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Why is it that $599 consoles are (generally) considered expensive and the iPad isn't?

Ipads are replacements for notebook computers, which also costs around 500-600 dollars.

The PS3 was the proposed replacement for the PS2, which costs less than $200 when the PS3 was released.
 
I use it every day. I like how you pretend to know my browsing habits.
I like how you think there aren't solutions for the websites you're referring to.

But carry on.

I'm not saying non-apple tablets are a good deal either. That's a moot point though. Let's not sit here and pretend apple doesn't overcharge for more or less all of its other products anyway.
so this is what goal posts look like when they move.

I see.
 
When you're buying a new one every 2 years because the old one you have is already obsolete, that's expensive.

Why would it be obsolete to someone who only wants to surf the web, watch movies, use productivity apps and play a few games? And even if you replace it that often... People replace their laptops at exactly the same pace.
 
When you're buying a new one every 2 years because the old one you have is already obsolete, that's expensive.

That really is only a certain subset of Apple buyers. The nearly 3 year old iPhone 3GS was still the 3rd most popular phone sold last quarter, and the fact that yearly buyers trumpet the fact that Apple products have high resale values reflects that there are a ton of people who still find value in "old" Apple devices.
 
Millions have sold for many different reasons. Some use them to replace 90% of what they do on their desktops/laptops. Some use them purely for reading. Some to get their work done. Some just lay in the bed with them and watch movies and surf GAF. Some to study or research. Some for the interactive children's books for their kids. Some to show off pictures as part of their job. Some to show patients their x-rays and MRI scans. Some because it's just easier to use and less complicated to maintain than a traditional computer. Some because you never really have to turn it off and everything opens instantly, giving a rich, smooth experience (an experience many have for the very first time).

And that's the real point: millions have sold for innumerable reasons. It can be damn near whatever you need it to be. Ask 5 people why they bought an iPad and you'll get 5 different answers.

Anyone who thinks a tablet is a toy...needs to find the irony in that statement as they post on a video game forum. And they need to find out more reasons why people buy them.

Your comments sound like you sell them for a living. I work for HP and my co-worker is an Apple rep, we help each other with sales. I've seen the customers who buy them, I know why most people buy them, I know the devices, I had to try to sell the ill fated HP Touchpad. I know what the devices do, I'm not referring to them as "toys" out of ignorance, and likewise, consoles these days are more than "toys" as well. The devices are great within their scope, but they are limited. I'm well aware people buy them for different reasons, but likewise many people buy them just because it's a new shiny device. Like a toy, and that isn't an insult, just another one of the reasons it sells.
 
I like how you think there aren't solutions for the websites you're referring to.

But carry on.


so this is what goal posts look like when they move.

I see.

Not sure what you're getting at, but your link-response seemed to suggest that ipad's prices are justified due to its competitor's similarly overpriced offering.
 
I sell computers. First question I ask is "what kind of work will you be doing?" If they aren't really going to do "work" then I mention tablets, otherwise I'm wasting their time.

Our sales engineer uses an iPad as his sole professional tool, and wouldn't use anything else. Sure he's an Apple nut, but (some of) his arguments are valid, especially when he says that all the visual appeal of the device gives a good impression on customers. And it fulfills all his practical needs, like light documents editing and slide shows.

Of course it wouldn't be convenient for all jobs (as a developer I wouldn't use anything but a desktop, or laptop if mobility is required), but it can be more than a media player + mail reader.
 
i dont think apple is as price-immune as people think......death of steve jobs, yearly ipad/iphone releases (fatigue), stiff competition from cheaper tablet makers, $5/gallon gas, unemployment, economy, etc etc


it all will have an impact....

Lol no it wont. I know unemployed people who yearly upgrade their ipads. Its a pathetic status symbol.
 
A better question would be why smart phone can sell for couple hundreds even after contract and subsidization. And no one complain when 3DS is considered expensive at like $150.
 
Why is it that $599 consoles are (generally) considered expensive and the iPad isn't?

People generally don't think the iPad is expensive? I think they do.

Or do you mean that it's not so expensive that they balk at the price? Most of the potential buyers of the iPad expect a high price and can afford it anyway.
 
Your comments sound like you sell them for a living. I work for HP and my co-worker is an Apple rep, we help each other with sales. I've seen the customers who buy them, I know why most people by them, I know the devices, I had to try to sell the ill fated HP Touchpad. I know what the devices do, I'm not referring to them as "toys" out of ignorance, and likewise, consoles these days are more than "toys" as well. The devices are great within their scope, but they are limited. I'm well aware people buy them for different reasons, but likewise many people buy them just because it's a new shiny device. Like a toy, and that isn't an insult, just another one of the reasons it sells.

