Apple Open to iPad Price Cuts if Demand Lags?

[kernkraft]

1. have you personally used it as an e-book reader? If not, how do you know it's not a good e-book reader?

2. have you personally used it to use email? If not, how do you know a netbook is that much better? If I have a lot of email, the last thing I want is to type on a netbook keyboard.

3. The pricing is right in line with the iPod touch.

1. It's not e-ink or something 'flat and matte'. I tried e-books on various MacBook, MacBppk Pro and Air screens. They cause eye-strain and they are useless outside. I'm not just talking about the extra-mega-hyper glossy screens. I'm also talking about screens that the Airs had over the years or the screens of the white plastic MacBooks.


2. I used email on an the above and on my iPhone. Reading emails is sort of OK, but you cannot seriously expect people to start using the virtual keyboard without any difficulties and remorse.


3. Well, if we take the screen size into account as a major cost. But it's not. With most manufacturers, a 15" laptop is cheaper than a 13" one. Not with Apple.

But about the iPod Touch vs. iPad pricing... I know, the performance is different (but there are the more expensive earphones included with the new generation of Touch), but when comparing storage space, a $300 price difference emerges. THAT IS A LOT FOR NOT A LOT OF EXTRA FUNCTIONS. In fact, is there anything apart from the larger screen?

Besides, size matters in computing, so in a way small computing power is already at a premium price. On that principle, the iPad's price SHOULD NOT be in line with the iPod Touch, as you said. It should be much closer.

 

[darthraige]

$99 iPhone + 2 year contract is substantially more expensive than a $499 iPad.

Ahhhhh. True.

 

[mmendoza27]

Not trying to start a flame war here, but there are so many individuals that have no idea what the iPad will be used for.

Many of my friends feel the same way, but we are viewing it from the perspective of a tech enthusiast. Many individuals on this forum know computer hardware (although there are many who "think" they do and some who don't even try) and that's what they primarily look at. Don't get me wrong, I do the same thing. Does a 24% increase from 2.66 Penryn to 2.66 Arrandale make a huge difference? To us, yes, because we do video-encoding, audio-recording and other processor-intensive tasks. HOWEVER, 90% of consumers don't.

My point is, the average consumer doesn't care about what their computer CAN do, they care about what they want it to do. And right now, consumers want social networking and media, word processing, e-mail, music, video and that's what the iPhone OS has always provided.

To all those who want the iPad to fail because of the lack of webcam, USB port, etctera, it won't happen due to what consumers want. They've spoken and they like the iPhone OS platform. It's plain and simple.

Read this article: http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/359224392/i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-ive-been

 

[QEII Student IT]

Hmmmm. Are you the CEO of a company offering a similar device with a free 3G upgrade and unlimited downloads for $20/month? No? Until then how about accepting it and move on. Or better yet, just don't buy one.

He might be, I hope it's called the iSlate

 

[rusty2192]

Research helps before a rant

I was hoping that i can use this thing to share my keynote with other, so I was hoping for a way to connect it to an external monitor, "to share pictures and videos, etc..." to the entire family. What's the use of being able to view/create beautiful keynote, numbers, pages, pdf, if you can't share it with other people like project partners and family members, etc.....
.

Just a little research on the iPad page shows that there will be not one, but three ways to connect it to an external display

"Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter;*576p and 480p with Apple*Component*AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple*Composite*AV Cable"

http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

 

[-=XX=-Nephilim]

Personally, considering what this device is (not)capable of doing, I think it's way overpriced...

I'll wait for 2nd or even 3rd revision before even start thinking of buying it

I would also like it to be bit smaller too - about 6" screen would do just fine in my opinion since as it is it is way too bulky...

iBooks should also go world wide and not be only aimed at US market (as it currently is) and lower book prices then what it appears that they will be priced...

I would love slightly better quality screen too... Bit higher res as well if possible.

And yes - support for various optional web plug-ins would be cool too...

Ah well, perhaps by Mk.III we should have most of this on plate...

 

[IMPMAC]

So basically, they they are preparing to fail. But they will not fail anyway. This device is going to sell.

 

[studio¹³¹]

Right until Mom & Dad visits some of their favorite web pages, and calls their geek son or daughter to explain to them why there are little blue boxes on their new shiny iPad, while the same page showed up fine on their old and cranky Windows XP desktop.

+1,000,000

 

[QCassidy352]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

It is not the price that would keep me from buying, it is the lack of features.



Some can be fixed with software, like adding Flash and multitasking but some will take hardware revisions - SD slot, camera, HDMI etc.



