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Apple (AAPL) apparently goes after enterprise users, announcing the release of the 128GB version...

  • Tuesday, January 29, 8:54 AM ET
    Apple (AAPL) apparently goes after enterprise users, announcing the release of the 128GB version of the 4th generation iPad with Retina display (available Feb. 5 for $799). Whither the MacBook Pro? Shares +1% premarket. (PR)
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This news story has 74 comments:

  • Just the beginning. Get ready, more is to come!
    29 Jan, 08:57 AM Reply Like
  • You bet. They've nipped the cheaper androids in the bud with the iPad mini. Now it is time to destroy the surface with enterprise level iPads!
    29 Jan, 11:11 AM Reply Like
  • I love those fat margins on cheap flash/SSD memory!
    29 Jan, 09:01 AM Reply Like
  • Makes sense but long overdue. I wish i didn't buy my new ipad last christmas.
    29 Jan, 09:16 AM Reply Like
  • Much need it , my current 64mb iPad is now full.
    I'll take one for me and 37 more for the office staff.
    29 Jan, 09:21 AM Reply Like
  • I'd love to see a product review comparing this to the 11 inch, 128GB MacBook Air. Anyone know how the A6X processor compares with the 1.7GHz i5 in the Air?
    29 Jan, 09:25 AM Reply Like
  • richraphael

    Apple's A6X is about as fast as a PC processor from 2002-2003.
    29 Jan, 10:27 AM Reply Like
  • Maybe in terms of the cpu (i doubt it), but no gpu from 03 can handle anything near the retina display. The graphics on my 4th gen ipad rival those of the xbox 360 when you take resolution into account imo
    29 Jan, 11:01 AM Reply Like
  • Recent comparison of i5 1.7GHz and A6x:
    http://ars.to/TRXkF1

    i5 is ~4-6x faster.

    'To our surprise, the W700 lasted just shy of six hours in general use with the screen brightness cranked'

    This i5 is 'old' Ivy Bridge 17W chip
    29 Jan, 11:27 AM Reply Like
  • I have a quad core 2.1 in my windows pc, 8GB of DDR2 and it still doesnt blanking work. You can put any chips, boards or video cards you like into a PC if it runs windows it will be choppy, balky and slow.

    Probably better just to design a tight machine and let idiots argue over the specs.

    The 8088 runs voyager, industrial control computers, and your XT/64 ipm bc.

    The Zilog z80 runs the damn space shuttle, robotic space probes and your nintendo 8 bit.
    29 Jan, 12:36 PM Reply Like
  • Maybe you should try Linux
    29 Jan, 03:28 PM Reply Like
  • @rick, I think a few of your replies missed the point the i5 vs ARM (A6X) debate is really not an apple to apple comparison, no pun intended.

    The point of the ARM/A6 chip is,
    1. lighter
    2. thinner
    3. battery life

    The article that Matt-Man presents says, "These numbers basically sum up the Intel-versus-ARM debate all by themselves: Intel's fastest silicon is massively faster than the best that ARM SoCs can offer, but ARM enables much thinner and lighter tablets than Ivy Bridge."

    And later the article mentioned the "dismal" battery life of i5 devices but did not say what the iPad brings to the table, convenient, very. Here it is: instead of 4-5 hours with the iPad powered by a A6 a user gets 10-12 hours, ouch!

    So again, the point of Apple going with the A6 is not to put a "whuppin'" on the i5 rather to benefit the user who wants to use that awesome retina display to surf & stream!
    30 Jan, 02:18 AM Reply Like
  • These are but the early hints of a new level of connectivity that will revolutionize and create major cost reductions in every level of telecommunication from doctor's offices to any other data transfer interfaces. Yes AAPL will have competition and alliances beyond anything we can now dream of. But the "PIE" is gigantic.
    29 Jan, 09:40 AM Reply Like
  • I hope that they address more issues at the annual meeting(2/27)than they did on their conference call.Shareholders need more positive news.This product has a lot of potential.
    29 Jan, 09:40 AM Reply Like
  • Rumors that next iPad may have more rounded corners, AAPL a 4:1 long on that...

