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Apple's iPad Mini: Thinner, Lighter and Narrower
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I'm 100% serious. I'm willing to bet the average user doesn't even notice whether they have a good or bad display. As long as they can see the information they want to see, they are happy. They don't compare different displays or rate whether they are good or not, they just buy a phone, install a bunch of apps and use it.
Microsoft is struggling mightily with smartphone OS (3.5% compare to 68.1% for Android). It has 1 shot with tablet because App developers need a big market to justify creating apps.
Which mean gaining meaningful marketshare is imperative. Even MS noted this:
According to Redmond's recent SEC filings, Microsoft is committed to launching Surface as "a series of devices" that it says will be of strategic importance to the Windows ecosystem.
"Establishing significant scale in the marketplace is necessary to achieve and maintain competitive margins," the company states. "The strategic importance of a vibrant ecosystem increases as we launch the Windows 8 operating system, Surface devices, and associated cloud-based services."
As such, it may be that Microsoft has decided that blasting into the tablet market with rock-bottom prices is its best hope of gaining the market share it craves, given the fierce and growing competition.
Marketshare in tablet = app developers and a successful appstore.
MS can use this for the smartphone market.
$199 for the Surface might lose a lot of money but in some levels, it does make a lot of sense if MS want a significant "mobile" marketshare.
Which mean gaining meaningful marketshare is imperative. Even MS noted this:
According to Redmond's recent SEC filings, Microsoft is committed to launching Surface as "a series of devices" that it says will be of strategic importance to the Windows ecosystem.
"Establishing significant scale in the marketplace is necessary to achieve and maintain competitive margins," the company states. "The strategic importance of a vibrant ecosystem increases as we launch the Windows 8 operating system, Surface devices, and associated cloud-based services."
As such, it may be that Microsoft has decided that blasting into the tablet market with rock-bottom prices is its best hope of gaining the market share it craves, given the fierce and growing competition.
Marketshare in tablet = app developers and a successful appstore.
MS can use this for the smartphone market.
$199 for the Surface might lose a lot of money but in some levels, it does make a lot of sense if MS want a significant "mobile" marketshare.
...
Are people going to sand paper their fingers to half the size afterall? The screen wouldnt be the reason why it would be due to the bezel. The current bezel is good for holding it without touching the screen and despite being multitouch if you touch the screen on the current ipad you can no longer interact with springboard so they would need to incorporate better accidental touch rejection or better multitouch support on springboard
Are people going to sand paper their fingers to half the size afterall? The screen wouldnt be the reason why it would be due to the bezel. The current bezel is good for holding it without touching the screen and despite being multitouch if you touch the screen on the current ipad you can no longer interact with springboard so they would need to incorporate better accidental touch rejection or better multitouch support on springboard
http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-fea...windows-8-surface-tablet-have-a-199-price-tag
What will the Surface marketshare be if it is sold at $499?
What will the Surface marketshare be if it is sold at $249?
Is MS ready to concede the tablet market to Android and iOS? Or will MS fight?
MS lost out with smartphone. Is it willing to lose out on tablet? (especially now that PC sales are stagnating with the rise of tablets).
What will the Surface marketshare be if it is sold at $499?
What will the Surface marketshare be if it is sold at $249?
Is MS ready to concede the tablet market to Android and iOS? Or will MS fight?
MS lost out with smartphone. Is it willing to lose out on tablet? (especially now that PC sales are stagnating with the rise of tablets).
I did not see many complaints about smartphones prior to the iPhone announcement, but that didn't mean people didn't want it.
The reason why Apple will release an iPad Mini is very simple, it's all about usage. Apple referred to the iPad as a 'post PC device'. In the PC era, people used PC's for lots of different things, requiring people to have lots of different setups and sizes: notebooks, netbooks, desktops with normals screens, desktop with huge screens, monitors with touch screen. Why? Because everybody uses their PC in a different way.
The same is true for post-PC devices like the iPad. If you use it for movies, the iPad is perfect. If you use it for gaming, it's perfect. If you use it for reading, it's not perfect. If you want to put it in your pocket because you use it 'on the road' all the time, it's not perfect.
The iPad is not an iPhone: an iPhone is primarily used as a smartphone and nothing else. Every iPhone owner uses their iPhone as a smartphone, therefore it requires only one size.
You'll have to remember Apple's view: the PC will be the central hub within a home, but mobile usage of PC's will largely shift from laptops to tablets. If this really does become reality, Apple's curent sales of iPads are nothing. They could easily be ten times as high. In a market where demand is so big and people use their tablet in so many ways, you must have different form factors.
I am a 100% sure that Apple will release a smaller iPad and I am a 100% sure that it will be one of the most succesful Apple products ever.
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Ah yes, you're quite right.
And so it goes in the hyper hypocritical village of AppleLand
Oh please...
"remarkable technological feats"
Explain what's so remarkable, much less technological about simply reducing the size of an already existing product?
I am eager to hear just what rationale is behind your claim.
