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The question is not "Why would anyone pay more for the new Mini?" It is "Why would anyone pay even MORE for the full-sized iPad?" Next to the iPad Air (ach, dumb name), the Mini is actually a bargain, considering the specs, higher ppi screen, and the size/weight advantage, all for the same technology.

In my view Apple did not do enough to differentiate the two products. It's a strange logic the way they set up their products and pricing, but it's not a stupid logic. The current logic pushes people towards the new Mini, which at the new more expensive price still comes off as the best deal of the lot.
Your view makes sense, so just get the iPad mini.

My view is different though, I like the way bigger screen for just $100 more.

See, sometimes Apple does offer choice.
 
They both have the same processors... the only difference is the screen size.

I see the only distinguishing factors to be size/weight/battery.

You can't get the full iPad package without going to the full iPad price.

iPad Mini IS an iPad Air, just with a smaller display.
I'm not yet convinced the package is indeed identical.

I would expect that Apple had to make some adjustments to e.g. guarantee heat dissipation on the mini, so it may well run at lower clock speeds or have a more aggressive throttling scheme under load.

And if Apple designed the package for the mini in the first place, they could have used the room in the bigger Air housing for things like an even better battery or more Ram or storage.

Eagerly awaiting benchmarks and teardowns.

With as expensive at they priced it I would not be surprised to see many many more ipad airs sold vs mini retinas in the coming year.
if they had the RMini (retina mini) at $329, [...], it would have flown off the shelves. Now the Air... that looks sexy and well worth the price.
That's exactly what Apple wants: There have been rumors about supply chain constraints, so they try to nudge people to choosing the iPad Air, which can be produced in sufficiently high numbers (and - as a side effect - might offer a better margin).

if I was in charge of supplying my company with 200 identical tablets and we had a budget of $50,000, we would be forced to get the Nexus 7 :([...]
If you were in charge of supplying your company you'd know that corporate customers usually get completely different pricing schemes on bigger purchases.
 
I dont remember ipad 3 being more expensive than the ipad 2 at launch.


Also found this on Apple's website, found it interesting that they now mention it

"Warranty & Service

In the United Kingdom, consumers are entitled to a free of charge repair or replacement, by the seller, of goods which do not conform with the contract of sale. Under English law, consumers have up to six years from the date of delivery to exercise their rights however, various factors may impact your eligibility to receive these remedies. For details, click here."

Wow, well I'm in England so that sounds awesome!
 
the extra $70 for the mini is to cover the cost for the "free" iLife and iWorks that you get with every new device. Duh!!!

Its kinda of like when you see a pizza ad that says, buy a medium pizza at the regular price of $13.99 and get small one . Or you can get our special which is a medium pizza for 8.99 with a coupon. (coupon cannot be combined with other offers and for pick up only)
 
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Thank you for the advice. Looking at those for an option now.
Good luck with the decision.

And I'm not claiming the Nook or the Kindle are equal to the mini, but, for your mother's needs, they are equivalent. Also, I prefer the feel of the backs to aluminum, which I find uncomfortable to hold (same with my MBA - love the MBA, hate the cold feel and especially the sharp edges). The Play Store access is a huge plus for the Nook vs the Fire, and the ability to download Amazon Prime Videos to local storage is a huge plus of the Fire vs the Nook (assuming Prime membership).

The mini adds iBook/iTunes support, Messaging, and some other perks. The App Store differences are likely irrelevant to her.
 
So a 32GB Mini plus Applecare would be $600! Times 5 grandchildren is $3,000 . Ouch! Gotta think about that one. They really need 32GB for their games, which is what they mainly use them for. Wish they could get away with 16GB but I doubt they can.
 
the extra $70 for the mini is to cover the cost for the "free" iLife and iWorks that you get with every new device. Duh!!!

Its kinda of like when you see a pizza ad that says, buy a medium pizza at the regular price of $13.99 and get small one . Or you can get our special which is a medium pizza for 8.99 with a coupon. (coupon cannot be combined with other offers and for pick up only)
Ah, so the "old" mini is only $229 by your logic (because any newly purchased one comes with those apps)? Awesome.
 