Why would an Apple rep work for HP? Or do you mean you are one of those sales reps that stands on another retail location, like a Best Buy?
 
Not moving goalposts Mr. Apple spokesman. I'm just not willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a product that doesn't have basic functionality.

It's ok. The upgraded model that'll come out in like a year and half after the first one, will have said basic functionality. But, it'll be touted as a revolutionary new feature!
 
I think they're expensive for sure, but I think I understand why they sell so well. It's because Apple products have insane resale value. It's why Apple is able to revise their products every year. Just take a look at the last iPad event thread. Lots of people sold their iPad 2s in anticipation of the latest one and it only cost them $100-$150 to do so. To upgrade, that is.

Of course, there are other reasons as well, like the fact that the iPad has many more uses than a game console. It's just a different market.
 
Ledsen said:
Why would it be obsolete to someone who only wants to surf the web, watch movies, use productivity apps and play a few games?
A reasonable question, but then again tons of people line up for the new iterations every couple of years. Whether they actually need to or not. When I say they're obsolete those are actually their words, not mine. I've heard those terms bandied about on more than one podcast. (Though admittedly that's probably not the best way to gauge consumer interest.)

Ledsen said:
And even if you replace it that often... People replace their laptops at exactly the same pace.
And to me that's bizarre.

At the same time I don't really begrudge anyone's spending habits. If that's what you're into more power to ya. But I have to be honest and say it's all very odd to me.
 
Why would an Apple rep work for HP? Or do you mean you are one of those sales reps that stands on another retail location, like a Best Buy?

Sorry, I gave the customer line. I work for a marketing company, we're reps for both computer manufacturers.
 
A reasonable question, but then again tons of people line up for the new iterations every couple of years. Whether they actually need to or not. When I say they're obsolete those are actually their words, not mine. I've heard those terms bandied about on more than one podcast. (Though admittedly that's probably not the best way to gauge consumer interest.)

And to me that's bizarre.

At the same time I don't really begrudge anyone's spending habits. If that's what you're into more power to ya. But I have to be honest and say it's all very odd to me.

If it was possible to get a new console that would also upgrade your games a couple years after the last one for 100 or 150 bucks, people would do that too.
 
It's ok. The upgraded model that'll come out in like a year and half after the first one, will have said basic functionality. But, it'll be touted as a revolutionary new feature!

Adobe has already announced that their abandoning Flash development on mobile. All newer mobile chipsets and OSes aren't going to be supporting Flash anyway, so it's a moot point. Most sites have already shifted to a HTML5 fallback when flash isn't detected and the remaining sites will have to, since Flash will not be available on any mobile devices in the future, and will not be in Windows 8's Metro Internet Explorer.
 
When you stop and realize the vast majority of people who own an iPad bought it for the exact same functions that their 599$ iphones cost you'll realize the answer to your question. It's got a bigger screen, but it's fundamentally the same thing, and usually less functional as i'd be willing to bet the majority of them are not 3G.

Most people also have laptops, maybe even macbooks, which are also very overpriced.

I believe the ipad has great value for what it is, but it's the people who have the laptop, ipad and iphone that confuse me. there's so much overlap in the purpose of your tech that you really are not getting anything else out of them.

The point to grasp is that people enjoy those gadgets. I don't support them in any way and believe there are better alternatives to everything apple makes, but that doesn't mean people don't have the right to get excited about and buy new technology.

Apple is riding a wave of what's "hip" in the world. Not having one as a young child/early teen is probably social suicide and parents can afford it.

Consoles are not new, there's nothing flashy about that technology and everyone's already got one anyway.

Furthermore, when examining the 599$ consoles, the biggest bullet point would be the PS3, looking at that, it launched with cheaper competition and offered little more than they did or less.

If you're looking for a tablet, and want it to serve as your only portable computing device, the transformer prime (or whatever new one) with the keyboard dock is the absolute best solution, hands down. It provides you with around 20 hours of battery life, fully functional laptop and a fully functional tablet with open software and plenty of power.
 
I think is this a valid point, but ipads are seen as a cross between mini-pcs and e-readers. And the ipad introduced the pricing range. Ps3/4 has to go on what people historically know to be a fair price. And fair price is sometimes dictated between competition as well.

Ps3 at launch $499 would be okay, if Xbox 720 elite is $575.
 
If you purchase a lot of games, the iPad is significantly cheaper than other options.

I've enjoyed hundreds of games on my iPad that average a dollar each. A Vita with 10 games would cost more than an iPad and a 100 dollar apps. You get games like Scribblenauts for $1.

The more games you play, the cheaper the iPad becomes. It's also great on vacations for email and internet, and it's a fantastic educational platform for my 3-year old as well. We gave away a high powered laptop because we never lug it around anymore. The iPad is a daily device for my entire family.
 
