With 128GB, iPad Hits Surface Pro, Ultrabook Territory

noh8rz10 writes "Holy moly! iPad gets a heavyweight sibling, clicking in at 128GB. This places it in range of storage for Surface Pro and ultrabooks. It's clearly targeted at the professional market, as the press release cites X-rays and CAD files as reasons. Should Microsoft be afraid? Methinks so. Best part, pricing is growing by log 2. Just as the 32GB version is $100 more than the 16, and the 64 is $100 more than the 32, this new version is $100 more than the 64!" Update: 01/29 16:00 GMT by T : Here's Apple's announcement itself.

Uh yeah

[Anonymous Coward]

Because the amount of storage is the only things that's different between an ipad and an ultrabook...

Re:Uh yeah

[sl4shd0rk]

Because the amount of storage is the only things that's different between an ipad and an ultrabook...

Oh, actually there are quite a few differences:

1) You don't need a special repository to install software on your Ultrabook.

2) Most Ultrabooks will let you install another OS

3) You have a better chance of upgrading/replacing the components in your Ultrabook.

4) Ultrabooks have standard connectors for peripherals

5) I've yet to hear sneering from an Ultrabook owner directed at someone who doesn't have one

Re:

[gl4ss]

what they meant with ultrabook territory was that it's surpassing some ultrabooks in price. add a keyboard and it's reaching surface pro pricing.

Re:

[Little_Professor]

"In case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic"

Re:

[thetoadwarrior]

You can get a keyboard so it's effectively a laptop that comes apart and lives in a closed garden

Re:Uh yeah

[characterZer0]

Unless they have to type.

Re:Uh yeah

[jtownatpunk.net]

Clearly you've never read business emails. The keyboard, it does nothing!

Re:Uh yeah

[alen]

only retarts cant type on an ipad

its very easy

Re:

[jedidiah]

It is not "very easy". Nor is it terribly efficient.

It's only even remotely comparable only if you've gotten beyond "hunt and peck" with a real keyboard.

Re:

[alen]

i have big hands and i somehow type with both of them on my ipad, a few dozen words per minute

Re:

[BlackSnake112]

How many people are taking an extra screen with them for when they use their laptop? How many people break out that bluetooth keyboard when they need to type on their tablet?

Those things do exist but I would say that over 95% (I know percentages *sigh*) of people who use tablets do not have a separate keyboard. My own observation from where I work: 67 Ipads, 123 iphones, 35 android based phones, and 1 bluetooth keyboard. The bluetooth keyboard is used with an android phone.

Re:Uh yeah

[halltk1983]

I have a logitech keyboard case for my ipad. I use it in all my meetings to take notes, send emails, etc. Much easier than ending all my SSH sessions, closing out IRC and other comms systems, unhooking my extra monitors and dragging along the laptop. The tablet with the keyboard is like a 10" laptop, and it types fine, even with my large hands. It's a little cramped, but not much worse than the laptop keyboard.

Re:

[GigG]

From your data either they don't need a keyboard, can't afford a keyboard or or too ignorant to know they are out there.

Re:

[BronsCon]

So no you're got your iPad, which of course is in a case, and a bluetooth keyboard to carry around and keep charged. That's 2 items, with 2 batteries, and 2 different chargers needed. The surface, which happens to be a complete PC, with an Intel Core i5 CPU and a complete desktop OS, has a case available that also happens to be a keyboard, which just so happens to be powered by the device itself, so only one item to carry and one battery to charge, and all your desktop apps can come along for the ride.

Yes

Re:Uh yeah

[halltk1983]

I've had my case/keyboard for about 6 months. I've charged it twice. I use it all the time. It lasts about 3 months per charge for me, and it lets me know about 3 days before the battery runs out I should charge it. And it uses micro-usb. And takes about an hour to charge using my cell phone's charger.

Re:

[BronsCon]

And the rest of my points?

You still have two separate items to carry (the Surface Pro's keyboard is also its case, and it attaches to, and becomes one with, the device, remember). You still lack a full desktop OS. You still lose functionality with an iPad that you don't have to give up with Surface Pro. Oh, and I forgot to mention, pressure-sensitive digitizer -- worth the $900 just for that, especially since I've been eyeballing this one [newegg.com] for some time now.

