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Component Suppliers Say Apple Has Ordered Parts for 10 Million 'iPad Minis' in 4Q 2012

iapplelove said:
uh yeah, and like i said doesn't look like they will make it so why rush,wait and release it with the next iPad in march
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They would only have to have it out by Black Friday to make holiday sales. Hell announce it now and release it on Black Friday and that would be a major press event. Apple doesn't really do door busters on BF. it would be a first.

And then we find out that they have killed production of the iPad 2 as this will be the 'cheap iPad' which is where the production line space to make it came from. Or more likely cut back the iPad 2 and it will be school and business sales in bulk only (ie, places buying like 50 or more at a time). No more consumer sales
 
thecurryman said:
Wait a few weeks and you can find one on eBay for $5...;)
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Nope, apple is requiring permission from third parties for the new lightning cables and adaptors because they don't won't them making cheap versions which could possibly mess up an iOS device. I've read third party 30 pin dock connectors have messed up devices before.
 
I don't think Apple cares about the iPad Mini price relative to the iPod Touch. Different markets, different usage models, different emphasis points in the tech.

I still contend we'll see a 1024x768 resolution device, since Apple is very focused on retaining app compatibility (and reducing development effort). A 164PPI device, using the new display tech from the iPhone 5 will look terrific, and at the end of the day, the brand recognition of "iPad" will trump any slight difference in tech specs vs. other tablet products

samcraig said:
I disagree. Price is everything. It needs to be in the realm of competitive if they want to keep competition at bay. They don't have to be the cheapest. But they can't "afford" to overprice their device or people will still continue to choose alternatives.
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Yeah, I'd say they're seeing some erosion from the low end and while Apple normally doesn't care, this is a competitive space where they _can_ shake things up, retain high margins ... and very importantly, create a low[er] priced entry point for +new+ Apple customers (who tend to become long term customers with multiple Apple products).
 
charlituna said:
They would only have to have it out by Black Friday to make holiday sales. He'll announce it now and release it in Black Friday and that would be a major press event. Apple doesn't really do door busters on BF. it would be a first.

And then we find out that they have killed production of the iPad 2 as this will be the 'cheap iPad' which is where the production line space to make it came from. Or more likely cut back the iPad 2 and it will be school and business sales in bulk only (ie, places buying like 50 or more at a time). No more consumer sales
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Releasing on Black Friday would be idiotic. The sheer rush of holiday shopping would kill sales. You want it available Black Friday, but not released that exact day.
 
D.T. said:
Yeah, I'd say they're seeing some erosion from the low end and while Apple normally doesn't care, this is a competitive space where they _can_ shake things up, retain high margins ... and very importantly, create a low[er] priced entry point for +new+ Apple customers (who tend to become long term customers with multiple Apple products).
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Exactly - as I said before in this thread (twice) - the hardware is important to Apple - but it's the ecosystem they want people to get locked into.

It matters less that Amazon has a 7" tablet (to Apple) but more that if people buy Amazon's 7" tablet - they are consuming Amazon media. Not Apple's. It's a lose-lose for Apple.

By introducing a similar product - they are more likely to retain current customers and recruit new ones into their ecosystem.

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charlituna said:
Let us not forget that thing called Hanukkah as well
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...or kwanzaa
 
apolloa said:
Yeap you got THAT right. I don't need time to tell me the entire history of Apple and it's pricing policies. And the FACT it has always priced itself as a premium brand and always will and will NEVER sell a device at a loss or cost price, in fact I do believe it's a minimum 30% mark up on it's devices.

I mean Christ they sell a USB cable at 5 times the price of everyone else just because it's made by Apple! And you think the iPad Mini is going to be cheap? hahahahahahahahaha
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Well, you're very sure of yourself. So what's your price prediction?
To be fair, I'll go on the record, too (although if you remember, all I was saying to start with was that it was too early to call the mini a failure because you didn't know the price... but I don't mind being goaded into making my own prediction :) )

The mini will start at $249-$299
 
apolloa said:
When it was classed as the HOBBY product by Apple! And the constant year on year poor sales performance.
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It is classed that way because Apple doesn't yet have the leverage to get the studios and nets to play on Apple terms. Until they have that leverage there is no reason to commit huge teams or make huge leaps in tech.

But 4 million units for a hobby is no shame.
 
iSee said:
The mini will start at $249-$299
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$249-$299 = 8GB model?

I could see that, though I'm really wondering if they'll even release an 8GB model. Even 16GB devices seem to be less and less usable, though we download a ton of apps and store a good bit of "local" data.
 
iSee said:
Well, you're very sure of yourself. So what's your price prediction?
To be fair, I'll go on the record, too (although if you remember, all I was saying to start with was that it was too early to call the mini a failure because you didn't know the price... but I don't mind being goaded into making my own prediction :) )

The mini will start at $249-$299
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I refused to accept any of the people stating the iPhone 5 was simply going to get a cut down A4 SOC and I believed it would get an A6 with A15 cores, well it got better then that didn't it?

But I will predict they will ditch the iPad 2 and the iPad Mini will start with 16GB Ram and be priced from $350 or $400. It WILL have a retina screen and an A5 maybe with dual core graphics, or maybe an A6 with dual core graphics?
Apple is still going to sell millions, in fact I believe it's most popular iDevice is the iPhone and not the iPad, but millions buy an iPad still.

I'm still not 100% convinced it exists as the iPad is selling so well, my prediction was they will go up market with the iPad, higher specs, bigger screens etc. Maybe why we have no 13" Retina MB Pro yet?
The reason I say this is because of the high end Windows 8 tablets coming out, even Razer has green lit it's project Fiona device!
 
