Is Apple getting carried away with releases?

[AFAngryWarrior]

I love Apple. I have had every iPad they have released as well as iPhones. When the iPad 3 came out I hesitated for a while. There was a few nice changes like 4G and a retina display but that was it. It took a lot for me to justify the upgrade to myself. It took even more convincing going from the iphone4 to the 4S. At least the ipad 3 came with 4G, the iphone 4S only had a few updates that didn't have much of an impact. Now, they unveil the 4th generation ipad is announced and I can't convince myself (as hard as I try) that its worth another ipad purchase. If anything it seems to be more of a pain than a more helpful tool. Since it comes with the newer lightning port I would have to purchase all new docks, keyboards, smart covers, etc. All for a faster processor? I don't know about you guys, but I've never had A situation when using my ipad where i think "man i wish my ipad was faster!" It's never chunked going between programs or froze up while I reply to an email. My point is that my ipad is fast enough that I wouldn't notice anything faster. That makes the new ipad 4 a poor investment to me. I'm curious to hear your arguments as to why you'll upgrade or your reason that its not worth it to you.

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[Kaykaykay]

I've never felt compelled to buy each upgrade. I buy when I have need, and I'm fine with skipping generations or buying if there are additional functions that I want. I don't need the latest and greatest, but I don't want to be stranded without firmware upgrades or with limited hardware. Those are my interests in product cycles. Otherwise, I don't care.

I'm thinking about upgrading to iPad 4 because my iPad 1 is showing its age and limited RAM. But I hesitate because my iPad 2 still works reasonably well, and I like being able to swap my 3G SIM card (with unlimited data) between the two, depending on whether one is low on juice when I need to take one on the go. I still use both almost daily, and I like being able to use the same chargers for both. I have lots of chargers at my homes, in my cars and at work. If I upgrade to iPad 4, I'll be losing all that flexibility. Even if I buy two iPad 4s, I'm still using my touch 4 and iPhone 4S, which have the old connectors, so I'd have to have two sets of chargers (or adapters) at all times, including during travel.

[ipadlover29]

I just bought my iPad 3 less than 3 weeks ago. I'm still on the fence if I want to upgrade. The iPad 4 doesn't have any the features I was looking for like: 2gb of ram, thinner, lighter or stereo speakers. If I exchange my iPad 3 for the iPad 4 I will loose my jailbreak and be forced to upgrade to ios 6. Also I don't know if apple will give an even exchange with no price difference since I got my iPad 3 for $50 off.

[MattIM]

I jumped my budget when I purchased this iPad3. I set up an arbitrary 12 months of owning a tablet before considering another purchase and actually buying one. The iPad3 was such an amazing step up that I bought it in March instead of June. So I'm reverting back to that June to June timeframe. If Apple has a newer version of the iPad in June 2013, I'll consider buying that generation. For now I'll watch every one else share their thoughts and experiences with the new iPad4.

Does anyone remember previous speculative threads posted here where folks have pondered "what will the new iPad have"? Apple has certainly nipped that one in the bud!

[tlbaker]

Yes, they are!!!

Sent from my Black Verizon 64GB iPad 2 in NYC Using using iPF

[ipadlover29]

I've decided to return my iPad 3 for a refurb iPad 3 or if apple will give a price adjustment. I don't think the iPad 4 is worthy upgrade for me. Me getting some money back in my pocket is the only way I can recover from apple releasing a newer iPad in such a short period of time. Apple has become like every other manufacturer. Before you could depend on apple to wait a year until a refreshed model was released. If apple made more improvements to this new model I wouldn't have minded so much.

[robnet77]

I've decided to return my iPad 3 for a refurb iPad 3 or if apple will give a price adjustment. I don't think the iPad 4 is worthy upgrade for me. Me getting some money back in my pocket is the only way I can recover from apple releasing a newer iPad in such a short period of time. Apple has become like every other manufacturer. Before you could depend on apple to wait a year until a refreshed model was released. If apple made more improvements to this new model I wouldn't have minded so much.

I think they just tried to react to the hype of the new Android based tablets.

They jumped on the bandwagon of the tablet-fever: the average Joe might ask himself "will I buy a new tablet from Google/Amazon or an iPad? Well, these new devices claim to be awesome, maybe an iPad is now outdated and has not dropped in price".

How many average Joes are out there?

[HappyPelican]

I think Apple is getting a bit ipad crazy.

[ipadlover29]

Successfully returned my ipad 3 and placed my order for the refurb version. $135 back in my pocket. I feel better about the situation. No matter what everyone else says apple screwed us all and has broken our trust. There was no need to release a new ipad this early. Its the principal behind it not the fact that the ipad 3 is obsolete. Why make a new model? ipad mini, ipad2 and ipad 3 just weren't enough? Apple is getting really greedy Only thing about this decision that makes sense is that its just before the holiday season so that they can capitalize on it. Why isnt the ipad 4 thinner or lighter if it has the lightning connector? What will apple do with all the unsold ipad 3's? Their gonna sell them as refurbs and loose money. Doesn't make much sense to me. Not to mention confusing the customer even more with the ipad 2, the ipad 3, the ipad 4 and ipad mini. How do we know apple wont do this again with yet another product? Release a new ipad in march or release a new iphone before september.

[col.bris]

Personally I suggest you read the other threads this type of anger truly amazes me but it is obvious many users have no concept of the computer industry and the ongoing changes in technology that take place. That's fine however I suggest any individual whom does not understand why companies upgrade products regularly maybe do a bit of research. I will state this for the third time. This upgrade was planned more than 12 months ago as it takes that amount of time to implement design changes and every thing else that goes into making a product and one year is conservative.
1)12 months ago the lighting connector was still not finalized
2) 12 months ago the new wifi standards were not complete
3). At that time 4g networks were still in early days and I mean world wide
Not just USA the iPad 3 4g was not compatible with 4g networks our side of USA
If you really think out side the box it was necessary to upgrade the iPad so that it was compatible with 4g in the rest of the world in addition the lighting connector is now standard across all the product line and finally all products support the much faster wifi standard which is crucial in business and education

Apple did not make a knee jerk reaction it was as stated before a well planned and executed upgrade known as a speed bump. The bonus they added was a faster processor. This means Apple is not left behind by competitors.
And just for the record the average time line change for laptops with so called speed bumps is 12 WEEKS so this is nothing new and further more you can guarantee that there will be another new model in 6 months and yes you may get a slimmer case etc as that will be.a major upgrade. If you think Apple did the wrong thing by you then I suggest donot by any electrical or electronic device or car as new models are released all the time.

Just look at the Android platform to see the number of models and design changes it is a right mess yet users continue to buy the products it is life in the real world just get use to it. I own a iPad 3 it is not obsolete in any way it fits my requirements if Apple provides a better model in March yes I will upgrade as first cost of ownership is low and resale is high and I am planning for it now.

Finally Apple produces products on demand most resellers would have drained stock prior to the release yes they may offer discounts on remaining stock but that is up to the retailer

So take a deep breath and relax

Colin