Re:Uh yeah

[SuperKendall]

He covered all your points. His case is a keyboard, and charging something once every few months does not really add overhead.

As for "more functional" I would argue the iPad at this point is more functional for a small form-factor device, simply because all the software (and there is a LOT of software) is designed to work in that space. On a "real PC" as the Surface Pro is, you are going to be running a lot of PC software really built for larger displays. If all you are doing is browsing and running word I'm sure the Surface Pro is fine; some of us want more capability.

The Surface Pro is a Macbook Air competitor, not really an iPad competitor... even if the Surface does have touch.

Re:

[PIBM]

I don't know of many laptops supporting 30 inchers at either 2560x1600 or 4k resolution...

Re:

[omnichad]

retarts

Did you type that on an iPad?

Re:Uh yeah

[dinfinity]

Woosh.

Re:

[L4t3r4lu5]

I've figured out why they're like this; You're meant to hold an iPad in your other hand, so you type one handed. Pretend for a moment that you don't have the finger dexterity of a professional piano player and type, hunt-and-peck style, on your keyboard. No using two fingers now; This is typing on the move. Capitalisation a little hard? How about punctuation that requires pressing shift?

Yeah, it's a joke and I get it, but still... Best of a bad situation. If there needs to be that much typing on an iPad, m

Re:

[gstoddart]

So if you need to type that much get a bluetooth keyboard, they've been supported since the first version. You can get one for about $40-$50.

I can type just fine on screen, but I'm not doing huge amounts of typing on it. I can type out emails just fine, but I seldom create large documents with it.

The same would be true if it was from Microsoft, Samsung, or any other tablet.

Re:

[CaymanIslandCarpedie]

But according to the summary this extra memory means it isn't a tablet any more. It is now a serious device like an ultra book geared towards professionals. I'm going to go home and shove one of my 256 GB SSD in my toaster. Then that will be even more like an ultra book too than the iPad! :-)

Re:Uh yeah

[Anonymous Coward]

I own a ultrabook. It is my main workstation. I have nginx, php, ruby, java, sqlite, mysql, some IDEs and all the unix toolkit at my disposition.

Do that with you iPad. Oh wait, you can't.

So get over yourself.

Re:

[tepples]

I own a ultrabook. It is my main workstation. I have [a whole web application development stack] at my disposition.

The counter to that would be that only experienced professionals working in offices need a development workstation. The video game console makers, for example, appear to believe this.

Re:Uh yeah

[NatasRevol]

Oh no, Apple will sell (10M-1).

In other words, your edge case isn't relevant.

So get over yourself.

Re:

[Mordok-DestroyerOfWo]

Edge case my arse! I have a very similar need (albeit a different way of accomplishing it). I develop software but live several hundred miles away from the companies I work for. As such I'm flying in and out at least one a month. Rather than an ultrabook, I have a Raspberry Pi and an Asus Transformer. The theory is still the same. The fact that I know another person in the meat world with a similar set-up tells me that our situations aren't nearly as fringe as people like you would think. Apple will

Re:

[NatasRevol]

And that doesn't change the fact that YOUR use case (not plural) is meaningless.

As a percentage of customers, programmers are a rounding error.

Besides, it's not like there no code editors for the iPad.

Re:

[Mordok-DestroyerOfWo]

I have no doubt that code editors abound. But (without jailbreaking) can I SSH to my home server and run my test apps? Can I run Nginx (or Apache), Postgres, Python/Django, or a host of other server-side technologies? Of course not! This is despite the fact that the average iDevice is more than capable of handling it and there is a community of developers (myself included) willing to put the time in to make it work. People know I'm an uber-geek, when they see me using a non-Apple device they usually wa

Re:

[NatasRevol]

Yes, you can ssh without jailbreaking. And have been able to for a long time.

Here's a pretty one:
http://panic.com/prompt/ [panic.com]

" Whether they like it or not, geeks have at least some influence in the purchase decisions of mundanes."
Once upon a time, maybe. But an iPad can do just about anything the 'mundanes' want to do, so why do they care about geek opinions any more?