    Seriously, this is how AAPL permabulls think.
    29 Jan, 09:44 AM Reply Like
  • Always wondered why people who are "anti" something follow threads of the "anti". No not really, I just feel sorry for them. Get a life.
    29 Jan, 09:59 AM Reply Like
  • I bet this wont be called a "surface" killer
    29 Jan, 09:50 AM Reply Like
  • No need. The "SURFACE" is dead.
    29 Jan, 09:55 AM Reply Like
  • cue commetns about how this shows Apple is done innovating now that Jobs is dead and how this is small incremental and Apple is out of ideas . . . in 3 ... 2... 1.. ...
    29 Jan, 09:58 AM Reply Like
  • yeah, looks all the innovation is horizontal now... not verticle.
    29 Jan, 03:30 PM Reply Like
  • $799? wow apple buyers are rich!
    29 Jan, 10:05 AM Reply Like
  • Yes we are.
    29 Jan, 11:46 AM Reply Like
  • Please note: "Apple (AAPL) apparently goes after enterprise users .."

    sic business. A lot of businesses don't care about $800.
    29 Jan, 05:36 PM Reply Like
  • This is a good and logical product release. Clearly it merges the line between PC's and tablets even more. This should prove to be a successful, and very high margin product for Apple.
    29 Jan, 10:08 AM Reply Like
  • The extra $100 for the memory, will add about $90 of extra profit for Apple. Will also drive more people up from the mini to the full sized iPad, so good for margins across the range.
    29 Jan, 10:11 AM Reply Like
  • Smart tech consumers buy the lowest amount of space of any portable device and get the SD card to make up the difference at half the cost.
    29 Jan, 12:39 PM Reply Like
  • Poverty stricken consumers will buy low end stuff, and cheap SD cards. People who want performance are into SSDs and built in flash drive.
    29 Jan, 03:56 PM Reply Like
  • I manage my own portfolio and have been fairly successful for more than fifteen years beating most major indexes.
    29 Jan, 10:21 AM Reply Like
  • Good for you. Pat yourself on the back.
    29 Jan, 11:47 AM Reply Like
  • when, if ever, will the iPad start running office?
    29 Jan, 10:21 AM Reply Like
  • You need to contact Microsoft about that. Tell them to drop their pride and release an iPad frendly version of Office 2013 before the Office suit becomes obsolete!
    29 Jan, 12:28 PM Reply Like
  • When people that have an iPad want ms/office, which will be never as BYOD (cloud) is the future.
    29 Jan, 01:04 PM Reply Like
  • Quickoffice Pro for iPad lets you view and edit all MS Office documents.
    29 Jan, 04:12 PM Reply Like
  • also Pages
    1 Feb, 02:03 PM Reply Like
  • 128G of flash when one is already in a heavily networked environment? Is that supposed to be a joke? Give me double the ram and a more multitasking-friendly UI to compete with RIMM and android and I'd be excited. Adding more flash does jack.

    -Matt
    29 Jan, 10:24 AM Reply Like
  • "128G of flash when one is already in a heavily networked environment? Is that supposed to be a joke? "

    Speaking with my system administrator brother-in-law, he said what is the need for this IPad 128G since everything is on the cloud now.

    Then I read your comment on networked community, and it can't make me help but think is Apple in trouble?

    Tim Cook did not deliver on his implicit 2012 promise that the Company would be delivering the absolute amazing!

    Has the Jobs Aura gone? Will Apple slip into marginality?

    This could be an explanation of the continual sliding of AAPL.
    1 Feb, 08:52 PM Reply Like
  • Are you talking "multitasking" or "simultaneous windows", iPhone has always multitasked?!

