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PSA: Get your 128GB iPads starting today, $799 for WiFi and $929 for LTE
If you like the very best, you'll be happy to hear that the biggest capacity, most expensive iPad yet has now landed at the Apple Store online. US customers can pick from AT&T, Sprint or Verizon to power their 128GB LTE model ($929), although AT&T has a reduced waiting time of 1-3 days, compared to 3-5 business days for the other two carriers. Expect the WiFi iteration ($799) to arrive within three days -- that is, if you place your order at the source today.
Scosche is next up with Lightning accessories, brings chargers for iPads and iPhones alike
If you've snagged one of Apple's new iThings complete with 30-pin dock connector-replacing Lightning ports, Scosche is the next manufacturer (after Belkin) to offer up a compatible line of accessories. The variety of car and wall chargers come in several 12W and 5W variants, with the more powerful ones pushing enough juice to quick charge those fourth generation iPads and iPad minis. Of course, while they can provide design alternatives like multiple ports that Apple's official hardware doesn't cover, there's not a price break coming with the cheapest strikeDRIVE car charger starting at $29.99, while the most expensive item listed is the strikeBase pro dual USB wall charger (pictured above) and lightning cable setup for $49.99. There's more details at the source link if you're interested in purchasing. Apple users let us know what your plan is -- making do with just the one new charger, slapping on a $29 adapter, or sticking with old hardware for now / switching to a new platform to avoid the new connector altogether?%Gallery-170859%
Cellular-capable iPad pre-orders reportedly shipping
A report from MacRumors claims the cellular versions of the fourth-generation Retina iPad are shipping and will land on doorsteps by the end of the week. Customers who pre-ordered the iPad are receiving shipping notices with an estimated delivery date of November 16th. iPad mini pre-orders have not shipped yet and are rumored to land on November 21st, the day before the US Thanksgiving holiday. MacRumors also claims that the iPad mini and the fourth generation iPad will be eligible for AT&T's new $100 off tablet promotion starting November 16th. Customers buying a new tablet will receive $100 off the retail price, if they sign up for a new two-year data plan. AT&T announced the promotion last week, but did not specifically mention Apple's latest tablet devices or their sale date in the announcement.
Ars reviews the new iPad: "power to spare"
While there has been plenty of press about the iPad mini, not many blogs seems to be paying attention to the faster, full-sized fourth-generation iPad that was announced at the same time. Chris Foresman at Ars Technica took on the challenge of running the new iPad through its paces, and found that although the device has "processing power to spare," not many apps currently take advantage of the speedy A6X processor's capabilities. The review found that the exterior design is virtually identical to its predecessor, with the sole change being the replacement of the 30-pin Dock connector with the new Lightning connector. But it's the interior components that make the new iPad the powerful top-of-the-line beast that it is. As noted in the post, the front-facing camera now shoots 1.2 MP still images (720p video) and the LTE radios in the cellular-capable models now work in most countries with LTE service. Foresman notes the GPU in the device's A6X system-on-a-chip has been supercharged by using four Imagination Technologies SGX543 GPU cores running at a faster clock speed. Ars used Geekbench 2.3.6 to compare the fourth-generation iPad with its predecessor, and found that the score more than doubled from 758 for the third-generation to 1,770 for the fourth-gen device. Not many games or other GPU-intensive apps are optimized for the A6X, however, and the bottom line from Ars is "we feel most current iPad 3 owners don't need to rush out and upgrade to an iPad 4." What's your take on the "need for speed"? Do you plan on waiting for the next generation iPad, or have you already purchased or ordered a fourth-generation device?
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: fall 2012 edition
Three months is a long time in tablet-land, it seems. Since we last brought you a buyer's guide, a few things have changed. In fact, this is probably the biggest shake-up yet, with not only the long-rumored iPad mini making an appearance, but also new offerings from two other big guns -- Microsoft and Google. Oh, and that means there's a whole new species of device altogether. With Windows RT finally shipping, there's new hardware to go with it, and we expect to see more popping up on the list in the months to come. This is all good news for you prospective tablet owners, as more competition can only mean more choice. With more options, though, comes more confusion. That's where we come in, armed with a few notable picks. Read on to find out what made the cut this season.