Re:

[Skynyrd]

This is why the iPad isn't for you. Not all products have to appeal to all people. It's why GM makes trucks, small cars, SUVs, vans (for people or cargo) and on and on. Use something else and stop being a troll.

No matter how much you hate Apple, they will still sell millions of these.

But I can do stuff with an Ultrabook

[Anonymous Coward]

Besides content consumption, that is...

Re:But I can do stuff with an Ultrabook

[slashmydots]

I can do even more amazing tricks with my Toshiba Portege Ultrabook: run almost any software ever written, type on it with physical feedback (and backlit keys), attach USB flash drives to it, join a Windows domain, backup an entire disk image to external media on a USB 3.0 port, run MS Office, run Adobe CS6, upgrade or downgrade the OS, upgrade the RAM, upgrade the SSD, upgrade the webcam, and play legacy games. If anyone still thinks their ipad is an ultrabook, they're really not helping the "Apple fanboys are delusional" stereotype. I mean, yeah, they are and it's not a stereotype but still.

Totally inaccurate

[SuperKendall]

run almost any software ever written

Actually you can't. You can't run any of the 300k apps written specifically for the iPad, or the millions more iPhone apps that exist. Just as there is a world of software the iPad cannot run, there is a world of software you cannot run. Only the iPad has the more modern software being written today...

type on it with physical feedback (and backlit keys)

Yeah we can do that on an iPad thanks.

attach USB flash drives to it

Camera connection kit on an iPad.

backup an entire

Re:

[jedidiah]

> Besides content consumption, that is...

Are you joking?

An Ultrabook can do far more in that area. It can do everything a tablet can do plus all of the services that may not have an "app", or those services that may need Flash (or even Silverlight), and it can handle all of the formats that an iPad can't.

HELL. You could use that Ultrabook as an AirVideo or Plex server to make your iPad less lame.

Re:

[dc29A]

Slow down cowboy. Pretty sure parent meant the exact same thing.

Re:But I can do stuff with an Ultrabook

[Old97]

I don't know why some idiot scored you as "informative". There is more to content creation than programming. Development may not be possible on a tablet, but you certainly can create a lot of other content. Diagrams, documents, artwork, video, music, etc. Want a physical keyboard? Well just like a Surface Pro you can select from a variety of keyboards. Mine is part of the cover, real keys, lasts 40 hours of use and recharges with microUSB. Personally, I'd prefer an ultrabook because I do development and I'm a geek, but for most people tablets like the iPad fit their needs very well.

redundant

[Nossie]

why the hell is this on slashdot? Seriously - I love apple products but this is ridiculous.

A:) It was inevitable that Apple would bring out a 128GB product
B:) I fully believe Ipads are eating into ultrabooks, surfaces and general notebook sales - but capacity is not why! Convenience is why.

Ultrabooks and notebooks still have their uses and are NOT comparable to Ipads. The only thing people have been questioning is if their usage really requires the limitations (size) of ultrabooks.

The surface and Surface Pro will likely fail on their own merits, just like the XP tablets from before.

Redundant article is redundant.

Re:

[NatasRevol]

The niche between $950 and $1000.

ridiculous!

[slashmydots]

With 128GB, iPad Hits Surface Pro, Ultrabook Territory

You get 100% of the software from the Apple App store, it doesn't take MicroSD, and doesn't have a USB port. Keep fucking dreaming but that's not an ultrabook.

Re:ridiculous!

[Murdoch5]

When I can run Matlab at full power on a tablet at the same time as transcoding a video and doing a folding computation then I'll give the tablet a computer rating.

Re:

[Missing.Matter]

Is it the same reason God invented ubiquitous, always on internet connections? Oh right, those don't exist. We're talking about portable devices here. Some of us actually go places and do things (like use Matlab) where *gasp* internet is not available.

No Wi-Fi, no ssh

[tepples]

There's a reason God invented ssh

Then God must be imperfect, as ssh doesn't work when no Wi-Fi signal is available.

