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Great article and excellent advice for those burned by Apple's cycles: "If it weren't for the fact that the iPad 3 is likely 12 months away with another set of

Great article and excellent advice for those burned by Apple's cycles: "If it weren't for the fact that the iPad 3 is likely 12 months away with another set of similarly impressive upgrades I'd recommend all iPad users upgrade to the 2nd generation model. I find that with Apple products you have to pick an upgrade cadence and firmly stick to it. In the Mac world it's difficult but not too hard to stick to. Upgrading yearly never makes financial sense so usually putting yourself on a 2 - 3 year cycle for the biggest upgraders usually works. "

alecco 16y ago
On the other hand, resell price of used devices isn't linear. There must be a sweet spot and I bet it is around 1 or 2 years old. Also there are externalities helping. For example, people travelling might resell abroad for better rates.
ugh 16y ago
How can you possibly be burned by Apple’s iPad/iPod/iPhone update cycles? There will be new ones every year, like clockwork. I find other manufacturers to be much more confusing and unpredictable. Isn’t it always the case with consumer electronics – especially everything with a CPU in it – that new, better and cheaper stuff will come out while you still use the device? That’s just normal.
- wonderzombie 16y ago
  "How can you possibly be burned by Apple’s iPad/iPod/iPhone update cycles? There will be new ones every year, like clockwork. I find other manufacturers to be much more confusing and unpredictable." Yes! I suppose an alternative is to wait infinitely for an infinitely better device. :) "Isn’t it always the case with consumer electronics – especially everything with a CPU in it – that new, better and cheaper stuff will come out while you still use the device?" I'd hazard a guess that Apple's predictable release schedule puts this fact front-and-center, which makes it more difficult to ignore when you're considering a purchase. Who knows when the next Motorola Xoom 2 is coming out, if ever?
- r00fus 16y ago
  At least you know you'll have 2 supported iOS major updates for each iOS device you buy (ie, I completely see iOS5 doing away with 3GS/iPod Touch '09 support) which install relatively seamlessly.

alecco 16y ago

On the other hand, resell price of used devices isn't linear. There must be a sweet spot and I bet it is around 1 or 2 years old. Also there are externalities helping. For example, people travelling might resell abroad for better rates.

ugh 16y ago

How can you possibly be burned by Apple’s iPad/iPod/iPhone update cycles? There will be new ones every year, like clockwork. I find other manufacturers to be much more confusing and unpredictable. Isn’t it always the case with consumer electronics – especially everything with a CPU in it – that new, better and cheaper stuff will come out while you still use the device? That’s just normal.

wonderzombie 16y ago
"How can you possibly be burned by Apple’s iPad/iPod/iPhone update cycles? There will be new ones every year, like clockwork. I find other manufacturers to be much more confusing and unpredictable." Yes! I suppose an alternative is to wait infinitely for an infinitely better device. :) "Isn’t it always the case with consumer electronics – especially everything with a CPU in it – that new, better and cheaper stuff will come out while you still use the device?" I'd hazard a guess that Apple's predictable release schedule puts this fact front-and-center, which makes it more difficult to ignore when you're considering a purchase. Who knows when the next Motorola Xoom 2 is coming out, if ever?
r00fus 16y ago
At least you know you'll have 2 supported iOS major updates for each iOS device you buy (ie, I completely see iOS5 doing away with 3GS/iPod Touch '09 support) which install relatively seamlessly.