What are consumers saying about Apple's new iPad?
Waynette Brown of Phoenix has already preordered the new iPad.Puma Sunglasses 2012
"I like the old one, so the new one has to be better," she says. "Better resolution, better camera. I have to have it."
Apple announced its latest iPad here Wednesday, simply calling it the new iPad but trumpeting its crisp Retina display, a 5-megapixel camera and its ability to run on the faster 4G LTE wireless networks. Lines are expected at Apple Stores when the tablet goes on sale next Friday, but how long they'll be is anyone's guess.Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses 2012
The upgrades from the iPad 2 to the new model are more modest than in the past — including the sharper resolution that Apple calls "Resolutionary," faster processing power and the camera's ability to shoot video in full 1080p high-definition. Is that enough to get consumers to ditch their iPad 2 and first-generation iPad for the new one? The answer is mixed.
"I'm an iPad 1 user," said Ted Brockwood of San Francisco. "So I'm all over the new display. I'm going to trade in the old one as fast as possible."
Mario Kroll, also of San Francisco, thinks the better graphics will be great for video games. "Now you can take your big HD TV with you." But as an iPad 2 user, he's not sure whether the better graphics will be enough of a sell to make him ditch the old one. Dylan Novicky, an aerial Versace Sunglasses 2012theatrical stagehand, wasn't impressed. The new features, to him, were "not that spectacular." What would it take for him to want to buy it? "Give me free wireless," he said, "and I'd be the first in line."
The entry price for the new iPad remains the same as the previous model, $499 for a Wi-Fi only version with 16 gigabytes of storage. IPads that can run at 4G speeds start at $629.
Monthly data plans for the iPad start at $14.99 for a 250 MB plan at AT&T Wireless and $20 for a 1 GB plan at Verizon Wireless.
Katie Small, who works at the Macy's here, says she is "tempted" by the new features, but not sold. She's interested in the better graphics and the introduction of the iPhoto image editing app, "but I don't know if that's enough to make me want to buy the new one."Designer Sunglasses
Eugene Steptoe, who works on the fabled San Francisco cable cars, says he has no choice but to buy the new iPad. His wife will want the new one, and they'll have to stand on line next week to get it. "She always wants the latest," he says.
And Mick Steier, a 15-year-old tourist from Omaha, says he was sold on the iPad 2, and he's even more jazzed to get the new iPad. "It's cool," he says.
Meanwhile the iPad 2 could get a boost. Apple cut the price $100 to $399. While that's still much higher than Amazon's tablet competitor, theDiscount Designer Sunglasses$199 Kindle Fire, the smaller price gap could hurt Fire, says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. "Their strongest sales point was price."