128GB iPad out today, 'no thanks' say CNET UK readers
Apple's roomy toy is on sale from today, if you happen to have at least £639 going spare.
The 128GB iPad with retina display is on sale today, giving those of you with at least £639 going spare the opportunity to nab Apple's roomiest tablet yet.
As promised by Tim Cook and pals, from this very day (5 February), you can buy the capacious gadget, which is identical to Apple's existing iPad with retina display in every respect other than storage space.
£639 gets you the Wi-Fi only version -- if you want the option to gambol about town with a SIM-card stuffed in your slate you'll need to the 3G option, which costs a wince-inducing £739.
Apple's UK site currently lists dispatch times as 1-3 business days for both models, whereas other size variations are simply tagged as 'in stock'. It'll be interesting to see if that delivery estimate climbs -- an indicator that shoppers are eager to throw down cash for this ludicrously costly slab.
"You would just buy a Mac"
Pricey Apple gadgets are nothing new, and there's no doubt that the iPad has generated enormous mountains of cash for the Californian company. This latest iteration may be just too much for ordinary shoppers to swallow, however. "Definitely too expensive," one commenter wrote on our Facebook wall when the prices were announced.
"I don't see the need in a 128GB tablet," another wrote on the original article. "In my eyes a tablet is not a laptop replacement."
"Use iCloud and iTunes Match sensibly and you don't need 128GB," one says, while another reader accurately notes. "You can get a MacBook Air for not much more."
When we posed the question today our loyal readers were hardly more sympathetic. "FAR too expensive!!!" one exclaims. "Way too overpriced as usual," another complains. "No thanks!!!" one vents. "Pointless," another condemns.
"I wouldn't say it's overpriced as it's built from quality components," one post reasonably begins, "and the design and innovation of the iPad is something no company can match, but why you would need 128GB for an iPad I don't know. You would just buy a Mac."
It seems folks aren't too impressed by Apple's new toy, then. Perhaps the aluminium-coated company hopes to flog the 128GB in bulk to companies or schools, rather than individual tablet-buyers.
Are you rubbing your mitts together at the thought of a 128GB iPad, or would you rather spend £160 and get Google's Nexus 7? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.