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IIf they can make a full-sized iPad smaller and thinner and keep the price steady, they should be able to put a retina display on a Mini without charging 70 bucks more to do it. If the margin is so terrible on the 1st gen Mini, why reduce the price?

There have been reports that yields on the retina panel for the iPad Mini are poor, so that increases component costs. And I would not be surprised if the iPad Mini with Retina's price is what it is to help recover some of the margin lost by reducing the price of the non-Retina model.


The mini was price a bit high in the first place... okay, not even a bit. WAY high.

Considering the effect it is reported to have had on Apple's margins and earnings, perhaps it should have been even higher. :eek:
 
I'm not cheap by any means, and i still will be getting the new mini, but 399 kinda sucks, that's literally double what similar specd android tablets sell for. I think people would of been more happy if they made it 349 and the old mini 249. I think this might push more people to go to android, But that's just my 2 cents

Which means they priced it correctly since you yourself can justify the extra cost.

And I think people would be more happy if Apple paid us $500 to use an iPad instead as well, but that doesn't mean it should happen.

And no, you cannot find a similar spec tablet for $199. Even the Nexus 7 is $229 and its resolution is lower AND the CPU is not as good. Plus the screen is 0.9 inch larger. It might not seem like a big difference but if you look at the Amazon HDX, the 8.9 version is $140 more than 7 inch version with slight difference in resolution but same CPU.
 
So a 32GB Mini plus Applecare would be $600! Times 5 grandchildren is $3,000 . Ouch! Gotta think about that one. They really need 32GB for their games, which is what they mainly use them for. Wish they could get away with 16GB but I doubt they can.
They can swap out games as long as they're on wifi, and Game Center will keep their scores and stats. Save the $500.

Or get them the older one and save even more.

Or buy them each a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HDX, toss in $100 each for games, and come out further ahead.

Or really, just buy them sweaters. Keep the expectations low.
 
Anyone? I'm at work. Don't have time to go through all the articles. Didn't get a chance to watch the live stream.

No one knows yet. Apples site says "iPad mini available later November"
9anedyte.jpg
 
This logo

:apple:


I understand why Apple products often carry a premium price over Nexus devices. or many competition device.

But $399 for essentially an 8" tablet is a tough pill to swallow, EVEN if it's a really damn nice looking tablet.

people were iffy at $329 for the mini. this is another $70. if you're not someone tied to iOS system and are looking with price as a major factor, the Nexus 7 (2013) just became that much more appealing.

Even more so when you can get the LTE verson with 32GB for $350. A 16GB refurb Wifi/Cellular mini is $360:(

I'm a guy that doesn't mind paying a little extra but I don't see anyway for me to justify that price difference.
 
Really???? Why?
Presumably the same reasons everyone else gives in the pro-Android camp, which mean the same little amount to anyone in the pro-iOS camp. I don't need to repeat them here.

It's a preference; people are allowed to have those. For everything Camp A touts as a huge plus, Camp B has something they say is even better. In the end, both options are equivalent overall, and it comes down to preference.

Android gets features that were already in iOS. iOS gets features that were already in Android. However, you can use either to do pretty much the same thing, except for when you really "need" one or the other. Your perceived needs decide which one is ultimately better for you personally.
 
Your view makes sense, so just get the iPad mini.

My view is different though, I like the way bigger screen for just $100 more.

See, sometimes Apple does offer choice.

Agreed. With the same CPU in both to the air being more mobile friend (weight and size). The decision will come down to price and screen. Personally, I love the 9.7 inch screen size and it is easy for me. Again, other might be fine with the 7.9 inch and they will get the Mini.

It is like comparing a 13" labtop to a 15" labtop, they are targeted to different markets. I think Apple got enough feedback for iPad Mini where people want the best performance in a smaller package and are willing to pay more for it. The Retina mini is not trying to compete directly with the 7" tablets from Google, Amazon, etc. Again, these tablets are good as well, just target at a difference audience with different needs.
 