The iPad maybe expensive but it is worth the money. I bought an HP touchpad and the thing is crap. I have an iPad and I love it and I did buy the ps3 at launch too.
 
Sorry, I gave the customer line. I work for a marketing company, we're reps for both computer manufacturers.

What kind of 'marketing company'? You dont have to say your company or anything, maybe some other example, I'm just curious how that works.
 
The point to grasp is that people enjoy those gadgets. I don't support them in any way and believe there are better alternatives to everything apple makes, but that doesn't mean people don't have the right to get excited about and buy new technology.

Just curious, who makes a better tablet than Apple?
 
Game consoles are worthless without games, and console games are way more expensive than iPad games.

Paying $600 for a console + $60 games isn't very appealing.
 
Great thread, I've never really thought about it before but it is kind of crazy.

Yeah the iPad can do more things, but the things consoles are the best at (games with traditional control schemes) are almost undeniably better than on an iPad.
 
Great thread, I've never really thought about it before but it is kind of crazy.

Yeah the iPad can do more things, but the things consoles are the best at (games with traditional control schemes) are almost undeniably better than on an iPad.

How so? iPads aren't designed as gaming devices.
 
Just curious, who makes a better tablet than Apple?

Not really sure I can comment on the iPad 3, but the transformer prime is a better tablet than the ipad 2. With the dock, there's no comparison.

iPad 3 is coming, which will change that, but we'll have to hear what's next in the transformer line to judge that I suppose.
 
If you're looking for a tablet, and want it to serve as your only portable computing device, the transformer prime (or whatever new one) with the keyboard dock is the absolute best solution, hands down. It provides you with around 20 hours of battery life, fully functional laptop and a fully functional tablet with open software and plenty of power.


I would still buy an ipad over a transfomer prime. I like that apple handles both software and hardware and if there is an issue with it i can drive to an apple store. iMovie, Pages and other apps have been very useful to me.
 
How so? iPads aren't designed as gaming devices.

How so, to what part of my post? Do you not agree that consoles are better for gaming, or are you saying that doesn't matter since that's not the primary function of the iPad? Because that (the second part) I would obviously agree with.
 
What kind of 'marketing company'? You dont have to say your company or anything, maybe some other example, I'm just curious how that works.

Company is GET marketing, as far as I know it only allocates reps to military bases. Vendors are hired by region and represent certain lines. This company does Apple and HP (among other stuff.) Others hire vendors for other lines.
 
Adobe has already announced that their abandoning Flash development on mobile. All newer mobile chipsets and OSes aren't going to be supporting Flash anyway, so it's a moot point. Most sites have already shifted to a HTML5 fallback when flash isn't detected and the remaining sites will have to, since Flash will not be available on any mobile devices in the future, and will not be in Windows 8's Metro Internet Explorer.

I'm not just talking about flash here. Look at how long it took for the iphone to get something as basic as "copy and paste." Or how long it took for the nano to get an FM tuner. How about some true multi-tasking? Or plugging into my computer without being forced to deal with itunes?

They're as bad as Nintendo's approach to online-gaming when it comes to some basic features that should have been included outta the box from the very beginning.
 
Why are people buying $600 computers when consoles are so much cheaper?

Most are not buying it solely for the fact that it can play games.

EDIT: It's like claiming the console market is doomed because more people play games on their computer (even if it's just solitaire) than they do on consoles. They aren't competing on a large scale.
 
Tablets are basically the most comfortable way to use long-term applications, mainly reading digital magazines and such. The touch screen and form-factor just make that less of an issue than a standard PC. Then there's apps that work far better with touchscreens; I don't think I could tolerate using a digital synthesizer with a mouse and keyboard compared to the Korg stuff on an iPad.

PC: Work, (real) gaming.
Smartphone: Dicking around on the internet, using it as a phone, small portable gaming, taking pictures
Tablet: Newspapers, some gaming, magazines, books, touchscreen-heavy apps

I agree they excel in different areas, but they all perform the same features. This is a thread about costs and I was merely pointing out that they all do the same thing fundamentally. there are smartphones that are considerably bigger than the iphone (ie galaxy Nexus?) which are extremely comfortable for reading newspapers and magazines/books. Not as good as an iPad sure, but it gets the job done well enough.

The only thing I was trying to get across is that a 600$ console is far more reasonable than spending 600$ for a phone, 600$ for a tablet, and 1700$ ish for a laptop to do the same stuff. Of course, I have an iPhone, a Transformer prime and a gaming laptop as well as a gaming PC, but I am a sucker for tech and bought the PS3 day one as well.
 
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