It’s another Sunday Snoo.ws article to prep you for the inevitable water cooler talk come Monday morning (something I like to do every now and then to make for some fun weekend reading). I’m quite sure tomorrow at the office, everyone will be chatting about the new iPad!
Come March 16 there will be a new tablet in town: “the new iPad.” Now mind you, that “N” in new is low-case, purposefully. It’s also not going with Apple’s usual numbering system, throwing off many of us who were expecting the latest installation of Apple’s epically-selling tablet to be called “the iPad 3.”
But what’s in a name?
We’ll call it whatever the good geniuses would like us to, the tablet itself is what has the whole wide Interwebs excited!
So let’s talk features. The 9.7-inch Retina Display will offer twice the visual awesomeness of the iPad 2 (double the resolution). 4G LTE, 1GB of RAM, a dual-core Apple A5X processor and a huge battery (11666mAh) are note-able hard changes. The tablet will be the longest-lasting and most techincally complex device of its kind, but that will come at a price – it’s bulkier and heavier than previous versions.
Going up in weight is an interesting move for Apple. The design-heavy brand is known for reducing bulk and presenting svelte, streamlined models. The company the took a mere laptop, turned it into a sexy MacBook and then brought us the Air version; the first desktop to design without a tower.
As a loyal Apple-enthusiast, it seems to me like the company is taking note of what consumers want and then delivering. More battery life is always one of the top demands for any wireless device. To enhance the photo editing software, photo sharing, gaming, and streaming aspects – having displays that are better than your TV sure meet the needs of users. (It’s better than the best TV out there when playing a Blu-Ray or other 1080p content – it’s that good).
Check out this article from Know Your Mobile to see what some industry experts are saying on the new iPad.
The reception for the device has been a mixed bag – some seem over excited, others seem let down. A lot of criticism has rung ‘round the Web. Yet, despite the din of the naysayers, pre-sales are fabulous. Sky News has reported on an Apple statement announcing that pre-sales are actually sold out. The amount of product available to actually sell on the March 16 release date is already spoken for! “Apple says that preorders for the new iPad have far exceeded their expectations, and customers may be forced to wait a lot longer than they hoped,” (Sky News, 2012).
One facet the new iPad boasts is exquisite gaming capabilities – features like the iPad’s Retina Display and quad-core graphics (A5X processor) – are cause for some marketing claims that the device can/will replace console gaming. I’m not sure if I buy that, honestly. Console gaming, like Play Station and XBox have epic followings of both casual players and die hard gamers, the latter composing huge online networks. While the new iPad may offer some perks to gaming, I don’t think we’ll see the end of the console next week. Here’s another article that really backs up this notion, the bottom line being: “For us gamers, it’s a great time. We have more products than ever appealing to us, and we can do it at a price that doesn’t necessarily break the bank. So, let’s stop all this nonsense of saying one device will take down another, and just get down to gaming,” (Slash Gear, 2012).
Still thinking the new iPad can be a gamer’s device? PC Mag echoes the sentiments and assures you that it will do so such thing here.
So if not for beating out any other stakeholders in the gaming industry, then what’s the good of all this amazing pixel quality? So far, the hypothetical uses have been pouring in. From advanced photo editing to doctors remotely viewing MRI images with enough clarity for diagnosis, the ideas run the gamut. I found a good read that fleshes out a good amount of these potential uses on ZD Net.
Want more stats on the new device, facts and figures, comparisons and the entire archives of all the Apple events announcing the new iPad? Go here – Engadget provides an epic collection of data on that device specs and the official Apple product announcements.
To try and explain the popularity of wireless devices is about silly at this point. If you’re even reading this post, on Snoo.ws, chances are you’re well-versed and invested in digital culture (and you’re likely a digital marketing professional, or one who relies on digital marketing for the promotion of your own brand). So you probably have your own reasons for caring about the iPad – it’s neat, it’s handy, and for each individual there’s a set of interesting uses.
My husband owns an iPad 2 – a huge purchase for us – but due to some mild short-term memory loss (all too common for war veterans like himself) the iPad has been a life saver. I call it his external memory, and it is. The Pastor of my church uses one, he stores a digital copy of the Bible and his notes on there. The uses go on and on and on; geeks, CEOs, students, commuters, parents – there’s a use for everyone, from watching a TV show while on your morning subway ride to work to having it as a portable TV to entertain kids whilst out and about, it’s great.
Tomorrow’s article will be about the professional applications of the new iPad and ways to harness the excitement of the new release. Come check it out and get in on the brainstorming! I promise to post some applicable ideas that could help you/your current marketing campaign make the most out of the new product and the genuine buzz that’s already been created.
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