Re:

[ikaruga]

Recently found that bluetooth support is pretty poor too. Good luck find games/apps (outside the ones on Cydia) that work with a PS3/Wii/generic wireless controller. Not even talk about the lack of a file manager and gimped WebKit. That is notebook territory only for people who just use facebook and watch youtube videos.
But enough of Apple bashing from my part as that is beyond the point. The fact is that this article is awfully written. If storage is the necessary condition to be a notebook competitor doe

Virtual gamepad

[tepples]

Good luck find games/apps (outside the ones on Cydia) that work with a PS3/Wii/generic wireless controller.

Why can't games that use a gamepad just be redesigned to use touch screen swipes as buttons [pineight.com] so that you don't have to carry a console's proprietary Bluetooth gamepad?

Re:

[am 2k]

Recently found that bluetooth support is pretty poor too. Good luck find games/apps (outside the ones on Cydia) that work with a PS3/Wii/generic wireless controller.

Yes, only keyboard type devices are supported of the HID protocol. For everything else, you have to use a special chip for bluetooth that you only get with a special license issues by Apple called "MFI", which is very hard to get (and the app has to implement it specifically).

However, there are some bluetooth controllers that act like they are keyboards. There's a pseudo-standard implemented that defines which keyboard keys match what controller input. One of those is the iCade [thinkgeek.com], another is DRONE [evolutioncontrollers.com].

Not even talk about the lack of a file manager

The file co

A computer device is getting a bigger HD!

[geekoid]

the deuce you say, sir!

Re:

[oodaloop]

Mmmmm, yes. And in the same price increase/size doubling as all other drives for the same device. Inconceiveable!

Re:

[Rogerborg]

But what will this signify for my extensive opium and tiger pelt holdings in the East India Company?

The pricing is still a bit ridiculous

[Bagels]

Logarithmic pricing or not, if you're paying a $300 premium for this version of the iPad (vs. the 16GB version), that's a seriously lousy price on flash storage; typical SSD prices these days are on the order of $180 for a 250GB SSD (and I've seen sale prices as low as $140-150). Apple's doing this with a lot of other products these days, too: the RAM on their laptops isn't user-serviceable any more, so you have to buy it built-in at hugely inflated prices.

Re:The pricing is still a bit ridiculous

[timeOday]

Yes - the 128GB version is $100 more than the 64 GB version - a difference of 64 GB - but a 64 GB SD card is less than $50 [walmart.com].

The lack of a MicroSD slot on the Apple products is a complete racket.

Why do you assume Apple's SSD is that slow?

[SuperKendall]

but a 64 GB SD card is less than $50.

The desire to not have ignorant users like yourself gimp the iPad with slow flash memory is why Apple does not have an SD port. Come to think of it, that is also why GOOGLE is building more devices now without an SD port now also. Performance is guaranteed.

The iPad 3 had storage [toshiba.com] they can write to at up to 22MB/s, and read from at 78MB/s... the card you listed can do neither of those things as quickly despite the 50MB/s claim on the front.

If you really want to attach an SD card to read movies or media from just buy a camera connection kit and attach it to the iPad that way.

APPL pays about 25 cents per gigabyte flash

[peter303]

They co-own some of the flash factories. The buy flash in massive volumes. They are not losing any money on the top upgrade and making a killing on the lowest upgrade.

Re:

[tepples]

typical SSD prices these days are on the order of $180 for a 250GB SSD

How (physically) big are those, and how much electric power do they draw? I imagine that the SSD you're talking about is for a full-size laptop or desktop computer.

Do we still hate Microsoft that much?

[jellomizer]

Back in the 90's and early 2000's We hated Microsoft and Apple. But if we were to choose who to hate most it would be Microsoft.
I would think with Apple Kicking Microsoft Butt for the past decade, we would changing our feelings. Sure we still hate Apple and Microsoft, but we just might want Microsoft to get some traction.

Re:

[pesho]

After the the debacle that was Windows Vista followed more recently by the misguided Windows 8 and Surface, hate does not seems as a good description for the attitude towards Microsoft. I think I am seeing a combination of mild amusement, disbelief and pity. May be this is the Steve Balmer's master plan: if you can't get good karma with the products you sell, at least get people to pity you rather than hate you. So far it seems to work.

