Tim Cook, Apple’s Chief Executive, announced the new iPad today. It’s not the much awaited “iPad 3“, it’s not the “iPad HD“, it’s simply the “new iPad” also referred to as the “new, third-generation iPad“. The new iPad is due for release in the UK on the 16th March.
If you’re an Apple user you’ll probably love the crisp retina display, the 5 megapixel camera, and definitely the ultrafast 4g LTE mobile networking (or at least you might when 4G eventually comes to the UK, possibly in 2013 if we’re lucky).
I’m not going to detail exactly how great Apple say the new iPad is, if you want one you probably already know! What’s more interesting to me is what effect a new iPad will have on sales. eBay say that tablet and eReader sales increased fourfold (443%) last year whilst at the same time sales of desktop PCs decreased by 35%. Sales of tablets – new, refurbished and used – are expected to surge following the release of the new iPad, as shoppers look to snap up great deals online rather than queuing up at the Apple store to get their hands on the most up-to-date model.
It’s a familiar pattern of sales whenever a new product is released. Immediately after the launch of the iPad 2 between February and March 2011, tablet sales on eBay UK spiked with almost 5,000 more devices sold in March than the previous month. A similar pattern emerged between October and November last year, once the new Amazon Kindles went on sale and in the lead-up to Christmas over 22,000 more devices sold in November than the previous month.
If you’ve got a then the next few weeks are probably the best time to get the sold. Demand will be generated by consumers who can’t afford the latest model and will settle for an older version and there aren’t likely to be many discounted deals on the new iPad for a while.
As an aside I’ve just spotted a eBay’s product cards and catalogue entries describe the iPad 2 as the “Latest Model”. That’ll have to be updated and new catalogue entries created for the “new iPad” before buyers start getting confused.
10 Responses
No larger screen and no mention of stereo speakers? I won’t be buying one!
I use my 1st gen exclusively for iPlayer. Can anyone really do any real work more conveniently on these things than they can even a basic notebook or laptop?
A larger screen and better sound system, and I’d be seriously interested… a crisper display is not enough and it’s hardly a camera, is it (if you own an iPad, you may well own an iPhone, which now takes superb photos)
Also a mistake not to give the 3rd generation iPad a name.
The iPad has been a complete game changer. Clearly everyone has their own requirements, but it has completely transformed how I work. I run my own business and I no longer carry lots of customer files around- its all on my iPad. Meeting notes aren’t put to paper and then lost – they’re in my iPad. I have done great 1 to 1 presentations with keynote, drafted mock websites in Pages for clients etc etc. I have a MacBook but increasingly that is left at home too. Instant on, huge battery life and ultra slick interface are simply brilliant. I too have no current reason to change to the new iPad, but it is typically Apple – evolution of an already brilliant concept. The haters will of course push their views over the coming days, but those of us who “get it” ( and there are rather a lot) quietly get on with enjoying the enormous benefits of the iPad.
If you’re thinking for business use, and you’re not totally computer illiterate, then the Asus Transformer Prime is probably a better choice.
It can be used as a tablet normally, but then, if you require it, it has a clip on keyboard dock. This doubles battery life, lets you plug in a mouse or memory cards or whatever, and makes typing a lot easier.
For the record, I don’t have either. I do have an iPhone, so I’m not a “hater”.
If you are going to get a tablet, spend time reading reviews of what else is out there. The competition is very impressive now, all it lacks is a little apple badge to impress people with….
one year later on ebay:
A New iPad for sale,used.
It seems that the ipad 2 16gb price drop to £329 has been lost on eBay sellers. They are all selling new at over this price.