

Vodafone in the UK will let you do this (with no extra fee). They've offered me it several times, but I didn't buy an iPad with a SIM slot.

Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#52

Post by Terretta »

ghaff wrote: post #50
bigiain wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal data point: I'm typing this reply on an original iPad I bought on release day, and haven't yet felt the need to upgrade. And in response to the last snarky line in the article - who buys magazines that pile up on the coffee table any more? I used to have a $60 or $70 a month magazine habit - its been years since I bought a magazine. About a grand for this iPad (Australian price ing), plus maybe another $900…

I gave my original to my dad--who loves it and this is someone who could never really use a computer. Given that I'm tech support, best present (for me) that I ever gave :-) If I hadn't given it away I suspect I'd still be using it and just thinking about upgrading. I do still buy magazines--but very selectively. Partly because, oddly, I can get some paper magazines cheaper than I can get digital subscriptions. I als…

If you subscribe to several magazines, paper or digital, check out "Next Issue".

I agree paper is cheaper than digital when you subscribe at those sweepstakes type rates. Next Issue inverts that again, brings 150 magazines for $10-15/month and a lot less clutter.

Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#53

Post by reboog711 »

pitchups wrote: post #3

The article misses a more likely reason for the declining sales: maybe sales of the iPad are declining - not because the iPad has lost its appeal - but because the market is saturating and most people who wanted an iPad, have already got one. Folks who have iPads that are 3 or 4 year old are not in the market for newer models - as the old ones are working just fine.

To quote the article: "The issue isn’t people don’t want iPads. It’s just that people don’t want them in increasing numbers anymore."

Isn't that that, roughly, the same point you are trying to make?

Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#54

Post by graeme »

marak830 wrote: post #45
graeme wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. I use an iPad to make drawings for online lessons. It made drawings well when I got it in 2012, and it continues to make drawings well. I won't ever upgrade unless it breaks or software updates junk it. Why would I? It would be a mistake to view my reluctance to upgrade as a bad thing, from apple's perspective. I've bought two MacBook airs since (I needed an upgrade for work projects). The fact that the iPad…

If you don't mind answering ill second the other comment, also, do you use a stylus? If so which one? I thought I'd try that out but I haven't found one with a fine enough tip that works well yet :-s

I like the alupen. Very comfortable to hold. Not sure how fine the tip is for professional drawing, but works great for lessons.

Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#55

Post by graeme »

avinassh wrote: post #36
graeme wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. I use an iPad to make drawings for online lessons. It made drawings well when I got it in 2012, and it continues to make drawings well. I won't ever upgrade unless it breaks or software updates junk it. Why would I? It would be a mistake to view my reluctance to upgrade as a bad thing, from apple's perspective. I've bought two MacBook airs since (I needed an upgrade for work projects). The fact that the iPad…

> Indeed. I use an iPad to make drawings for online lessons. It made drawings well when I got it in 2012, and it continues to make drawings well. What all tools/apps/stylus you use? What's the entire process is like? Can you show some of your videos?

They're just drawings to illustrate what I'm talking about, nothing fancy.

I use jotwithme, a whiteboard app, and an alupen stylus.

I'm actually planning to use these to make some online videos. I tried a Wacom tablet but ha no drawing skills with it. I haven't found a better drawing app that lets me project to the screen. It's a little messy, but I think in my niche (education) it actually goes over well.

Btw, bought my first iPad the year I started my business, when money was short. But it let me teach people online, so it paid for itself in a couple months, and then is pure profit. The ROI to owning it for my limited use case has been astronomical.

Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#57

Post by je42 »

forcer wrote: post #12

I am a father of 2 year old. I did not experience being a parent before iPad arrived but I suspect it changed the parenthood completely. These days I see all kids of all ages interacting with tablets. My son started using one before he was 1 year old, now he is experienced user, able to start, launch games he likes and videos he wants to see on youtube. Its so powerful as it is scary. Everyone from parents is scared…

Indeed same here. It just works for the kids.

Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#58

Post by je42 »

pitchups wrote: post #3

The article misses a more likely reason for the declining sales: maybe sales of the iPad are declining - not because the iPad has lost its appeal - but because the market is saturating and most people who wanted an iPad, have already got one. Folks who have iPads that are 3 or 4 year old are not in the market for newer models - as the old ones are working just fine.

Agreed, but obviously, that would be not a great headline.

Re: How the iPad Went from Massive to ‘Meh’ in 5 Short Years

#59

Post by ghaff »

Terretta wrote: post #52
ghaff wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I gave my original to my dad--who loves it and this is someone who could never really use a computer. Given that I'm tech support, best present (for me) that I ever gave :-) If I hadn't given it away I suspect I'd still be using it and just thinking about upgrading. I do still buy magazines--but very selectively. Partly because, oddly, I can get some paper magazines cheaper than I can get digital subscriptions. I als…

If you subscribe to several magazines, paper or digital, check out "Next Issue". I agree paper is cheaper than digital when you subscribe at those sweepstakes type rates. Next Issue inverts that again, brings 150 magazines for $10-15/month and a lot less clutter.

Thanks. I'll check it out. Invariably I go through these cycles where I'm tempted by $5-10 subscriptions and the stuff just piles up unread especially when I travel.
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