Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

blergh!

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
26
0
So...

I'm so disappointed but I can see a mass exodus from the apple ecosystem coming up.

The pricing of the mini was a major mistake for apple.

32gb with 3g for $299 (£239)?!! Did they not see Google's trump card coming?

Greed is still not good.
 

profets

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2009
5,111
6,138
I think Apple needs to hire you before they go out of business doing things the way they are.
 

glen e

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,619
2
Ft Lauderdale
So...

I'm so disappointed but I can see a mass exodus from the apple ecosystem coming up.

The pricing of the mini was a major mistake for apple.

32gb with 3g for $299 (£239)?!! Did they not see Google's trump card coming?

Greed is still not good.

I remember another forum saying the same thing about 8 years ago - when the stock was 90.....rave on....The mini will be a fine xmas gift for tons of people who don't give a sh** what macrumors geeks say....
 

Yr Blues

macrumors 68030
Jan 14, 2008
2,687
889
i agree that it should've bee 299 for marketing reasons

but it wasn't a huge mistake as they are sold out and there's a small delay

there's always Nexus 7 and Fire as alternatives for everyone else
 

DoctorYuyi

macrumors member
Oct 24, 2012
95
0
There are rumors that Apple is going to discontinue the iPod Touch and introduce a $299/$289 iPad Mini 8GB model.

I bet I'll get replies arguing with me over this when I never stated if I believed them. I'm just saying they exist.
 

rkahl

macrumors 65816
Jul 29, 2010
1,021
0
So...

I'm so disappointed but I can see a mass exodus from the apple ecosystem coming up.

The pricing of the mini was a major mistake for apple.

32gb with 3g for $299 (£239)?!! Did they not see Google's trump card coming?

Greed is still not good.

Don't buy it then. Problem solved!
 

blergh!

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
26
0
What would it have taken to launch a 32gb ipad mini with gps and cellular for under $300??

I'm telling you, the minis might be flying off the shelves right now but watch the long-term effect of their pricing.
 

MisterDisney

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2010
550
5
If Apple made a 7" plastic POS, and priced it at $329, you could call greed. But they didn't. They have crafted a product, the quality of which, far outstrips anything the "competition" would ever even attempt.
 

d123

macrumors 68020
Oct 19, 2009
2,233
706
Earth
What would it have taken to launch a 32gb ipad mini with gps and cellular for under $300??
.

What would it have taken to solve world famine? Or to control the weather?

Answer? No one knows.

It's as simple as this, if you don't like, or can't afford it, then you don't buy it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

DJinTX

macrumors 6502a
Sep 15, 2010
520
29
What would it have taken to launch a 32gb ipad mini with gps and cellular for under $300??

I'm telling you, the minis might be flying off the shelves right now but watch the long-term effect of their pricing.

Ooh ooh....I know the answer to this...

It would have taken another company who is subsidizing the price of that tech and selling at a loss or breaking even, because as we know, Apple would never do this. They make great products, that surprisingly enough, cost money. You can belittle them for not being willing to lose money or break even, but in the end, not many here will really sympathize with you on that. Great R&D costs money.
 

bigjnyc

macrumors 604
Apr 10, 2008
7,806
6,616
What would it have taken to launch a 32gb ipad mini with gps and cellular for under $300??

I'm telling you, the minis might be flying off the shelves right now but watch the long-term effect of their pricing.

I'm sorry man but you're just wrong about this. Yes many people feel it should have been cheaper... and yes Apple had an opportunity to really crush the nexus and the kindle fire.... But they are still going to sell a ton of these. The holidays are coming up and then Apple will release a new version with retina display, and upgraded internals and they will sell a bunch more. I'm not a fanboy and I'm not defending Apple but you're just off on this one.
 

taipan61

macrumors 6502
May 18, 2011
373
0
corner starbucks
What would it have taken to launch a 32gb ipad mini with gps and cellular for under $300??

I'm telling you, the minis might be flying off the shelves right now but watch the long-term effect of their pricing.

the price will never change, just like it hasn't for the original ipad...
the specs will just continue to get better.
i'll get one, sell my transformer or my nexus to pay it down, then when the 3rd gen comes out i'll give this one away like i always do

and if apple genuinely made a marketing mistake with the mini they will roll with the punch and come back swinging with another project
 

blergh!

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
26
0
Another thing... they made a big play about education and the ipad's place in that.

There is no educational discount for iPad minis!!

The apple has bitten off more than it can chew.

I don't want to buy competitors products... I am getting to the stage where apple have pushed me away with expensive underspecced gear.
 

ayale99

macrumors 6502
Dec 6, 2007
345
159
You're wrong.

To have an eco-system a person must have multiple Apple devices. You're saying that if the iPad Mini isn't a success, a person is going to drop their whole eco-system? Riggggggght.

"Hey, my iPad mini sucks. I guess I'll ditch the eco-system and throw out my iMac, Airport Extreme, Airport Express, AppleTV's, IPad and iPhone."
 

blergh!