Apple sells three million iPad minis, 4th generation iPads in three days
Apple announced today that it sold 3 million iPads in three days. This figure includes sales of both the WiFi-only iPad mini and the WiFi-only iPad fourth generation. Apple points out that this figure doubles the number of WiFi third generation iPads it sold in the tablet's opening weekend back in March. CEO Tim Cook said in a press release that "customers around the world love the new iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad." He added, "we set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis. We're working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand." These numbers are expected to increase in the coming weeks when Apple starts selling the cellular versions of the iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad.
iPad mini launch day roundup
Given the transportation and logistical circumstances here in NYC post-Sandy, I'm not able to be at the Fifth Avenue store for this morning's iPad mini intro. Since I can't give you first-hand reports, here's a roundup of the buying experience from those in the midst of it. (Apple is running private shuttles for employees to make it in to work at Fifth Avenue, per BI. Two of Apple's five retail locations in Manhattan are in the powerless zone below midtown and are presumably closed; so are the independent Digital Society, Mike's Tech Shop and Tekserve stores, although Tekserve CEO Aaron Freimark emailed this morning to say that his store is open -- no power, but doing customer transactions via Square, and expecting a full shipment of new iPads and minis today.) Bloomberg TV editor Jake Beckman sums up the NYC prioritization split quite well: People are lined up for the iPad Mini this morning. Also lined up for gas. Oh, #NYC. - Jake Beckman (@jakebeckman) November 2, 2012 Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt, a consistent presence at the Fifth Avenue store for launches, reports about 550 people in line there this morning (and several camera crews). He suspects many of this morning's shoppers are planning to contribute their purchases to the overseas gray market. Fortune also has a collection of line videos from the launches in the Far East earlier today. CNET's Shara Tibken reports in her liveblog that sales of the iPad mini & fourth-gen iPad at Fifth Avenue have been pushed back to 10 AM from the expected 8 AM start. TechCrunch's survey of opening day crowds indicates modest lines in most locations. From the Pioneer Press/TwinCities.com, Julio Ojeda-Zapata posts a brief video of the modest turnout ("three dozen in line") at the massive Mall of America in Minnesota: Not a big turnout for the iPad mini with just under three dozen in line at MOA but Apple does the usual clap 'n' greet: post.ly/9hgrT - Julio Ojeda-Zapata (@ojezap) November 2, 2012 GearLive's Andru Edwards posts his line picture from Lynwood, Wash.: iPad mini line - Taylor's idea to wait in line! (with Taylor and Eric at @officialapple) [pic] - path.com/p/qcdRv -Andru Edwards (@AndruEdwards) November 2, 2012 Lines in Seattle appear modest, per @oakie -- although they've tripled since this earlier tweet: @tuaw @cultofmac @macrumors @verge @engadget the line for #iPadmini at @uvillage #Apple Store in Seattle. all 4 of us.campl.us/mEzL - oakie (@notoakie) November 2, 2012 ifoAppleStore's Gary Allen is surveying the globe and notes a line in Amsterdam: There was a waiting line at the Amsterdam (Netherlands) Apple store Friday morning for...iPad mini, iPhone 5? - flic.kr/p/dpW8GE - Gary Allen (@ifostore) November 2, 2012 And another one here in Paris, where gray market shoppers may also be among those filling the queue: Oh, thank goodness! An Apple retail store line, for the iPad mini at the Opéra (Paris) store. - bit.ly/SvjmIl - Gary Allen (@ifostore) November 2, 2012 London's Covent Garden store, apparently, was not as well attended this morning: The masses line up for iPad mini... Oh wait! Staff surprised as I was that no one turned up at covent garden twitter.com/mmalex/status/... - mmalex (@mmalex) November 2, 2012 FirstPost reports a modest line in Sydney, Australia earlier today. Reuters relays Gene Munster's suggestion that some mini demand may be waiting for the release of the cellular-enabled models in a few weeks. The Register reports similarly muted retail crowding in Glasgow. MacKozer sends in a picture from Poland: @tuaw iPad mini spotted at Polish APR iSpot. Greetings from Poland and Polish bloggers ;) twitter.com/mackozer/statu... - mackozer (@mackozer) November 2, 2012 Marcel & Oliver