Not light enough? iPad 2 is just barely too heavy to hold in one hand, and with this form factor combined with a weight around 200g it will most likely be perfect for one hand-usage.
Well said!!
That seems like a long convoluted lineup for a company that prides itself on simplicity.
If APPLE introduced an iPad Mini, I could see them discontinuing the iPod Touch if for no other reason than simplicity. After all, the "Mini" could do all the Touch can, only better. It would also be a great little 'gaming machine' - a market the Touch is partially aimed at, hence perhaps the wider bezels on the side when in landscape orientation. I gotta admit, that mock-up is a sweet little machine that -if introduced- might just hit the spot for a lot of people. I, for one, might be interested if it came in a 64GB flavor, so it could hold most of my iTunes and iPhoto stuff.
In short, I did think.. and thought:
Do I hold my iPad very differently from my iPhone? Both are designed to held by the human hand, a la ergonomically designed. My conclusion was no, I hold them both the same.
Does the weight of an iPad make me hold it differently? No
Would the weight of a smaller and lighter iPad change the way I hold it? Probably not.
Does my thumb encroach over the bezel width onto either screen? No.
So, in short, in my opinion, a thinner bezel design would not be an issue.
Nonsense? No, just my opinion and I'm entitled to it. Don't be a dick.
If Apple releases one it is strictly a market expansion play. While some canablization would occur, it probably will be at the low end of the iPAd line where people are most price sensitive. However, the real prize is the Nook/Kindle market. If Apple grabs a big enough share the extra revenue will more than make up for any cannibalization, especially since every sale will have follow on app, music and video sales. In the end, Apple grows their user base.
As for margin, who says it needs to be smaller for a smaller iPad. Apple could maintain its margin, or even increase it. It may not add as much profit, but what it does add comes at a higher margin.
In the end, this is all about increasing the size of the ecosystem and remapping the rewards from a larger user base.
In short, I did think.. and thought:
Do I hold my iPad very differently from my iPhone? Both are designed to held by the human hand, a la ergonomically designed. My conclusion was no, I hold them both the same.
Does the weight of an iPad make me hold it differently? No
Would the weight of a smaller and lighter iPad change the way I hold it? Probably not.
Does my thumb encroach over the bezel width onto either screen? No.
So, in short, in my opinion, a thinner bezel design would not be an issue.
Nonsense? No, just my opinion and I'm entitled to it. Don't be a dick.
So you actually hold iPad with one hand and type URLs and whatnot...?
Dick Hunt
Alternatively, if you are both going to be dicks ( not my assessment, but merely a summary of your own judgements on each other ) then why not be big and proud erect dicks rather than squirmy little soft dicks that pretend to be wrestling with each other but a really just having a secret little cuddle.
I'm thinking of the movie Reel Steal, but with you two, as big mechanical phallus robots forced to fight to the death, watched by a whole world of screaming dick fans!
Alternatively, if you are both going to be dicks ( not my assessment, but merely a summary of your own judgements on each other ) then why not be big and proud erect dicks rather than squirmy little soft dicks that pretend to be wrestling with each other but a really just having a secret little cuddle.
I'm thinking of the movie Reel Steal, but with you two, as big mechanical phallus robots forced to fight to the death, watched by a whole world of screaming dick fans!
The challenge is making everything fit in that smaller space while ensuring that it still "just works". Not everything can be shrunk that easily. I expect parts like the camera, processor, memory and so on to be more or less the same size. So the challenge is deciding what can be taken out or downsized, and how to do so in a manner that will not result in a drop in user satisfaction.
For instance, you can't just say "I will just downsize the battery", because then, you loose bragging rights to one purported strength of the ipad - its long battery life (relative to laptops).
Just look at the ultrabook market. By your comment, it ought to be easier to design and manufacture a macbook air compared to a honking 17" gaming laptop. If it were, we wouldn't have to contend with netbooks and their watered down specs. Likewise, compare the Rmbp with the Cmbp; tell me which clearly requires more engineering research to make it work?
I just questioned myself and tested it. If I need to type URLs and whatnot I would rest it on a surface if possible. But at no time did I need to put my thumb over the screen.
Agree. I still need the big screen for work as I create in it but Aplle would be losing out big time with regards to the people who use it soley as a consumption device and want to save some cash. I guess the flip side is that maybe at the right price point there will be an Apple device in many more households. Will be interesting to see what happens.
Having purchased a Nexus 7 recently, all I can say is that Apple has some seriously tough competition if it plans to go chasing after the 7" tablet market. I never thought I would, but I actually prefer the Nexus 7 a lot more than my Retina iPad.
The Nexus 7 really is a beautifully engineered bit of kit, brilliant value for money and I love everything about it. I can't see how Apple can compete with it. Really Apple should focus on making the current iPad better, give it more apps (like a calculator) and get rid of the crippling software bugs.
The Nexus 7 really is a beautifully engineered bit of kit, brilliant value for money and I love everything about it. I can't see how Apple can compete with it. Really Apple should focus on making the current iPad better, give it more apps (like a calculator) and get rid of the crippling software bugs.