Re:

[jbolden]

Back in the 1990s the /. crowd didn't hate Apple. Apple products were a niche products aimed at people in the creative arts and no one really claimed Linux has software that was good for the creative artist. When Apple acquired NeXT there was a lot of enthusiasm for Apple taking Unix / Linux software mainstream and creating millions of people that knew at least partially how to get around the Unix command line (though a BSD variant). The fink project creating a bridge between the Debian community and the

Reaction to the App Store

[tepples]

But the real mass tension and widespread dislike of Apple didn't start on /. until Android.

The HTC Dream, the first Android phone sold to the public, arrived a couple months after iOS 2. This release introduced the App Store, which brought with it three restrictions that run counter to the free software movement. These are Apple's requirement to pay $650 for its own version of UNIX plus $100 per year just to run your own programs on your own device, Apple's restrictive and initially secret guidelines for what kinds of program will be allowed, and Apple's arbitrary and capricious interpretation of

New model

[satsuke]

I'll look at buying a new Ipad (currently have an ipad 2) when they upgrade the base model to 32 gigs.

16GB (11.5 useable) was fine 2 years ago. If you sideload any amount of video or use some of the newer games, it'll fill up too quick. (e.g. Disney second screen media sucking up 2 gigs).

User generated RDF

[poity]

Is someone feeling the pain from his Apple heavy portfolio? Looking to recover last week's loss asap?

Real Question

[Murdoch5]

Great! We now have tablets that have 100+GB of Storage, my question is who really cares? There are really three camps when it comes to computers, the mobile ( aka tablets ), The portable ( aka laptops / ultrabooks ) and Desktop Computing. Who wants to blur the lines? I don't see a real case where I want to use my playbook or iPad as my laptop, in the same way I would NEVER expect my laptop to act in the same capacity as my desktop. Each stage has a certain power level in terms of computation ability a

Re:

[jbolden]

Who wants to blur the lines? Everyone. I haven't owned a desktop in a decade, I just plugged a laptop into an external keyboard and monitor. There is no good reason long term the laptop couldn't go and the same process work for a phone.

Re:

[Murdoch5]

Laptops really suck at very heavy computational processing. Desktops still hold the top of the hill when it comes to being the device you want for doing extreme computing. Laptops are great for simple development or social updating, maybe some media but past that you really need to move up to a desktop. Tablets have even less power then notebooks so unless your only writing a document and watching a movie, your out of luck. It would be great to blur the lines but were still at least 10 years out from

Re:

[Murdoch5]

I agree with your point!

Only stupid people think so

[TheSkepticalOptimist]

The whole point of Surface Pro is to actually develop apps on it, its a hybrid device that is a little tablet and a little laptop. Only stupid people think that iPad with 128gb of storage is intended to compete with Surface Pro, or Ultrabooks for that matter.

Until Apple allows the iPad to support content creation (true content creation, not the limited "hold your hands" approach to content creation that it currently has), then I don't think anybody should confuse iPad in the same market as Ultrabooks, or the jack of all trades Surface Pro.

Meh! Apple Bapple.

[DarthVain]

So a 1000$ iPad with 128GB storage. So overpriced with limited storage for a Ultrabook...

A more apt comparison might be that I just bought a Samsung Galaxy S 3 for 50$ (plus 3yr contract of course), and spent 60$ to put an additional 64GB microSD card in it. I got the cheap 16GB version so I *only* have 80GB of storage. However this has been available for about 7 months now, not currently not released.

I would guess this trend will only continue to get bigger/better. I broke the chains to Apple a week ago, and that is one of the reasons why.

Another reason why? Well an ultrabook usually runs a real processor, not a mobile one (well a mobile version of a real processor). By that I mean something made by Intel or AMD, not Motorola, VIA, designed by ARM, or called A#, or Snapdragon, etc...

It is a stupid comparion. Its just a mobile device with more "apple" memory than they have allowed in the past. Considering two 64GB microSD chips cost a grand total of 120$ retail, one can see how Apple makes its money with such high margins.