    The need for 128G is most evident when you are using an app that is RAM intensive. Many of the apps I use run much faster because resources are stored on the iPad - in flash.
    2 Feb, 01:58 PM Reply Like
  • Sorry, I just couldn't let it go. Ha

    Here's the thing, Apple's multitasking gives developers the choice to turn it on or not, to be active or in a suspended state or not. The paradigm is built around battery life. This capability was fully rolled out with the introduction of iOS4 in 2010, thereabouts.

    Android just happens to have a different paradigm and gives the user more control of battery life.

    Now Androids implementation of simultaneous live windows is pretty cool, of course it's just eye candy, a user can't possibly use two windows simultaneously, eh?! But it is the most obvious use of the larger screen, Go Android! Obviously some multitasking is simultaneous, say using voice and searching address book at the same time. But IMHO one can only focus on one or the other task.

    The 128 implications are enormous.
    2 Feb, 02:16 PM Reply Like
  • $799? Why would I buy this when I can get a full Core i5 tablet for just a little bit more? (with more RAM, a much faster CPU, etc.)

    What a joke.
    29 Jan, 10:33 AM Reply Like
  • What? Ashraf, you'd buy it if you were a fanboy! Although, at 799$, it is more than my i7 powered laptop was lol.
    29 Jan, 10:43 AM Reply Like
  • a little bit more? those run $1300+.

    anyway, what's the risk of offering this?

    Reading your commetns, it's clear you are a closet Apple-basher. You crap on everything Apple does, but claim vehemently you are not a basher. You should just come out of the closet on that, really there's no shame there. Have a party.
    29 Jan, 10:59 AM Reply Like
  • At $799, I'd go for a surface pro and take the hit in battery life.
    29 Jan, 11:09 AM Reply Like
  • i agree with you aparo. ashraf is def a apple basher. yet he writes so many articles on apple.
    29 Jan, 11:29 AM Reply Like
  • I'm not an Apple basher. I just think it's very hypocritical that Apple would pooh-pooh Windows 8/convertibles, then clearly try to copy that idea with the iPad.
    29 Jan, 11:32 AM Reply Like
  • Closet? Seems pretty out to me.
    29 Jan, 11:36 AM Reply Like
  • Don't buy it then. Great thing about the human race is that what each of us wants does not determine what others want.

    I'm sure Apple has a market for these 128G iPads.
    29 Jan, 11:49 AM Reply Like
  • Completely agree.

    Where's the SD card slot giving consumers an economical choice? Oh but you could get adapters essentially blowing more money on what should be standard.

    $799? How is this a smart choice for a device that relies on a closed ecosystem (large one and growing, yes) and the OS isn't even a full version. A cellular-enabled version of the higher-capacity iPad costs $929.

    No wonder AAPL isn't coming out with a TV, they would ask the price of a slightly used mid 2000s Kia.

    To the readers rolling their eyes at negative comments about this launch, clearly this move was defensive due to the Surface Pro launching soon.
    29 Jan, 12:25 PM Reply Like
  • Because you'll use your iPad more. As our data speeds improve your tablet will slowly become a portal to much faster and powerfull computers. This is the future of portable and home computing as we approach hardware limitations over the next 10-20years. Then its on to quantum and/or molecular computing should it someday become reality.
    29 Jan, 12:30 PM Reply Like
  • Battery life is a huge selling point, and the Surface Pro is going to miss out on a lot of sales because of it, but the trade off is an enormous amount of utility.

