iPad Air, mini are 'overpriced boringness' say CNET readers
The Apple iPad Air and iPad mini have been unveiled, so we asked you what you think of Apple's new tablets -- and it seems you're not impressed.
The Apple iPad Air and iPad mini have been unveiled, so we asked you what you think of Apple's new tablets -- and it seems you're not impressed with the price or what you get for your money.
Let's start with the positive reactions. Rafael Co says, "Can't wait!"
…Oooookay, now we've got that out of the way, let's see what everyone else has to say. "I'm going to rush out,' says John Monckton, "and not buy one of those." Ouch! "I wish I can work for Apple," says Lim Keng Boon. "They took one year to make the iPad thinner. Bravo!"
"Nice products, but why are they not going to 16:9?" asks Patrick Cragg. Maxim Barnett wails, "iPads are always the same! The only difference is weight, screen size and how thin it is!"
"Where's the 'Wow that's cool man!' factor?" laments Jordan Altbaum.
"How uninspiring regurgitated overpriced boringness, how Apple," says Christopher Turner.
"They haven't innovated for a long time -- why do they keep using that word?" asks Simon Collett. "They are so far behind they are in danger of getting lapped."
CNET readers are unimpressed with the way Apple sells the iPad. "They say the iPad Air is the 'lightest full-sized tablet in the world', when its only 9.7-inch and not 10.1," points out detail-oriented Adam Oakes, "so it's not even a full-sized tablet."
"The taglines," chuckles Alasdair Lewis Crow, "are possibly the cheesiest things I have ever read in my life. 'The power of lightness'? 'Small wonder'?! HAHA."
"Yeah," zings Dave Gray, "wonder why something so small costs so much!"
'Apple = rip-off'
The super-slimline iPad Air goes on sale in Britain on 1 November, starting from £399 for the model without 3G or 4G mobile data; click here for the full line-up of iPad Air UK prices. And the new sawn-off Apple iPad mini hits shops later in November, costing between £320 and £659 -- click here for the full range of iPad Mini UK prices.
"It does look nice," says Jamie James, "but the steep price puts me off getting one." "The best is always the most expensive but with no chance of increasing memory, the price is crazy for 32GB" says Barrie Birch, "so I'm getting a Chromebook instead."
On the subject of the price, we detect a hint of sarcasm when smh comments, "This sounds like extraordinary good value... I'm gonna grab my Burberry mac and portable pagoda and start queuing now..."
"Wow," says Dominic Parkhurst, "Talk about overpriced!" Christian Barrs agrees: "iPad mini starts at £320? It was already overpriced at £270!"
Or, as Michael Tryner puts it, "Apple go home, you're drunk!" Ather Shabbir is even more succinct: "Apple = rip-off."
Not everyone is put off by the price, however. "To those who feel the iPads are expensive," weighs in one anonymous commenter, "whilst I'm well aware Apple have HUGE profit margins, it wasn't that many years ago that even an entry-level desktop PC would set you back well over £1,000 and a laptop more like £2,000... (Apple) make the most powerful and advanced tablets, so expect to pay top dollar... Compared to the old days, this technology is both far far superior and much cheaper -- we are lucky to even have the option to buy it."
Do you feel lucky? Phil Rogers doesn't: "Too expensive. I could get an Android tablet for everyone in my family for the same price."
'When's the Nexus out?'
Ah yes, Android. "Nah," says Gail Ellen Parnell, "Think I will stick with my Kindle Fire HD… lol!" "Can you put Android on it?" asks Martin Heathershaw. "Then it would rock."
Elton Hall is "not bothered… when's the Nexus 5 out?" And Jamie James says what we're all thinking: "I'm waiting for the new Nexus 10… you know it'll be £100 cheaper with about the same specs, or even better!"
But the last word goes to a philosophical Rob Beard, who tells us "I'm not that fussed myself, but then I have a Nook and I don't use that a great deal either. Maybe I'm just not the tablet type." You do you, Rob. You do you.
What do you think of the new iPad mini and iPad Air? Are they overpriced? What's the best tablet alternative? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.