A big iPod Touch just isn't that compelling to me...

That's mostly what I've heard from those people who are no interested - it's the lack of features, not the price.



Lack of flash is a killer. I get what SJ was saying about it at the apple town hall, and I think he's right - in theory. But in practice, a lot of sites that people really like use flash. You just can't sell a device that can't do YouTube or hulu as a better Internet experience than a laptop.

Side note: love the new MR mobile! Can finally see smilies, much nicer layout, more options on the page, etc. Looks great!

 

[ABG]

"But netbooks aren't better at anything!"

Except running Flash, playing dvds, using usb accessories, using MS Office.

I swear - some of the people here would hold their breath until they passed out if Steve Jobs said that air wasn't fit to breathe.

 

[justinfreid]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

Maybe this alludes to a pre-release price break on the iPad to REALLY capitalize on the hype.
Or, Apple could drop the price by $200 six months after release and give early adopters a $100 Apple giftcard and further entice those who held back on purchasing.

 

[Eric S.]

they could treat it as a loss leader and then make their money on selling apps/books/music/movies.

According to Computerworld, Apple is already making $208 on the $499 iPad.

 

[Lara F]

I was drooling over the iPhone when it was first released but wasn't free to go on AT&T, so I was thrilled when the iPod Touch was announced and got a first gen. In retrospect it was an extremely stupid purchase. No speaker or external volume toggle button regularly annoys and free wifi wasn't widespread enough for me to have made good enough use of it that first year (after which I finally got an iPhone). I wouldn't be surprised if first gen iPad purchasers had similar regrets, but we'll see.

And I still find it ridiculous that wanting to listen to streaming music in the background makes me a geek. But I guess that's Apple's new world.

 

[dagomike]

I remember when I bought the original iPhone, I let everyone try it out. Everyone was pretty excited about it and wanted one.

Then I got to hear from every one of those people after Apple cut the price $200.

Now Apple is apparently talking price cuts before it even launches it.

Awesome.

Maybe I'll wait.

Maybe I won't show anyone.

Maybe no one will buy it.

Maybe Apple should should have priced it lower to begin with.

 

[deconstruct60]

that's probably because $500 is cheap for Apple. But it's still expensive for the niche it's supposed to fill: Netbooks. I got my netbook for less than $300, and it's probably about as fast as the iPad.

It isn't suppose to compete with Netbooks on form factor. It is suppose to compete with Netbooks in what the users want to do. So perhaps it could be said that they are both in a larger category of Moible Internet devices (MIDs). For users that want only a limited subset of functionality that the iPad covers; it competes. For users who want just a cheaper way to run Windows/MacOS X, it doesn't.


I don't think Apple has any delusions of wiping out all other netbooks on the market. What they do want to shrink is the number of people who run Windows or hack MacOS X on netbooks when they really just want and need something more focused. All those hackintosh/netbook sales are missing hardware (or hardware and software) sales that Apple could be making. It is not a netbook killer, but a market coverage expander.
[ Why every product introduced has to be a "killer" is an absolutely looney notion. ]


For the users out there who are buying "netbooks"/"very lightweight" laptops that are in the $499-700 range. Apple is getting pummeled because they offer nothing!!!! That was going to be even more so true in 2010-11 than it was in 2008-2009.

In the sub $499 range if willing to squink at the screen and pinch/zoom alot could do internet on Touch/iPhone. Same cramped keyboard (if typing skills not inspired from game console controller skills foundation. )


If Apple can trim off 2-6% of the $499-700 market with then will see significant growth. If can trim off 10% that would be huge growth. That would leave huge swaths of the sub $350 netbooks completely untouched.


Similarly there are likely 2-6% of the market that bought a Touch or Smartphone for which they suck because the screen is too small. They bought it because didn't really have a choice before. These are no where near the majority of the market, but they are significant enough to more revenues for Apple and significantly happier customers.

Apple will perhaps cannibalize folks from the top end Touch and Macbooks. However, a decent fraction of those folks really didn't want those products. The iPad better serves.

2-4 years from now they'll move the iPad down ( after moving the iPod Touch down.). Until then they'll just bank the extra profits.

 

[jmpage2]

I remember when I bought the original iPhone, I let everyone try it out. Everyone was pretty excited about it and wanted one.

Then I got to hear from every one of those people after Apple cut the price $200.

Now Apple is apparently talking price cuts before it even launches it.

Awesome.

Maybe I'll wait.

Maybe I won't show anyone.

Maybe no one will buy it.

Maybe Apple should should have priced it lower to begin with.