    For simply an increase in storage, which is cheap nowadays, AAPL sure thinks it can squeeze the consumer who's ignorant about what other tablets offer.
    29 Jan, 12:31 PM Reply Like
  • As a tech guy, you know that copying is the sincerest form of flattery. I suspect that Samsung would agree.
    29 Jan, 01:03 PM Reply Like
  • Here we again with the Apple complaints, remember 1st iPhone - nobody wants that; iPad - it won't sell because it's not a phone.... Let's wait and see if it works. My bet is that it will.
    29 Jan, 01:12 PM Reply Like
  • @ Island Dweller, the key work in your comment is "Surface Pro launching soon." Such slow response to AAPL is another reason MSFT went the road to a me-too and copy cat offering company. Anyone can me-too it's AAPL which continues to innovate and beat others to market... look at 1986-present, GUI interface and now the Surface Pro! Not rolling my eyes, just yawning at this point.
    29 Jan, 01:13 PM Reply Like
  • im actually quite surprised apple stock is up 2% on the news. normally any good news leads to a 5% drop in the stock...
    29 Jan, 11:30 AM Reply Like
  • on the other hand, if you were Amazon and you announced a declining number of Kindles Fires sold, the stock would go up by 5% because investors knew that they weren't making a loss.
    29 Jan, 03:42 PM Reply Like
  • :o)
    2 Feb, 02:18 PM Reply Like
  • I have a Macbook Air with 128GB flash memory. Why, oh why, should I ditch my Macbook for a tablet?
    29 Jan, 12:28 PM Reply Like
  • Because it's portable and easier to transport duh, what planet are you on. I have been imagining something like this for a while now.
    29 Jan, 01:15 PM Reply Like
  • " Why, oh why, should I ditch my Macbook for a tablet?"

    better screen resolution.
    3 Feb, 07:05 AM Reply Like
  • If apple wants to turn heads they should start offering lossless music on itunes/itunes match rather than this compressed garbage. I would be buying a lot more music from them if the product i received was the same quality as a CD.
    29 Jan, 12:34 PM Reply Like
  • AAPL still in the dominate position of old, come on Android what always takes you so long to catch up not to mention innovate?
    29 Jan, 01:06 PM Reply Like
  • Android relies on copy-cat hardware manufacturers... that's why.
    29 Jan, 04:00 PM Reply Like
  • @danzada

    The courts feel differently
    29 Jan, 05:16 PM Reply Like
  • So I have the option of 4 million applications on my surface pro...and it costs about 100$ more...? Ok then apple good luck
    29 Jan, 01:18 PM Reply Like
  • Windows sucks man.
    29 Jan, 04:01 PM Reply Like
  • spoken like a true AAPL fanboi
    29 Jan, 05:16 PM Reply Like
  • spoken like a true AAPL hater
    29 Jan, 06:09 PM Reply Like
  • 100.00 more, I'll take 2 please. My wife would love the extra space for all of her photos.
    29 Jan, 02:20 PM Reply Like
  • first of all, Apple pioneered the touchscreen tablet and has earned the right to add whatever it wants to it without being accused of copying competitors that, to put it charitably, have been "inspired" by the runaway sucess of the iPad to make various iterations on the theme.

    that said, i don't see this as huge news by itself and speculate that the move is undergirded by a sense that hey, we didnt' see this coming, and maybe, just maybe, the people in Cupertino aren't (just) sitting around playing Angry Birds all day but working on other stuff we don't know about, at least some which may be more meaningful than a memory upgrade.
    29 Jan, 02:21 PM Reply Like
  • apple is running out of ideas, so it's just adding extra ram, hard drive space, etc, incremental improvements that it held back previously.

    they should go balls out and offer a 256gb version.
    29 Jan, 02:46 PM Reply Like
  • yeah, similar to PC makers.
    29 Jan, 03:35 PM Reply Like
  • $799 is overpriced. Wait for the price to come down on these loaded tablets. If you buy an Android tablet like the Nexus 7, it is easy and cheap to add significantly more extra memory.
    29 Jan, 03:25 PM Reply Like
  • I think apple has introduced the 128GB to maintain price margins. They will eventually drop the 16 and move the 128GB in to the 64 price spot. In my opinion apple would prefer people to buy the smaller memory packages so they can push cloud services like itunes match. In theory as cloud computing become more popular we should all need very little memory storage.
    4 Feb, 02:30 PM Reply Like
  • sounds great in theory, but for those times where you don't have net/cloud access, onboard memory is a nice thing to have. Also with mobile data caps, again it's nice not have to go to the cloud for things you need.
    4 Feb, 02:41 PM Reply Like
  • Enterprise users won't like this

    http://zd.net/12En8ae
    10 Feb, 03:18 PM Reply Like
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