confirm short lines -- but also short supplies -- in Germany: @davidcaolo can confirm that here in Germany. But supplies seem really limited. After just 1 hour all white base modells where gone. - Marcel Marquis (@marcelmarquis) November 2, 2012 @tuaw I bought one in Germany, but there was no line. #iPadmini - Oliver Stör (@ollistoer) November 2, 2012 Robbie queued up in Cardiff for his iPad: It's 7AM and I'm Queuing for my iPad mini! instagr.am/p/RhKRZqF9MI/ @tuaw - Robbie Bone (@RobbieBone) November 2, 2012 Chris has a short line ahead of him in Scottsdale, Ariz.: @tuaw In line at the Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store for iPad mini. Only about 5 or 6 people ahead of me! twitter.com/knight_cjg/sta... - Chris (@knight_cjg) November 2, 2012 Shawn picked up his iPad in Target with no wait at all: @tuaw strolled into @target after 8am to pick up an iPad Mini.Nobody was even there and it wasn't even on the shelf. twitter.com/ctgm/status/26... - Shawn caseitup.com (@ctgm) November 2, 2012 Chicago's lines seem longer, per Matthew's observation: The iPad Mini has arrived. Lines wrapping around the block on Michigan Avenue. #Chicago twitter.com/MatthewSchwerh... - Matthew Schwerha (@MatthewSchwerha) November 2, 2012 More reports and pictures from around the globe: "@tuaw: If you're in line for an iPad mini or 4th gen today, send us a picture! #iPadmini"Line in Stockholm, Sweden twitter.com/mfr80/status/2... - Michal Frankowski (@mfr80) November 2, 2012 @tuaw the "line" at the Santa Barbara, CA Apple Store. Minus myself of course; I was out of frame taking the picture! twitter.com/dburr/status/2... - Donald Burr of Borg (@dburr) November 2, 2012 @tuaw got it already instagr.am/p/RhSbt1n_pd/ - Sascha (@saschaeggi) November 2, 2012 If you are on the fence about heading out for an iPad mini, perhaps this bit of advice from Discover's Ed Yong will help you make up your mind: Screw the iPad mini. I'm just going to hold my iPad slightly further away. - Ed Yong(@edyong209) November 2, 2012
Daily Update for October 30, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
The iPad 3rd-gen's "miraculous transformation" from magical device to object of shame
Anyone who buys Apple products will eventually experience deep frustration with Apple the company. It's inevitable and predictable, and usually brief. It also disproportionately affects those who consider themselves loyalists, fans and enthusiasts -- those of us who bleed six colors, as it were. The sense of a personal relationship, a bargain or a deal with the brand is what makes the perceived offenses feel so personal. They aren't, of course, but that's how we feel. As was the case with the original iPhone's dramatic price cut two months after launch, the company's response is often simply "that's technology." Things are going to change quickly, and from time to time that means early adopters or may experience some mild turbulence. To my mind, that's a different (and lesser) sort of anxiety than the "Apple is messing with my livelihood" freakout over Final Cut Studio's evaporation making way for Final Cut X, but the core feeling is the same: "We had a deal, Apple, and you betrayed us." That sense of betrayal is quite strong right now, as the iPad 4th generation's introduction has set the teeth of some v3 buyers on edge. Apple may or may not be taking a lenient stance on upgrades; we noted yesterday the reports of a discretionary policy in allowing up to 30 days for iPad 3rd-gen exchanges. Early adopter regret is clearly evident in our former TUAW colleague Christina Warren's op-ed for Mashable, where she shares both denial and anger over the introduction of the fourth generation full-size iPad only seven months after she bought a maxed-out 3rd generation Retina iPad. I have nothing but fondness and respect for Christina, and I don't doubt the sincerity of her personal reaction to having her 3rd-gen iPad lose both bragging rights and resale value. But let's recap her relationship to new technology, in her own words: "I'm an early adopter. Most iPad 3 owners won't consider doing anything with their iPad 3; they'll keep using it until it stops working (or the new iPad 5 is released in six months), so I recognize this is a specific rant. Still, people like me are Apple's most loyal customers. Eventually, this sort of thing tends to trickle down to everyone else." Perhaps the "trickle-down" frustration from fans to customers was valid back when Apple sold expensive computers to a tiny fraction of the PC market. Maybe it was even true when iPods began to break out to