Several VIPs who attended the unveiling were apparently surprised to see the announced $499 price as they had been told it would be $399, as Apple really wanted to make a point about netbook pricing and how Apple could deliver "more" for the same money.

 

[macUser2007]

It's not really the price.

It's the lack of Flash, which will kill the iPad. The moment the average user finds out that they can't see half the content on major sites, they'll start complaining and returning.

That, and possibly the lack of a camera.

Since I don't expect either Flash or a camera on the first generation of iPad, it will be a a failure, IMO.

I just hope it doesn't kill the whole concept, which is a great one. Like AppleTV.

 

[HiRez]

If Apple lowered the price increase of the 3G models, I am sure many more people would be glad to spend the extra money. If it was a $75 upcharge as opposed to $130, many more people would justify purchasing the "higher-end" model.

I agree, that seems like a very large premium for 3G. How much can that chip and antenna cost? You're right, the difference between $130 and $75 is very large, psychologically.

I hope these rumors don't suppress initial purchases, that's going delay adoption, and without sales traction, it won't attract the developers that are really going to make or break this thing.

 

[spydr]

The Apple TV and MacBook Air come to mind.

lets not forget iPhone 2G... despite the long lines it attracted for the first few days

 

[anthonymoody]

I actually really rather enjoy the gap b/t announcement and shipping in cases like this. On some level Apple monitors all the discussion taking place about the product and can shift things on the fly if they like.

e.g. - hold it until they can ship it with 4.0/multi-tasking, change the price, etc.

better to 'test' things on a public who cannot buy rather than go through the iPhone refund thing again...

That said, I think these will fly off shelves.

 

[jzuena]

I am dumb enough to buy one for me and one for the wife. I am also dumb enough to have added another 100 APPL after waiting for the 10% drop following the presentation. Always happens BTW. So iCal me as I predict this device will be a huge success. I bet on it, already made $600 on those few shares. and expect to make a lot more. Buy APPL and you will soon be able to buy iPads.

I had a similar idea, only I bought 25 shares of AAPL after the drop. I hope you didn't buy APPL (APPELL PETE CORP).

 

[MacGuffin]

The demand curve

Demand will depend on a mixture of factors.

1) How many geezer Boomers need a new toy to watch Desperate Housewives, FOX News and MLB on?

2) How many college graduates living in the family basement need a new toy to update their Facebook pages and do Tweets on?

3) How many supermodels need something new to throw at their assistants?

4) How many executives need something new to do lines off?

5) How many bosses need a new gizmo to distract you from the fact that they're eliminating your job?

6) How many Starbucksers need a new pacifier to make it look like they're doing something besides looking like they're doing something?

 

[spydr]

Except running Flash, playing dvds, using usb accessories, using MS Office.

I swear - some of the people here would hold their breath until they passed out if Steve Jobs said that air wasn't fit to breathe.

I am not sure what netbook gave you a 'better' experience on any of those things you mentioned, compared to a regular laptop you could get for $200 more than the netbook. Weighing 3 pounds and running Intel Atom and windows seven starter doesn't automatically make it a 'better' experience.

I can resoundingly concur that netbooks are cheaper, smaller, slower laptops and NOTHING more — cause I have tried a few.

 

[-=XX=-Nephilim]

Demand will depend on a mixture of factors.

1) How many geezer Boomers need a new toy to watch Desperate Housewives, FOX News and MLB on?

2) How many college graduates living in the family basement need a new toy to update their Facebook pages and do Tweets on?

3) How many supermodels need something new to throw at their assistants?

4) How many executives need something new to do lines off?

5) How many bosses need a new gizmo to distract you from the fact that they're eliminating your job?

6) How many Starbucksers need a new pacifier to make it look like they're doing something besides looking like they're doing something?

If there is post of the month on MR - this one would be the candidate for it!

Simply genius!

 

[spydr]

Demand will depend on a mixture of factors.

1) How many geezer Boomers need a new toy to watch Desperate Housewives, FOX News and MLB on?

2) How many college graduates living in the family basement need a new toy to update their Facebook pages and do Tweets on?

3) How many supermodels need something new to throw at their assistants?

4) How many executives need something new to do lines off?

5) How many bosses need a new gizmo to distract you from the fact that they're eliminating your job?

6) How many Starbucksers need a new pacifier to make it look like they're doing something besides looking like they're doing something?

They just finished those counts. Turns out there are only 238,874 of them total, all put together. So Apple just ordered the factories to stop making any more of them iPads, until they figure out how they can connive and sell YOU one