This summer we are going to see the launch of the iPad (with 3G) and presumably another iPhone. This has me thinking about a few things and I wanted to post some thoughts and hopefully get some feedback from our readers/listeners.My first initial thought was that we wouldn’t see any new hardware for the iPhone this summer and most of the magic come from software. For one, other than a bigger and better screen, what else could they pack into the iPhone? We won’t see LTE devices for at least another year or even two, so a 4G iPhone is out of the question. Some have said maybe a front facing camera, and while I can see the “cool” factor, I just don’t see it catching on here in the U.S. quite yet.
Another thing to consider is the strong demand for the iPad. Will Apple want to launch the iPhone in a similar time frame? I know Apple is pitching these devices as filling two different markets, but let’s be real, the iPad (as of right now) is just a big iPhone/iPod Touch. With the monthly data cost being the same as an iPhone, but with no contract, will people still want to jump ship from another carrier and get an iPhone? I see them launching these two products at the same time, you are asking most consumers to choose. With a base price of $500 for an iPad and $200 for an iPhone, that is a lot of money for a consumer to spend in a summer.
Knowing Apple, they will launch them side by side seeing as they are going after two different segments of the market. So my question to our readers/listeners, is if they launch both the iPad and the iPhone at the same time or within a month or two of each other, will you buy both, just one, or neither? Leave us some comments below, or hit us up on Twitter.
