Oct 22 Apple Event - iPad Air/mini,free Mavericks,Macbook (Retina Mini available now)

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Apple is doomed because they have an extremely narrow line of products given the size of the company, and all those product lines are in segments that have either peaked or are peaking. The one area that they really had potential to grow is the content side of things, and I would guess they have lost or are losing that battle to the likes of Netflix, Pandora, Spotify etc. As less people get tied down to iTunes content, makes it easier to switch allegiances when looking for their next now commoditized phone or tablet.

Hardware:

Smartphones (3 lines)
Tablets (4 lines)
Ultrabooks
Workbooks
Music Players (4 lines)
Pro desktops
Set Top Boxes
Accessories (Displays, Input Devices, Routers...)

This is not a narrow product line, and the segments above although saturated still provide a high margin of return (at least for Apple).

Services, they have the most widely used content provider iTunes that sells TV, Movies, and Radio. Apple TV is still wildly popular, and maybe not as good (I suppose if you qualify subscription vs al la cart pricing as the major factor) as the services you mention still works very well in the Apple ecosystem, which the hardware line I mentioned provides the benefits of.

Apple naysayers have been at this for a few years now. Fact is they are not slipping, they are growing, just not as fast as before. That is normal for a company that is so large. Now the focus is on slow and steady growth.

I am not saying they are perfect, but the expectations they would keep inventing markets every 3 years is unrealistic. They are doing what smart companies do, slow product improvements, solid road maps, and sustained growth. Sorry, but I don't see Apple falling any time soon.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Hardware:

Smartphones (3 lines)
Tablets (4 lines)
Ultrabooks
Workbooks
Music Players (4 lines)
Pro desktops
Set Top Boxes
Accessories (Displays, Input Devices, Routers...)

This is not a narrow product line, and the segments above although saturated still provide a high margin of return (at least for Apple).

Services, they have the most widely used content provider iTunes that sells TV, Movies, and Radio. Apple TV is still wildly popular, and maybe not as good (I suppose if you qualify subscription vs al la cart pricing as the major factor) as the services you mention still works very well in the Apple ecosystem, which the hardware line I mentioned provides the benefits of.

Apple naysayers have been at this for a few years now. Fact is they are not slipping, they are growing, just not as fast as before. That is normal for a company that is so large. Now the focus is on slow and steady growth.

I am not saying they are perfect, but the expectations they would keep inventing markets every 3 years is unrealistic. They are doing what smart companies do, slow product improvements, solid road maps, and sustained growth. Sorry, but I don't see Apple falling any time soon.

Apple's revenue is 80% iOS devices 7% Itunes store, 10% macs, and the rest makes up 3%. The Mac division is very successful in that they've been able to grow while the pc market declines, but at 10% of revenue they are almost insignificant to the overall value of the company. 76% of the company is iPad and iPhone alone. Apple TV is disproportionately popular in Canada, but sales are too low to even be noticed overall for Apple.

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/23/...on-in-revenue/

As far as iTunes is concerned, I think they have already lost catalog tv shows to Netflix (How many Breaking Bad articles mention people binge watching on iTunes?), are quickly losing music customers to streaming services, and are really only left with ppv current season tv, and new release movies. It would be very hard to predict any kind of rapid growth out of the current itunes model to the point where it becomes a more significant revenue stream.

They have put themselves in a position where they are going to live and die on iPads and iPhones. I don't know that they can continue to convince people that their products are worth a significant premium they are charging for those 2 products as tablets and smart phones basically are becoming commodities.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Russic

I have the odd ability to not notice a huge difference in retina screens, so admittedly that $300 iPad mini is a little tempting.

I like my iPad mini and it's been great for all the things I've used it for expect one. I read a bunch of The Walking Dead comics on it and it would have been better with a retina display as I could have a read a whole page without having to zoom in and out. Other than that, no complaints.

[Burninator]

As for the ongoing Apple vs everything else debate...I totally understand why Apple charges a premium for their products, I get it. But an extra $100 for doubling the storage is BS. It should be half that cost at most. Also upgrading hard drives and memory on their computers is crazy expensive too.

