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Handhelds IOS Upgrades Apple Hardware

With 128GB, iPad Hits Surface Pro, Ultrabook Territory 501

Posted by timothy from the paradox-of-choice dept.
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.
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With 128GB, iPad Hits Surface Pro, Ultrabook Territory More

With 128GB, iPad Hits Surface Pro, Ultrabook Territory

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  • Uh yeah (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:19AM (#42726161)

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

    • Re:Uh yeah (Score:4, Insightful)

      by sl4shd0rk ( 755837 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:45AM (#42726593)

      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

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

  • But I can do stuff with an Ultrabook (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:20AM (#42726167)

    Besides content consumption, that is...

    • Re:But I can do stuff with an Ultrabook (Score:5, Informative)

      by slashmydots ( 2189826 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:31AM (#42726377)
      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.

      • 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: (Score:2)

      by jedidiah ( 1196 )

      > 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:But I can do stuff with an Ultrabook (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Old97 ( 1341297 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:54AM (#42726711)
      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 (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Nossie ( 753694 ) <IanHarvie&4Development,Net> on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:25AM (#42726263)

    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.

  • ridiculous! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by slashmydots ( 2189826 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:27AM (#42726315)

    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! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Murdoch5 ( 1563847 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:56AM (#42726747) Homepage
      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.
    • 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

      • 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: (Score:2)

        by am 2k ( 217885 )

        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

  • the deuce you say, sir!

    • Mmmmm, yes. And in the same price increase/size doubling as all other drives for the same device. Inconceiveable!
      • 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 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Bagels ( 676159 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:30AM (#42726363)
    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 (Score:5, Insightful)

      by timeOday ( 582209 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:47AM (#42726603)
      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? (Score:5, Informative)

        by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @01:09PM (#42728861)

        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.

    • 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: (Score:2)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      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.

  • 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: (Score:2)

      by pesho ( 843750 )
      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: (Score:2)

      by jbolden ( 176878 )

      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

      • 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

  • 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 (Score:3)

    by poity ( 465672 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:42AM (#42726523)

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

  • 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: (Score:2)

      by jbolden ( 176878 )

      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.

      • 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

  • Only stupid people think so (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheSkepticalOptimist ( 898384 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @10:53AM (#42726699)

    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. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DarthVain ( 724186 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @11:09AM (#42726959)

    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.

    • >> 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 (Score:3)

    by m.dillon ( 147925 ) on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @11:34AM (#42727357) Homepage

    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? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by EnsilZah ( 575600 ) <EnsilZahNO@SPAMGmail.com> on Tuesday January 29, 2013 @12:21PM (#42728137)

    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?

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