Re:

[pherthyl]

>> A more apt comparison might be that I just bought a Samsung Galaxy S 3 for 50$ (plus 3yr contract of course)

So you spent at least $550 on the phone + 60 for the storage. So your total is $610 for a device with 80GB of storage. Not exactly cheap either.

And why are you comparing a phone with a tablet with an ultrabook?

pfft. worthless

[m.dillon]

If they introduced an ipad with twice the ram and an iOS update with a more multi-tasking-friendly UI I would be impressed. If Apple added an external storage slot, I would be tempted. But bumping up the internal flash from 64G to 128G and charging $1000 for it? Sorry, in this heavily networked world that's almost completely worthless.

-Matt

Oh?

[EnsilZah]

So the iPad can run x86 code now?
No?
Does it have a pressure sensitive stylus now?
No?
So all this story is about is extending capacity that I can achieve with a $40 USB dongle on the aforementioned devices?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, it's not in their news section [apple.com].

And the linked article [appleinsider.com] doesn't cite any sources.

Re:Are you sure?

[TimHunter]

Available Feb 5, according to Apple's press release. http://www.cultofmac.com/212986/apple-will-start-selling-128gb-ipad-next-week/ [cultofmac.com]

Press Release Here

[guttentag]

Apple Increases iPad with Retina Display to 128GB [apple.com]

Most users won't have a need for this much space because they just don't generate or accumulate that many files, given the sandboxed file system. "Open in another app" is a somewhat clunky workaround. But there are definitely professional uses for more space. People who need to load the iPad up with training videos, autocad files, etc. I've recently started using an app called "Scanner Pro" to quickly create PDFs of physical documents that cross my desk eve

Re:

[NatasRevol]

Bullshit.

Go on a trip for a week with kids. Want to watch movies/shows in high res? (~1GB/movie) x (# of people) x (# of movies) can quickly get to 64GB if you want to bring some selection.

Re:

[Nossie]

I used to believe that when I had an XDA... shame write speeds suck.

Re:

[tepples]

I use the wireless portion to connect to the printer

Which requires re-buying the printer if it doesn't support the exact protocol that your device uses.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:And not a single

[SJHillman]

In addition to their existing 128GB model that's referenced in the summary? Or do you mean a 128GB model that actually has 128GB, not 83GB plus a 45GB OS?

Re:

[ilsaloving]

How is this modded Informative? The parent is clearly making a joke at the Surface's expense. iOS doesn't require even remotely that much space.

If you're gonna troll for Microsoft, can you at least TRY to not be so pathetically transparent?

Re:And not a single

[SJHillman]

I'm not sure why I was modded informative either. My first point was the AC I was replying to was too thick to read the summary and realize the 128GB iPad was in response to the 128GB Surface Pro, so Microsoft will not "have to come out with" a 128GB model. My second point was that in spite of already having a 128GB Surface Pro, it's limited to about 83GB after the OS and other stuff that comes on it, whereas the iPads typicially give you much closer to the amount of storage they're sold as having.

In my opinion, the iPad is overpriced for what it does anyway, and the only real advantage of the Surface Pro is to run x86 programs - but even that is a niche because it's competing against less expensive laptops/netbooks with the same level of portability and some even have touchscreens. I'll happily stick to my Nook Color with Cyanogenmod for my tablet needs.

Re:And not a single

[thoth]

OP is talking about Windows Surface, where Win 8 or Win RT eats up a lot of storage.

Re:And not a single

[paiute]

128GB should be enough for anyone.

Re:

[ArhcAngel]

So what you meant to say was you dislike Apples tactics? If that's the case then we agree. Their products are not bad.

Re:

[jythie]

The person is confusing personal preference for an interface (dislike) with the product actually being bad (sucks).

Re:

[Jeremy Erwin]

So, if I wanted to, I could install Android on my ipad3? Or Linux?

People buy iPads because they want to run iOS. If they wated to run Android, they would look to Apple's competitors, perhaps even Samsung.

Re:

[richy freeway]

I refer you to my original post.

Re:

[MoronGames]

I have iTunes Match [apple.com] and a 16GB iPhone for this very reason. I can take my ~90GB music collection with me everywhere I go.