[cyrust]

is anyone actually planning on waiting in line on release date for the new ipad mini?
heard these will fly off the shelves due to limited supplies being shipped

[MrMastodonFarm]

Downloading OSX Mavericks now, I haven't watched the keynote yet or read too much about it so I'm kinda going in blind but we'll see how it does. I've been having major issues with my Macbook Pro's (late 2011) wifi lately, constantly having to turn off then turn on the wifi again to get a connection, we'll see if it clears that up.

What's with all the talk of free Apps? Someone mentioned Aperture is free? As a wannabe photographer I previously tried it but it paled in comparison to Adobe Lightroom but if it's free, why not, give it another go.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

As a wannabe photographer I previously tried it but it paled in comparison to Adobe Lightroom but if it's free, why not, give it another go.

I went from Aperture to Lightroom this year. Even at the price of $0 vs $149 I'd still go with Adobe. Just so much better. If you were talking the jump from iphoto to Aperture, sure, but if you're using lightroom now I wouldn't even bother playing with Aperture, even for free.

[opendoor]

Personally I prefer Aperture to Lightroom. I use it primarily as a means of organizing and cataloging rather than an all in one collection and editing program (though I do use it for minor editing). Lightroom is definitely more powerful in terms of editing capabilities, but I normally just use Photoshop for the heavy lifting anyway so I don't find Aperture to really be lacking for my uses.

Though I do agree that if you enjoy Lightroom then there isn't much reason to switch to Aperture unless you're really turned of by the Adobe CC stuff. I just think the interface is far superior and it seems to be a little snappier on my aging iMac.

[Erick Estrada]

I find my imac runs much faster with Mavericks than Mountain Lion.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by cyrust

is anyone actually planning on waiting in line on release date for the new ipad mini?
heard these will fly off the shelves due to limited supplies being shipped

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to spend $420 on a new mini, or buy the current one for $310. I won't wait in line for the new one though.

[sureLoss]

Teardowns for the new Macbook Pros reveal that:

• RAM is soldered on, meaning it will be impossible to upgrade later if you need it
• battery is glued in and may break during dis-assembly, also covers the trackpad cable
• SSD drive is not standard 2.5'' drive but still may be upgradable later
• display assembly is completely fused... anything wrong with the display will have to replace the whole display assembly

source:
http://9to5mac.com/2013/10/25/new-ha...s/#more-294648

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by cyrust

is anyone actually planning on waiting in line on release date for the new ipad mini?
heard these will fly off the shelves due to limited supplies being shipped

I'm the first in line at Market Mall right now, heard there's gonna be only 5 ipad mini countrywide available in Canada on launch day.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

[*]SSD drive is not standard 2.5'' drive but still may be upgradable later

I think that is becoming standard. With our Toshiba Ultrabooks we have at work, the SSD is not much bigger than a postage stamp.

[pylon]

So I pulled the trigger on the 13" Macbook Pro Retina 256 GB SSD 8 GB ram w/Haswell.

Wow what a machine. Coming from a mid-2011 11" Air it isn't even comparable. I looked at a new 13" Air, and the cost difference to go to the Pro was negligible once I hot rodded it a bit, and the size difference even less so. Once I heard the speakers on the Pro, it was a no brainer, that was worth $100 of the $200 difference right there, and the Retina display is worth every penny of the remainder.

Pros:

- Screen in minblowingly amazing. Looks like a glossy portrait, I cannot get my face close enough to see a pixel.
- FAST, FAST, and even FASTER.
- Got 6 hours on my first battery run down, when I took it out of the box it read 61%. I can see that the 9-10 hour battery life is a real possibility. The thing frugally sips power.
- The speakers are incredible. It has some sort of awesome 3D sound effect, and better than average bass for a laptop. WAY better than the Air which was hard to hear without installing BOOM!.
- Typical amazing Apple fit and finish.
- Barely noticeable size difference to a 13" Air, in fact I think it has a smaller footprint. It is just marginally thicker.
- The black screen bezel looks 10X better IMO.

Cons:

$1549 f'ing dollars!

