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High-definition iPad from Apple – 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!

Apple introduced a new iPad today – one with a 9.7-inch “retina display” (of 2047 by 1536 pixels, compared with the current model’s 1024 by 768 pixels), a faster processor, and the ability to run on the 4G networks of AT&T and (more significantly, at least to people who value “customer satisfaction”) Verizon!

So two of my MAIN three criteria for a new Apple device – the “retina display” and the ability to run on the Verizon LTE network have been met. The unsatisfied criterion, at least for me, is “at an acceptable price.”

I will admit that, at this point, I have not had time to watch the video of the “Special Event” –  my usual starting place. At some time in the future, I (along with many of my fellow Baby Boomers) will have to decide (given our “aging eyes“) whether it makes more sense to own an iPad OR the smaller-screened iPhone. The new iPad’s features that I have investigated so far LOOK pretty good, but the price looks pretty bad, ESPECIALLY on LTE and when you consider that an iPad is essentially a stripped-down laptop (although a “très chic” one). Unlike Apple, where artistic design sometimes wins over functionality and engineering (you can admit it – remember the Mac “Cube?” I own a T-shirt of the device that I purchased [the T-shirt, NOT the device] at the on-site Apple Store in Cupertino), MOST of us who have had our incomes limited by age discrimination and who hope to make our savings last our entire lives, are interested in what a device can DO for us!

Remember back when all of the tech pundits couldn’t figure out the FIRST iPad? I had to laugh. “Leave THIS one to ‘the People,'” I said to myself. And the People spoke, in VOLUMES – volumes of 55 million iPads sold, worldwide!

The CNN article notes:

“Just last week, Microsoft rolled out its Windows 8 operating system for tablets, suggesting that Windows-based tablets could be making a serious run.”

Please get serious! :-) Those of us who have worked with multiple operating systems in technology companies know that, although Windows has gotten BETTER, it is still Windows! :-) The People are driving the migration to Apple products, NOT the stodgy, group-thinking corporations. Many corporations (especially in financials and pharmaceuticals) HAVE “seen the light” with regard to iPad! It TOOK them long enough! :-) Linear thinkers CAN eventually “get you there” sometimes – just it TAKES much longer! :-)

A note to CNN, which said:

“The new version will be available in the U.S. on AT&T and Verizon and will be the first iPad to connect to 4G networks (a fact that, at least for now, remains academic in most cities).”

HARDWARE-purchase decisions, and the networks that SUPPORT them, are NEVER “academic.” Why would a customer sign a 2-year contract with a telecommunications company for a device that is already obsolete (3G :-) ) whether or not the 4G networks are “built out” yet? High-quality Apple hardware lasts a long time. Apple’s customers EXPECT that. Customers who purchase Apple products are in the position of having to forecast what the tech world will look like in 3-5 years. Sometimes, we guess “wrong,” but “educated guesses” SAVE us a lot of money.

As a loyal (and long-time) Apple customer, I still have a few comments. Apple DRAGS its “competitors” FORWARD. Still, many of us expect MORE from Apple than its primary obligation (under U.S. law) to its stockholders, and we expect MORE from Apple than the assurance of good working conditions for its employees and suppliers, both in the U.S. and in China. Apple customers ALSO expect their OWN loyalty to be rewarded, with affordable products that move the industry forward, without leaving Apple’s long-time customers BEHIND.

If this suggestion sounds like the radical incorporation of morality into business (What a concept! :-)Business Ethics!Precisely HOW MUCH “greed is good?” :-) ), then perhaps that is exactly what it is. And maybe, if Apple is radical enough to embrace the challenge, some of its “competitors” (or really, “emulators” :-) ) may do likewise, just to “keep up.”

Not that I would likely buy the inferior products of Apple’s competitors, even if they DID…. :-)

(Note added March 14, 2012: Of course, Apple needs to recoup its development and production costs for this beautiful device by selling it to people who can afford it. For the time being, that doesn’t include me, and I suspect that it doesn’t include a whole lot of OTHER people, either! If you would like to read a CNET article that does a reasonably good job at analyzing the pros and cons of buying the new iPad, it is HERE. The only statements of theirs that I do not understand are those related to future Windows 8 devices. What is CNET’s fascination with Windows? Or is it just that I am not the blind and forgiving type…? :-) )

(Note added March 14, 2012, 9:52 PM PDT: OK, I got a chance to watch the keynote today, and I only had to leave it three times to puke when two speakers said, “…take it to the next level,” and one speaker said, “…take it to a higher level.” Darn it people, there ARE no levels! It was a pleasure to see Eddy Cue again. During the whole presentation, I kept wondering if Tim is an INTJ, based on what I have observed about Introvert:Extravert pairs. As for the iPad, it’s brilliant, of course. I still can’t afford one, and I have learned not to desire objects that I cannot afford.)

-Bill at

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