the wider consumer electronics landscape. For the Apple of today -- the massive, mass-market behemoth -- it's simply irrelevant. The pattern of early adoption, resale and racing on to the next new thing that Christina describes in her piece makes her a stark outlier among Apple's modern-day worldwide customer base; likewise, the angry, frustrated "loyal Apple users" who are now so aggrieved about the quick refresh of the iPad represent a tiny minority of the consumers who have purchased those 100 million iPads (to say nothing of the education and enterprise buyers, who are still buying iPad 2s by the pallet). Most of the argument in favor of feeling aggrieved and shortchanged by the quick iPad turn coalesces around expectations. Apple "always" releases one new iPad per year; it's "always" in the spring; the sun "always" rises in the east. Of course, this attitude confuses patterns with promises; they are different things. Did customer expectations get confounded by the release of a newer iPad model less than a year after the previous one? Yep. Was this yearly tick-tock something Apple ever committed to preserving in perpetuity? Not at all. People make plans and purchases based on certain assumptions (or by asking one of their tech-savvy friends); when those assumptions turn out to be unfounded, they may be upset. But their assumptions are not Apple's problem, except insofar as they express their frustration by not buying Apple products. Which, we must acknowledge, they are free to do -- their protest move will simply lessen the overwhelming pre-order demand and inevitable sellout delays on the 4th gen iPad by a tiny fraction of a percent. Of course, feelings aren't about rational utility and Econ 101; iPad 3 owners are entitled to have the reactions they have, and no amount of arguing will change that. But even a casual review of the engineering and marketing circumstances indicates that the short-cycle iPad refresh was the least evil of Apple's options here. In her frustration over the new iPad, Christina detours into an appraisal of the platonic ideal iPad 3 and a half that Apple "should have released" back in March. "In many ways," she writes, "this [fourth generation iPad] is the product Apple should have released as the iPad 3. I understand chips might not have been ready, pricing might not have been ideal -- but seriously, this is clearly what the iPad 3 should have been." Well, sure, chips might not have been ready. But release it anyway -- engineering be dashed! No, wait, sorry, that doesn't make any sense. We can't on the one hand castigate Apple for releasing an iPad 3rd-gen that was underpowered for its HiDPI display and lacked the Lightning port and then on the other hand admit that those upgraded components weren't actually production-ready. We can wish for things to be ready when we want them, but unfortunately technology doesn't work quite like that. But even if we were to give this position the benefit of every doubt -- assume that Apple had the 4th-gen iPad on the shelf shrinkwrapped and ready to go, but chose to release the 3rd-gen anyway -- there's one huge reason why it had to be that way. Let's suppose that Phil Schiller and his marketing team were well aware of Christina's yet-to-be-realized frustration back in March of this year, and indeed for many months before that (knowing, as we do, that Apple's product development cycles cover years rather than weeks). Assume as well that the iPhone 5 launch date couldn't shift forward to let it hit with the iPad 3/4 in March. What could Apple do? "Let's go ahead and ship the Lightning version of the iPad now," says Phil, "and we'll catch up with the iPhone 5 in September." Our imaginary Phil Schiller is then forcibly removed from Apple's Cupertino campus, never to darken its doors again. Why? Because when you have a single product with revenues that handily surpass the GDP of Ecuador, you do. Not. Mess with that. The iPhone may look like a smartphone, but it is actually a revenue machine. Every single decision Apple makes today has to be framed against the question "is it good for the iPhone?" If not, it simply does not happen. Somewhere down the line the creative destruction instincts will kick back in and Apple will design its own iPhone killer, but right now every quarter's results and more than 2/3rds of Apple's dollars depend on the iPhone's desirability in the market. Introducing a Lightning-based iPad six months before the iPhone 5 announcement fails that test. Showing the new interface port would make every iPhone sale between March and September much, much