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Apple Introduces New 7.9-Inch iPad Mini Starting at $329

Ankaa said:
Do people really buy like this?

I don't buy things just for the fun of buying, but when I need them.
When I want to buy a music player I'm not going to look at tablet PCs. Not portable enough. Not primarily made for the task of playing music.
When I want to buy a Tablet for e.g. reading as the major purpose, I wouldn't look at a small screen Device (iPod touch, iPhone, competitor's options) because there really is no point in reading for a long time on such a small device.
See where I'm going?

I still believe in different devices for different tasks/needs. It just not as simple as "it has a bigger screen and is only a little more expensive so I'll buy that because I'll get a better price-performance ratio.
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So your won't buy an all in one device, you'd rather buy multiple devices that all do the exact same thing as the all in one? And yes, people will compare, because if someone wants an iPod they'll buy the Nano, if they look at the Touch then they cannot ignore the iPad Mini. That's most likely why Apple priced it this way because they need something to use as a carrot to wave under next years iPad Mini buyers, namely A6 and Retina. For the same price, then again who knows maybe that will be in February?
 
currentinterest said:
Like all Apple products, including the iPhone 5, people complain and groan until they actually hold one and see and feel that it is in a class by itself.
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Thats true, but the same can be said about non apple products that come in at a price that is very competitive. The difference with Apple is that they can get away with charging you every penny that that "class by itself" is worth. And they can still skimp on the screen and processor while doing it.

The price will either go down to $300 if they don't go to an A6 chip next year or keep it at that price if they do upgrade it to be twice as fast.

I think many apple fanboys would still be happy with a cheap brick that runs iOS. But no, they have to have the highest margins in the industry at all costs.
 
FaceTime HD

are these (iDevice) FaceTime HD camera comparable to the one in MBA, MBP and iMac?

I am thinking of getting MBA instead of MBP/rMBP. any advice?
 
Here's an idea, perhaps if they got rid of the useless rear camera they could have knocked $10 of the price! Obviously it should be more like $30 but this IS Apple.
iPhone 5? Check, great camera? check, iPad Mini? check, Worst Camera I'll never use? check.
 
KdParker said:
For once my not being and early adopter paid off. :)
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Yeah, waiting for this new and "perfect" product (which may *never* be released) is always better than buying today and enjoying until the day the *supposed* product is launched.

Apple is such an easy purchase - buy today, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, and tomorrow when they release a superior product, sell yours and buy the new one, and consider the price differential a rental cost (which will amount to not a lot).

Then again, you could walk the path of least joy and happiness, and yet still claim the high ground of moral superiority in your demanding of perfection in products, which one can argue never actually occurs (an interesting conversation in its own right).
 
rjc0505 said:
I think you are right that they don't want to cannibalize too much from their iPad sales for their "real users," but it is a fine between doing that and not getting the influx of new users they could potentially get via this new offering by being more aggressive with their pricing and making up the profits (plus some) via their various revenue streams that go beyond just the one-time purchase of hardware.
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I think the fact they didn't go after the budget market automatically means they're gonna cannibalize off existing users. I think it's safe to say most people who buy an iPad mini won't be buying an iPad 4 and vice versa, especially since they come out at the same time.

The players in the budget market are the Kindle Fire ($200), Nook ($150), and the Nexus 7 ($200). They still beat Apple on aggressive pricing, which is the one thing that makes a consumer go to the budget market in the first place.

Only thing I can think of is maybe they're trying to grow the overall market, not target the budget market. Kinda like what they did releasing the iPod mini after the classic - basically a midrange model released after a premium model. Eventually they released the shuffle, which became their budget MP3 player and was basically a gateway device - a lot of people who bought it became vested in the ecosystem and eventually bought up to the nano. They probably have a budget tablet in the R&D stages somewhere.
 
mdelvecchio said:
you do realize that this isnt an apple forum, right? they arent scanning this, looking for nerd-enthusiasts opinions on their business model. instead theyre busy designing products for the normal consumer and making billions doing it.

you arent the target market and never will be. so all youre whining on this forum does is annoy other enthusiasts.
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Err, ok... but here's little known secret: people reading this forum might buy an Apple product, so they should be well informed about the product's failings.

As for this being a "enthusiast" forum... what a joke! There are obviously lots of people here who are not enthusiasts. Just because you want everyone who disagrees with you to go away, it aint gonna happen. I'm sorry that we hurt your feelings with our bad words about Apple!

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WilliamLondon said:
Yeah, waiting for this new and "perfect" product (which may *never* be released) is always better than buying today and enjoying until the day the *supposed* product is launched.

Apple is such an easy purchase - buy today, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, and tomorrow when they release a superior product, sell yours and buy the new one, and consider the price differential a rental cost (which will amount to not a lot).

Then again, you could walk the path of least joy and happiness, and yet still claim the high ground of moral superiority in your demanding of perfection in products, which one can argue never actually occurs (an interesting conversation in its own right).
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Yup, buy Apple products, no matter how flawed they are. Buy every version, without question. Obey Apple!
 
Early 2011: Digitimes Taiwan supply chain analysts report iPad Mini rumors:


The mindless herd: "MacRumors, stop posting from Digitimes!!... iPad Mini will not happen.... Steve won't allow it..."


You know who you are... think twice before doubting those in the front-line trenches..
 
Tigger11 said:
Just because they are the richest company in the world doesnt mean they can produce a product, just because you think they can. Can they get a single panel made? Sure they can, but when you need 10 Million of them and the price cheap enough that you can sell the mini for less then the non-mini, it becomes an issue. That issue hasn't been addressed. The problem I have with the whole day is the iPad 4 coming out. What does that mean for March/April are we going to have a new iPad then or not? Did they move the iPad because the TV is coming out in April? Are we going to start to see twice a year products for lots of things?
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So you are saying it is technically impossible to make a retina iPad mini. Right. We'll see it in the next iteration. Apple is famous for sandbagging on features, especially their gen 1 products.

