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7-Inch iPad with Retina Display Coming in October Priced at $200-$250?
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Couldn't agree more. I said the same thing the last time this 7" rumor started. People see it as a separate product, but I don't think it will be.
When Steve Jobs said "I finally cracked it", this is it, not Siri. Deliver people the interface that anyone can use. Then the following year deliver it as a separate product.
Everyone keeps mentioning the iPod touch, but I don't think the iPod line is of any importance to Apple any more. Sales are decreasing every year, more and more people are putting music on their phones instead. Phones and Tablets are the growth sector, not the iPod line.
That doesn't mean I think this rumor is accurate. I just cant see a retina display in a 7" tablet at that price point.
That doesn't mean I think this rumor is accurate. I just cant see a retina display in a 7" tablet at that price point.
At this price point it's also at the same price as an x-box and that business model focuses on platform related profits, not device profit.
As the Apple ecosystem gets larger, and the hardware gets more undifferentiated, this could be a necessary shift in their business strategy.
As the Apple ecosystem gets larger, and the hardware gets more undifferentiated, this could be a necessary shift in their business strategy.
When Apple were considering the design of the original iPad they must have tested all shapes and sizes that were plausable:
6,7,8,9,10,11,12 inches... 4:3, 16:9, 16:10...
10 inch, 4:3 was the one and only perfect size.
Maybe, now that Steve cannot veto anything anymore, Tim feels that other sizes must be produced just to kill off probable comptetition. Will a 7 inch iPad cannibalize iPod Touch sales? Of course. But that's far better than potential iPod sales going over to Kindles....
So, I do believe it will happen. Not because it's a perfect size, but to help kill potential comptetition.
6,7,8,9,10,11,12 inches... 4:3, 16:9, 16:10...
10 inch, 4:3 was the one and only perfect size.
Maybe, now that Steve cannot veto anything anymore, Tim feels that other sizes must be produced just to kill off probable comptetition. Will a 7 inch iPad cannibalize iPod Touch sales? Of course. But that's far better than potential iPod sales going over to Kindles....
So, I do believe it will happen. Not because it's a perfect size, but to help kill potential comptetition.
I think it's the wrong strategy for Apple to pursue. If they want to play the low cost price points, they should wait till next March for the iPad 4, then lowering the iPad 2 price to $299 and iPad 3 to $399, rather than coming out with a small screen iPad.
While I get where you're coming from, I don't think so in this case. They'd be able to stick to the "an iPad is an iPad is an iPad" idea with this. Same software, same user experience. Just smaller.
It's not that weird to launch a 7" iPad for 250$...
I mean the new iPad costs 500$ and has a 10" screen and 16gb storage.
If they reduce the screen to 7 and the storage to 8gb (which is stupid and pointless IMO, especially with retina icons etc), they could easily sell it for 250$. Ok they could maybe lose some profit margin but it's still big, so why not win the cheaper market?
People who have 500$ and want a 10" tablet will obviously go for the bigger one.
People who don't have/want to spend 500$ on a tablet , they would usually go for the kindle fire or something like that.
Must as well buy a cheaper/smaller ipad, no?
Not something I need, but I would like to see Apple come out with more than just iOS hardware. Time for them to bring back some of that Mojo and show the tech world their are not a one horse show.
Really I did not know so many people where so wealthy to give their kids iPhones. I am impressed will have to keep an eye for all those 10 year old iPhone junkies at my kids school.
Except that apple was a kinda poor pc maker then.
Now they're a colossal company, if not the highest on the stock market.
They can make 10 mistakes and still not fall.
Also, from what i've read and thought, apple is thoroughly testing their products before they're released in the market.
They're no acer!
Also, they DO have a marketing team, and they DO know what the market and people want (from what they've shown with the new iPad's sales).
Funny you should ask this. asymco.com has a graphic chart that shows the y/y growth of the various Apple sectors. Seems like iTunes has been consistently growing at 30% for the last 10 quarters.
Asymco LINK
What would make a better rumor would be Apple having a pro model iPad with tons of bells and whistles and keeping something like the new iPad at a competitively low price point.
$$$$
Not every city has a BestBuy or an Apple store but you can almost bet good money they have a Walmart or one within 30mins - 1hr.
Don't forget the iPod touch is a year and a half old. They are making a killing on the touch now as the components will be far cheaper now than they were when it was introduced. Apple could easily hit this price point the question is are they willing to compromise. In the past the answer to that was no. A retina display even at 7" would likely mean that the battery life would be less than 10 hours as they physically can't use a large enough battery in that case. My guess is a non retina 7" at $299 this year followed by an igzo 7" retina display next year. Battery life is the key feature of the iPad they can't mess with that. Even switching to a 32nm process won't save them enough power to get a retina display and a 10 hour battery life in a chassis that is basically half the size
Yes, because having multiple devices/sizes in each product category has hurt them...
iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod Touch
MacBook Air 11", 13"
MacBook Pro 13", 15", 17"
iMac 21", 27"
If indeed they make the product and price it at this price point, in NO way is this a change in strategy.
It's simply an additional product that will bring even more people into the Apple family of customers. Loss leader? Hardly, with all the cash Apple makes per minute, they may have a narrow margin but they'll be far from losing money.
I know a lot of people here fear losing their imagined exclusivity, but it's too late. Apple is already in the mass market consumer electronics business. iPhones and iPads are everywhere.
Why you wouldn't want Apple to make even more money, gain more customers and continue to expand the user base, makes no sense.
That said you have lots of company with all the fear based posts here, proclaiming a 7" sized iPad is never going to happen. If they're not fear based, then why the vehement spewing of hate and condemnation of the idea?
Just because it's not for them, doesn't' mean it's not a good idea. Some people have no faith in Apple.
From my vantage point it makes a lot of sense, and will bring in the typical landslide of orders.
Hmmm, maybe they're selling them there because over 138 million people visit Walmart every week and over 1 billion shop at Walmart.com every year. Apple is in the business of selling products, does selling at Walmart tarnish or cheapen the Apple brand, perhaps, but if only a fraction of the 138 million weekly brick-and-morter shoppers buy iPads, iPods, etc. it means a ton of sales for Apple. As a shareholder I don't care where they're selling products as long as it's merchandised in a nice way and they move a lot of product.