What makes this tablet $170 dollars more expensive than a 16gb Nexus 7? :confused:

Long version: Supply and demand. Last year the $330 Mini sold out and remained largely unavailible until early 2013. I'm certain the same will be true for the Retina version.

Short: Eco-system and customer satisfaction.
 
What makes this tablet $170 dollars more expensive than a 16gb Nexus 7? :confused:

Supply and demand.

Also, it has a much larger screen than the Nexus 7 and a 64-bit processor (7.9" at 4x3 is about 40% larger than 7" at 16x9.
 
Seriously, you're going to complain about smaller targets? The new iPad Air is for you then... unless you're going to complain about the price next, which seems to be very popular in this thread.

Come'on people... these are amazing prices for the BEST products on the market. The competition giving away the good at underpriced values does not mean that Apple needs to do that as well. If you want cheap, go by cheap and enjoy the [lack of] enjoyable experience.

Once upon a time Apple did unquestionably put out the best product in the smart phone and tablet segment, but I think those days are behind us. Apple's products are now simply amongst the first tier of consumer electronics. iOS, likewise, used to be the only game in town for a stable, useful touch-OS...but now Android is just as stable, lets you have more control over your device, and seems to have all the same apps (iOS apps are still the more polished usually, but they also are limited). When going between my iPhone and Android tablet, I notice that iOS requires more swiping to get things done, limits how apps interact, doesn't let me browse the file system or mount my device easily, and makes it harder to multitask or close apps.
 
Graphics from Apple's website:

iPad AirImage

iPad Mini with Retina DisplayImage

So I'm guessing we'll be waiting until mid-end of Nov. for the Mini with Retina?

And by them not allowing any pre-orders except on release day for the air.....I'm thinking supplies will be just like the 5S. Extremely hard to get one.
 
I'm not so sure to be honest. it's really based on experience.

Having used multiple of the paltforms, There's something to be said about the simplicity, ease of use, and how well iOS works.

As an OS, i prefer it over my google devices.

The problem is, Costs associated with ownership, and "other" choices involved in purchasing for me.

is iOS and it's ecosystem worth $399 for a "mini" tablet in the 7-8" marketplace? even with the Retina display and the A7 CPU. This to me is a hard sell.

Google has managed to put out a high PPI device in the Nexus 7, for $170 less. Yes, I would take a "hit" to the ecosystem and be using Google instead. but as long as the functionality i'm looking for are the same in both, Why would i spend that extra $170.

I think Apple is banking on reputation too much with this release. if they had the RMini (retina mini) at $329, while it's still more than the N7, it would have flown off the shelves. I'd be putting my Credit card in right now.

But to keep the old Mini, Which is using arguably 2+ year old tech (same basic components as the ipad 2, which surprisingly is still being sold at the same price as well), at the $329 price point, really is questionable. Then tacking on another $70 for retina is even more questionable, When arguably, Everyone else in the market is giving the high ppi displays at no additional costs.

What I find more pecular is that the ipad 4 is getting nixed. And the ipad Air takes it's pricepoint. in the full size market, we're getting a much faster, better, lighter, and I'd say Sexier device at the exact same price as before.

But the Mini isn't following that same market replacement.

just odd. And I don't think they went the right way with the Mini Price.

Now the Air... that looks sexy and well worth the price.

How can you possibly say $100 more for the exact same specs is worth the price.
 
The problem with the mini is that iOS is still just scaled down for the hardware, and not truly optimized for the smaller screen. This makes things easier for developers but suckier for all of the users who have to deal with smaller tap targets and cluttered interfaces.

Hahahaha... no.

Actually yes. If the Mini has the same resolution as the full size iPad but on a smaller screen, then yes everything on the Mini is from a literal physical standpoint, scaled down and all assets designed for an iPad at full size are rendered smaller and potentially harder to "click". They only way they aren't is if the developers, in the code, test to see the device being used and change the UI to reflect that smaller screen device.
 
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