Re:

[jedidiah]

With my 80G phone, my collection will be everywhere I go regardless of how well I am connected to the grid. Besides just network performance and availability, I also never have to worry about roaming charges and bandwidth caps.

I could also attach a 128G or 256G thumb drive to my phone for added fun. Plus I can access anything. I don't have to be limited to what's in the Apple company store.

iTunes can't match what iTunes doesn't sell.

Re:

[MoronGames]

iTunes can't match what iTunes doesn't sell.

Incorrect! :) iTunes uploads non-matched files to the cloud, and has no problem playing them. Support page for iTunes Match [apple.com]

Single digit GB/mo

[tepples]

I can take my ~90GB music collection with me everywhere I go.

But how much of it can you play in a month if the carrier gives you a monthly data transfer allowance only in the low single digit GB? Say you stream at 128 kbps; that's about 1 MB a minute. Using it an hour will run you 1.4 GB per month, which is more than half of the 2.5 GB that Virgin allows before they throttle you to 256 kbps for everything for the rest of the month.

Re:

[cyber-vandal]

Or you could buy a phone that allows you to add an SD card for far less than the ripoff price that Apple expects you to pay for 64GB of flash storage.

Re:

[jbolden]

The bias against spinny storage is just mindless iCult nonsense.

I own the rMBP I'm getting 450MB/sec which is faster than many good quality spinning RAID systems. I'd love to have more space, and I'd prefer something like the fusion drive. But no it isn't just mindless iCult nonsense.

Re:

[unrtst]

The bias against spinny storage is just mindless iCult nonsense.

I own the rMBP I'm getting 450MB/sec which is faster than many good quality spinning RAID systems. I'd love to have more space, and I'd prefer something like the fusion drive. But no it isn't just mindless iCult nonsense.

...and you need 450MB/sec on an iPod for what exactly? (I know you didn't say iPod, but GP did)

Flash storage has it's places, and fast disk access is one (very useful on a laptop that is rebooted frequently; random access is good for desktops). It's good on tablets and such not because of speed, but because of reliability. You can drop it and the heads won't smash against the platters. It's also good for size reasons (it's not a 2.5" drive in there). All that said, I'd like to see spinny storage options on

Re:

[LordLimecat]

Flash storage is superior to disk for 80% of applications, and I say this as an IT guy with a bias against apple. Try running 3 VMs on a single hardrive, first spinning, then flash; THEN tell me that its "mindless nonsense".

What really sold me was realizing that a $15k SAN loaded with drives hits about 5% of the IOPs of a $200 SSD, and about a third of the burst throughput.

Re:

[tepples]

You can find 64 GB microSD cards for $50 (or even less).

How much does Microsoft charge for an ExFAT license in order to be able to use microSDXC cards?

Re:

[TheSkepticalOptimist]

Largely I think this move from Apple ensures they can charge $800 for a device when Google is selling something for 1/2 the price which has higher resolution and more processing power. A new display is expensive to develop, new CPU's are expensive to develop. Storage is cheap and its the quick and easy (and dirty) way for Apple to dupe millions into buying something with an obscene amount of profit margin by spending a few extra dollars on the storage chips they put in the "new" iPad. I will stake my life

Re:More hyperbole please!

[nomadic]

When you spend your days in a Williamsburgh coffee shop, waiting for your family to send the rent check while you wait for some employer to recognize the value of your BFA in Film Studies, sometimes Apple love is all you have. Well, that and the muttonchops.

Re:

[sootman]

Nice. And me without mod points. :-) Good one.

Re:

[nomadic]

You just don't get it, man. You're a SQUARE, man. Think different!

Re:

[Jeremy Erwin]

memory? please, this is slashdot. your ultra book probably has eight times the RAM. This is merely storage.

Re:

[His Shadow]

Shut up for Odin's sake. If we had a nickel for every moron that believed every mundane news article about Company A meant subby was in the pocket of Company A, we could package all you twits up in a rocket and shoot you to the Moon. Apple is the biggest deal in tech right now. Does that offend you? Move to Botswana.