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
26
0
...because up until now they have shown innovation, cutting-edge performance and specs.

This time it's a fail though.
 

poloponies

Suspended
May 3, 2010
2,661
1,366
What would it have taken to launch a 32gb ipad mini with gps and cellular for under $300??

I'm telling you, the minis might be flying off the shelves right now but watch the long-term effect of their pricing.

You're being unrealistic. Neither Google nor Amazon expects to profit from this pricing because they're not hardware companies, it was just their attempt to get traction in the marketplace. I used this analogy elsewhere but it's apropos. If a gas station decides to give away travel mugs to customers as an inducement to come in and buy gas it doesn't mean that the market price that stores that sell travel mugs have to match is zero.

You're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Apple's not about products flying off the shelves at cost or just above cost. It's not sustainable.
 

blergh!

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
26
0
You're wrong.

To have an eco-system a person must have multiple Apple devices. You're saying that if the iPad Mini isn't a success, a person is going to drop their whole eco-system? Riggggggght.

"Hey, my iPad mini sucks. I guess I'll ditch the eco-system and throw out my iMac, Airport Extreme, Airport Express, AppleTV's, IPad and iPhone."


Ditto... which is exactly why I'm disappointed. I wanted a small iPad that fitted in with that ecosystem but with cutting-edge technology at a decent price.

That's my point. The mini isn't good enough.
 

taipan61

macrumors 6502
May 18, 2011
373
0
corner starbucks
Ditto... which is exactly why I'm disappointed. I wanted a small iPad that fitted in with that ecosystem but with cutting-edge technology at a decent price.

That's my point. The mini isn't good enough.

based on?
i'll hold out until i have one in my hands then i'll vote with my wallet
it seems i can still stream from the mini to my atv so that suits me just fine
 

MisterDisney

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2010
550
5
I wanted a small iPad that fitted in with that ecosystem but with cutting-edge technology at a decent price, too.

I bought one, because that's precisely what Apple did.
 

poloponies

Suspended
May 3, 2010
2,661
1,366
Cutting-edge technology? Are you absolutely sure about that?

You're obviously defining "cutting edge" as having superior specs on all counts. While it's clear that it's what drives you there's an enormous market of people out there who evaluate the overall experience and comfort in using the device. I cannot tell you how many idiotic questions I get nearly daily from friends and coworkers with iPads about the most basic functions of their devices. Never ever have I heard someone say "why isn't the processor/display better/faster/clearer....?"

It drives you but you're in a very small minority.

One more thing: my wife has had her iPad 1 since it's been released and absolutely loves it. Has never even expressed interest in a newer one because it does everything she needs. Which is why she loves it - because it's exactly as easy to use as her iPhone so she doesn't have to re-learn a single thing.
 

blergh!

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
26
0
I agree I'm in a minority. Hence posting on this site and not the discussions taking place on the national newspaper sites ;)
 

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,907
It doesn't appeal to me, therefore it's a failure!

That is such a strange thought. There are 7 billion people in the world. A product doesn't have to appeal to all of them. Sell to just a tiny fraction of that population, and you've sold millions.

The defining feature of the current iPad is it's screen. This screen is so incredible that the vast majority of desktop monitors can't even match it, despite being twice as large. A lot of compromises were made in order to deliver this screen. The iPad became thicker, heavier, and slower. It takes much longer to charge and it cannot charge with the screen on. But if you want that glorious screen, iPad is the way to go.

The defining feature of the iPad Mini is it's thinness, weight, and screen size. Despite having a screen that's 35% larger than competitor's 7" tablets, it is thinner and lighter than those competitors. It also has its compromises, the resolution for example. I didn't pick up an iPad Mini despite anxiously waiting for one for a long, long time. But I'm not so ignorant as to think it won't appeal to others... LOTS of others. I don't particularly like Justin Bieber either, but plenty of other people do.

It reminds me a lot of the basic 6" Kindle. It wasn't color, couldn't run apps, and had no backlight. I thought it was a piece of crap based on those specs, I figured I'll just get a tablet and use the Kindle app. But then I used a Kindle. It was miraculously lightweight... and the battery just wouldn't die. It was more comfortable to hold than any paperback in any kind of reading position. None of this would have been true with a tablet, despite the tablet looking a lot better feature-wise. But that's the point, the e-ink is the trump card. The Kindle can't do anything else, but it does books WAY WAY better than anything else.

I definitely see the appeal of a premium 7" tablet that's super thin and light, with a screen 35% larger than the competition.
 

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
Another thing... they made a big play about education and the ipad's place in that.

There is no educational discount for iPad minis!!
When educational institutions (i.e. universities, school districts, etc) buy in quantity from Apple, you can be sure they almost always get discounts.

Like the special $999 "budget" iMac Apple made only for educational institutions, not every Apple educational discount gets published publicly on the "Education" part of their online store.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.