I don't care about the price. I think it's fine. But if they're going to aggressively wave the Retina flag, as they're doing with most their products now, they can't sell a product without it and then rave about how well the screen looks. That's hypocritical and cheapens their product.
 
kas23 said:
So you are saying it is technically impossible to make a retina iPad mini. Right. We'll see it in the next iteration. Apple is famous for sandbagging on features, especially their gen 1 products.

I don't care about the price. I think it's fine. But if they're going to aggressively wave the Retina flag, as they're doing with most their products now, they can't sell a product without it and then rave about how well the screen looks. That's hypocritical and cheapens their product.
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If only...:rolleyes:
 
Joining the 'it's a bit too expensive' crowd..

I was hoping for $249 to $299 in view of the feature set. That said, it is far better designed and much more elegant than the plastic competition.

But I have FIVE grandsons and the price probably keeps this off Santa's list for me. Bummer. It wouldn't have at $249...:(
 
MMOTotal said:
Buying a Nexus 7 would be pointless for me. It's not just about the hardware. It is that Apple has created an eco system that is damn near impossible to escape. If you have invested heavily in the Apple eco system this is a no brainer.

If you have flexibility then go with the Nexus or whatever else they are doing.
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This is exactly what Apple wants you to believe. I have a MacBook Air and a Galaxy S3 (bye bye iPhone ).
Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7 will be my next purchase (bye bye iPad Mini).
 
fermat-au said:
Apple couldn't make the iPad mini retina, it had to be 1024x768. Unlike Android, when Apple releases a new screen resolution for iOS app developer have to update their apps to support that new resolution. The two iPad (4:3) resolutions that Apple has made devs support are 1024x768 and 2048x1536. Apple is relying on the fact that the iPad mini will run current iPad apps, so the iPad mini had to be one of these two, developer don't want to have to rewrite their apps for some new resolution, 2048x1536 is just too high for a 7/8" tablet in terms of graphics power required and cost, so it had to be 1024x768. This meant the iPad mini could not be retina and many similar sized Android tablets are higher resolution.
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Agreed. This point was clearly made during today's presentation. Needs to be able to run apps from earlier and larger device. Personally, I love my iPad "3" or "new" iPad, but it is just a bit to big to throw in my purse and take every day. So my iPad is my second computer at home. Use it mostly upstairs, iMac downstairs. I can do everything on it that I can do on my iMac. Love dictation which helps compensate for keyboarding on smaller devices. Watch all my cable channels live anywhere in the house. It really is a second computer, so getting the new mini, is just going to serve the purpose of a carry-along computer. I got 64GB on iPad and will get 64GB on mini with cellular. Don't have to worry about what I put on it. Time will tell. I see this as being an alternative for schools as well, for children, for e-text books. Also, with another device in the ecosystem, work done on one is in all. Can't beat that.

t2
 
paulsdenton said:
I was hoping for $249 to $299 in view of the feature set. That said, it is far better designed and much more elegant than the plastic competition.

But I have FIVE grandsons and the price probably keeps this off Santa's list for me. Bummer. It wouldn't have at $249...:(
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lol....

People care more about what's behind than what's in front of them.
I want a better resolution since I don't spend most of time staring at aluminum or plastic.
 
Westside guy said:
Apples and oranges. You can't compare raw specs - you need to compare benchmarks because performance is what matters. I would expect Java apps to require a faster CPU - and more memory - to come close to performing as well as apps written in a language designed for compiling (e.g. Objective C or even C#).
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Hahaha. Computer Science Fail!
:D
 
Not too long ago, I saw a used iPad 2 with a good amount of storage for around $250, but I held off because of the mini rumors. More expensive, less storage, and virtually no improvement over the 2 means I'll probably head back to that store and see if they have a 2 or maybe even a 3 (might not be that much more expensive with the 4 announcement).
 
Nothing surprising about the announce today.
I kinda expect no retina display : apple won't introduce another screen resolution thus fragment their overall ecosystem.
Pricing is about right.
We all want cheaper pricing (sub $300)..,but this is real life + Apple. ..;-(
Gonna ditch 7" android and get one ;-)
 
Have to say I'm loving the teenage angst in here and other threads concerning this predicament. People---the mini is being offered to provide a competition vantage point in that segment. I believe it's generally 'an iPad for your kid'. It's not designed to be the latest and greatest because the market that apple is going after here are not the tech weenie savvy people. Lack of retina in this market for a screen that small means nothing. Stuff will still look fantastic. There are other facors as well, for instance the A5 CPU would probably not be able to result in that quick response we all love on a retina. Part of product cycle development involves where you're at, but perhaps more so where you are going. Apple obviously decided to keep the mini iPad lagging a bit In the power dept compared to its big brother. This strategy I'm sure now will go hand in hand as the mini will get the A6 chip when it's determined they have the next generation CPU available for product. I must say its brilliant strategy again from apple as they can more accurately gage when to turn the spigot off in producing the chips.

Apple wants to get the little ones hooked into the ecosystem they built. It works obviously as anyone with teen kids (such as I) can attest. Once you spend $1000 or so as a kid buying iTunes crap and apps, you're pretty unlikely to switch to android.

One final thing, wish apple would have priced the new batch of full size iPads higher so the existing iPad 3 can maintain its value in the marketplace. Would have given time for the diehards to sell at a decent price so they could upgrade. Eh whatever.
 
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