harder -- consumers could not suspend their disbelief, knowing as they would that they were getting something soon to be outdated. Even though the blogosphere had begun to show convincing examples of the Lightning port as early as May, a tentative hint is worlds away from "Here's the new iPad, and as you may notice it's got a different connector. Hey, where'd you all go?" That's two quarters down the tubes, and millions of customers lost to other mobile ecosystems. iPad sales are nice, but they're not the franchise; iPhone is the franchise. Note that when Apple introduces dramatic new technologies nowadays, they inevitably come to the iPhone first. Siri? iPhone. Lightning? iPhone. Retina? iPhone -- and that's before it got to the MacBook Pro, for goodness' sakes. iCloud and LTE have some wiggle room on this; one reason LTE hit the iPad before the iPhone is that it's much easier to solve power problems if you're engineering a device that is basically a giant battery with a screen glued to it, and it's not an Apple innovation (in fact the iPhone was quite a ways behind the market). Why not just wait, then, and hold back on the iPad refresh more than seven months until after the iPhone 5 is launched? Because if you're going to confound those customer expectations of annual upgrades one way or another, doing it by delaying the new & improved product is the wrong way to go if you're Apple. The iPad 2 had run its course as the flagship by the beginning of 2012, and there was enough value in the 3rd-gen (Siri, LTE, and that luscious Retina display) to retake the tablet lead, especially with Surface, Amazon and Android beginning to sniff at the iPad's heels. Apple would rather give people something good right now and better later, instead of lamely claiming that the iPad 2 is still the best thing going well past its sell-by date. No, given the choice of waiting or pushing out the 3rd-gen, Apple made the right call. Often, when we look to justify our anger, we step to righteousness: it's not about me, it's about how this is bad for Apple. Christina's worry is that consumers now will be gunshy about buying into new iPads if they think the new one is coming within moments. She's not convinced that the quick turn is an aberration; she worries that sub-annual iPad refreshes may now be the norm. "If that upgrade cycle is compressed," she says, "I believe some consumers may just choose to continue waiting. Take iPad 2 owners, for example. Rather than running to upgrade to an iPad 4 this Christmas, I could see some owners choosing to wait. After all, what if Apple releases a new tablet in April? Or June? Why not just wait? Wait too long and you're up against the next refresh cycle. Now Apple has missed recapturing that customer in a fiscal year. That's a bad thing." Another cognitive miss here: a broken pattern can in fact be an exception to the reigning rule rather than an example of a new rule. As one of the commenters on Christina's piece points out, just because this iPad came early that doesn't mean the next one will; in fact, given the lifespan of the original iPod 30-pin connector, it could be a decade before Apple is ready to move past Lightning to the next big thing. Calling a reset and shifting the annual upgrade cycle for the iPad to September from March actually means better uptake for the holiday sales rush, not worse. There are some real fiscal consequences to the early upgrade for those who were not planning to hold onto their iPads indefinitely. Christina rightly points out that iPad 3 owners who were expecting to resell their devices are now facing far lower returns than they "reasonably" might have expected to get. While iPads bought over the past two or four weeks may be exchangeable, people who were depending on resale arbitrage have gotten shorted on their bet. This, too, gets chalked up to the difference between patterns and promises. Nobody guaranteed that your spend on that iPad 3 would be recoverable -- expecting to get some fixed percentage of your money back on the device is entirely on you. It certainly is frustrating, but it's not at all clear that it can be pinned down as Apple's fault. Apple sold you an iPad so you could use it as an iPad, not as an investment vehicle. There are also hints of a valid argument in the notion that the 3rd-gen iPad is actually not a fully baked product, with issues of heat, weight and speed. You can bounce this back and forth, but the fact is that if you were happy with your iPad 3 last week then the failings and flaws you see now are entirely driven by your awareness of the