Overall I am super impressed. I got 2 years out of my air, and it worked flawlessly. Ended up getting $600 for it, and so my upgrade netted out at about $1000. I hope to stretch this ones life to 3 years, which I cannot see as an issue. $333/yr for a laptop is more than reasonable in my eyes, as I was replacing annually with PC based machines at a much higher cost. That is one of the things that people forget about with the cost of Apple machines, resale/lifespan, tends to keep ownership costs quite reasonable if you look at the big picture.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to spend $420 on a new mini, or buy the current one for $310. I won't wait in line for the new one though.

As someone who's had the mini for a year, I would definitely wait. Just order online and you'll know one is coming (eventually). It's such a great size to read magazines on, and the web in general, but the small text on the current screen leaves something to be desired. 326ppi on an eight inch display will be incredible.

[Meelapo]

Originally Posted by pylon

So I pulled the trigger on the 13" Macbook Pro Retina 256 GB SSD 8 GB ram w/Haswell.

Wow what a machine. Coming from a mid-2011 11" Air it isn't even comparable. I looked at a new 13" Air, and the cost difference to go to the Pro was negligible once I hot rodded it a bit, and the size difference even less so. Once I heard the speakers on the Pro, it was a no brainer, that was worth $100 of the $200 difference right there, and the Retina display is worth every penny of the remainder.

Pros:

- Screen in minblowingly amazing. Looks like a glossy portrait, I cannot get my face close enough to see a pixel.
- FAST, FAST, and even FASTER.
- Got 6 hours on my first battery run down, when I took it out of the box it read 61%. I can see that the 9-10 hour battery life is a real possibility. The thing frugally sips power.
- The speakers are incredible. It has some sort of awesome 3D sound effect, and better than average bass for a laptop. WAY better than the Air which was hard to hear without installing BOOM!.
- Typical amazing Apple fit and finish.
- Barely noticeable size difference to a 13" Air, in fact I think it has a smaller footprint. It is just marginally thicker.
- The black screen bezel looks 10X better IMO.

Cons:

$1549 f'ing dollars!

Overall I am super impressed. I got 2 years out of my air, and it worked flawlessly. Ended up getting $600 for it, and so my upgrade netted out at about $1000. I hope to stretch this ones life to 3 years, which I cannot see as an issue. $333/yr for a laptop is more than reasonable in my eyes, as I was replacing annually with PC based machines at a much higher cost. That is one of the things that people forget about with the cost of Apple machines, resale/lifespan, tends to keep ownership costs quite reasonable if you look at the big picture.

Thank you Mr. Pylon for helping me decide. I was going to purchase either the Mac Book Air or the Pro for school. You've steered me in the direction of the Pro.

[Burninator]

/\ Totally agree. Improved text will make the Mini awesome.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Meelapo

Thank you Mr. Pylon for helping me decide. I was going to purchase either the Mac Book Air or the Pro for school. You've steered me in the direction of the Pro.

At this point in time, the only real benefit to the Air, looks like the thickness. However, at the back (hinged side) of the computer they are the same thickness, it just that the Air tapers to a wedge shape at the front. However, I just noticed how far apart the processor speeds are. 1.3 GHZ for Air vs 2.4 GHZ for the pro.

If you upgrade the 256SSD 13" air to 8gb ram, it is $1400, with no retina, half the ports (I do not think the Air has built in HDMI). The Air gets a small battery advantage, but once I weighed it out, it was a no brainer for a piddly $150. The extra 1/2 pound or so makes zero difference to me. Having a 9 hour battery life on a the Pro is such a massive upgrade, getting 11 hours out of an Air isn't going to sway me to that side for a much lower performance spec.

[pylon]

Another thing I noticed today. Dead to full charge is under 2 hrs.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by pylon

That is one of the things that people forget about with the cost of Apple machines, resale/lifespan, tends to keep ownership costs quite reasonable if you look at the big picture.

This is very helpful. Thank you.

I've had my Mac Book Pro for almost four years. Generally, what is the shelf life for a machine in high use? I've noticed things are slowing down and I do think it's time to put this laptop out of its misery very soon.