new shiny thing, not by any realistic standard of performance. Again, I don't want to delegitimize the frustration that these folks feel -- feelings are always valid. It's when we reject ownership of our feelings and decide to pin them on something outside our control that things get slippery. Taking the irate stance that Apple's shafted you personally by introducing something new "too soon" may be an understandable reaction. But it's not reasonable to blame Apple for acting in its own best interests, and nothing here suggests that there was something else the company could have done to prevent the marginal pain. Also, in terms of relative utility, if it needs to be said: The iPad 3rd-gen you bought in March, April or May is every bit as functional now as it was last week; it runs the same apps, shows the same videos and docks with the same peripherals (something that the new 4th-gen iPad, for the record, cannot yet do). Christina's argument that the "high-end games" will now target the 4th-gen is a hypothesis, not evidence; iOS and the vast majority of apps will continue to support the 3rd-gen and the iPad 2 for quite some time to come. Millions of users are still happily using their original iPads, and they may not know or care that anyone is torqued about having a 3rd-gen that's no longer top of the charts. Let's also remember that this is an iPad, not a heart transplant. We're talking about something that many may want but nobody needs, after all. Having the luxury of buying a new iPad -- whether it's once a year, every two years, every six months, whenever -- is a remarkable thing in itself, and an opportunity that billions of people will never have. Including, most likely, the people that built the very iPad you're pining for. You can read some other savvy reactions to the 3rd gen/4th gen transition from Don McAllister, Fraser Spiers and Harry Marks.
Buyer's remorse on 3rd-gen iPad? Check with your Apple Store
It's all sunshine and Lightning for everyone who loves new Apple hardware -- except for those cranky not-so-few who bought a full-size third generation iPad (Retina) in the run-up to today's announcements. Although some late rumors suggested a revamp to the iPad mini's big brother would include the new interface port and upgraded internals, that's cold comfort now if you really had your heart set on having the latest and greatest for more than a few short months. There might be some wiggle room, however, if you bought your third-generation iPad in the last month and you feel like exchanging for a fourth-generation model. CNet is citing the experience of a few readers who were able to get AppleCare confirmation of a 30-day return window (the usual no-questions-asked-if-it's-undamaged return policy is 14 days after purchase). Reporter Sharon Vaknin says that the Stockton Street Apple Store in San Francisco is waiving the 14-day policy -- but that might be a discretionary change that is only available at certain stores. We've emailed Apple for comment, as this store-by-store exchange policy (if that's what's going on) seems a bit flaky and unfair. If you're still inside the 14-day margin, you should be able to exchange up for the current model if you want to, keeping in mind that your docks and accessories won't be directly compatible. If you're between 15 and 30 days, call your local store or AppleCare and see what they say. [via 9to5Mac]
Apple announces 4th generation iPad packing an A6X CPU, Lightning connector and FaceTime HD camera
It's not quite what we expected, but Apple has just introduced us to a new, 4th generation iPad at its event in San Jose, California today. It's essentially a hardware refresh for Apple's 3rd gen slate, as it packs new A6X silicon with quad-core graphics that the company claims provides double the performance of the old A5X chip. The new iPad also gets dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, expanded LTE compatibility (including Sprint and KDDI), a 720p FaceTime camera on the front and the new image processor first seen in the iPhone 5. Of course, it also gets the reversible Lightning port that debuted on on the iPhone, and will be available in both black and white. Pricing stays the same as its predecessor, with a 16GB WiFi version for $499 and a 16GB model with cellular data on board costs $629. Interested? You'll be able to pick one up through Apple's online and brick and mortar stores or Apple Authorized Resellers in a host of countries -- listed in the PR after the break -- on November 2nd.%Gallery-169063% For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