Diwali said:
How big or small is the possibility that iPad mini will include a Retina Display?
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What dpi, according to Apple's published math, would it take for this rumored device to be considered Retina.

If that number is close to something we've seen produced then the possibility becomes better.
 
charlituna said:
It is classed that way because Apple doesn't yet have the leverage to get the studios and nets to play on Apple terms. Until they have that leverage there is no reason to commit huge teams or make huge leaps in tech.

But 4 million units for a hobby is no shame.
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The sales are high, but if I remember haven't they been dropping all the time?
It was a good idea but to be honest, it offers nothing above other devices, the pricing is the same, programmes and films the same, yet those other services work on consoles etc already.

I think it was a good idea that was too late.
 
4G model at $379.00? It's a tablet+VoIP phone+Media device+giant GPS. I would go for that.
 
thecurryman said:
Then why does a 16gb full size ipad cost $499? (3rd gen)? shouldn't it be cheaper? Think about it...3 different screen sizes, so 3 different, yet increasing price points: ipod touch, ipad mini, ipad = $299, $399, $499...thats what they did with their notebook line (when the 17in was still sold), they sold each increasing screen size at increasing points...

oh and btw, you guys really think a company that is charging $30 for an adapter (30 pin to lighting) is going to make a competitively cheap tablet? Apple does not care if there are competitors with better specs at half the price, they will still make their products at their own price points, and people will still buy millions of them (it costs 1/2 to build a similarly spec'd dell notebook when compared to the base model macbook pro)...
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First off, you're comparing increased sizes of the same product in notebooks. But an iPod touch is not a small iPad - it's an iPod touch. They serve different purposes - hence why I own both an iPad and an iPhone - I don't use them for the same things. Nobody who's looking for an iPod is going to go and buy an iPad in the same way that nobody who's after a minivan is going to buy a truck.

As for comparing an adaptor to a tablet, I think you're trying to draw a lesson there that you can't. Think about the economics of it. Apple is the only company that makes Lightening to 30 pin adaptors. They can charge what they like because they have no competition. But they are not the only company that makes tablets so they have to be competitive. I'm not saying they will compete only on price - I think the iPad will be slightly more expensive than a similarly spec'd competitor tablet - but they still need to be reasonable because there's only so much that the market will bare.
 
iGrip said:
Don't. 7 inches is the wrong size for a tablet. Apple has already determined this, years ago. Steve said so.
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Funny thing is that he didn't. Steve said 7 inches is the wrong size for an iPad, but nothing about a smaller tablet in general.

I think that is where Eddy Cue was coming from when it leaked that he tried to convince Steve to go for that size group. I don't think he was arguing about making the iPad smaller but the iPod touch bigger. Think about it. Cramming the iPad UI into a smaller device would be the fail that Steve was talking about. But putting the iPod touch UI, which was designed for a smaller screen, into a bigger one. No issues there. I think that's the argument Cue may have been using and time will tell if he was successful.
 
D.T. said:
$249-$299 = 8GB model?

I could see that, though I'm really wondering if they'll even release an 8GB model. Even 16GB devices seem to be less and less usable, though we download a ton of apps and store a good bit of "local" data.
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Other way around actually. The higher storage devices are becoming less needed. With iCloud, and all of that including iTunes Match, I see no reason why people want 64GB at all. I personally only want 8-16GB.

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apolloa said:
The sales are high, but if I remember haven't they been dropping all the time?
It was a good idea but to be honest, it offers nothing above other devices, the pricing is the same, programmes and films the same, yet those other services work on consoles etc already.

I think it was a good idea that was too late.
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The sales went up drastically actually. According to what Tim Cook said, they were selling better. It was FAR from a failure haha. Apple doesn't keep failures around. Hence no more Ping, no more Mobile Me.
 
lighthouse_man said:
The suppliers are testing how tough Tim Cook is with all these leaks. They're undermining his authority. They knew what to expect from Steve Jobs so they played it safe, now and leak after leak, no one getting "punished' has made everyone I guess be able to walk all over Cook.
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Just because we haven't been told of someone being punished doesn't mean it's not happening. Consider the advantage of leaking a connection to Apple, it adds value to your company. But letting it get out that the connection was severed or you were fined for the leaks, that devalues your company. So just like no company reports return rates, if something is happening we aren't going to know about it
 
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charlituna said:
What dpi, according to Apple's published math, would it take for this rumored device to be considered Retina.

If that number is close to something we've seen produced then the possibility becomes better.
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I've been looking at available resolutions vs. a brand new one.

1024x768, iPad1/2 resolution, 4:3 A/R, 164PPI

Would look very good, low-to-no app issues (from development to current compatibility). Wouldn't require anything over an A5 (like is present in the iPad2 and iPod Touch), the lower power version would be perfect.


2048x1536, iPad 3rd Gen res, 4:3, 326PPI

Would look stunning, again, low/non issue for apps/development (assuming proper style guide design, etc.). Would require an A5X (high power reqs, hot), or a new A5X 3Xnm variant ... or, the new A6. I'm not sure if the A6 in it's current flavor could drive this resolution to acceptable performance levels[?]

We're talking about ~4.3 times as many pixels in the 3rd Gen vs. the iPhone 5.

OK, so suppose Apple says, **** it, new resolution, deal with it. They'll likely keep it 4:3, but maybe come in somewhere that results in the display being 240-255PPI, like 1600x1200 (~254PPI). FWIW, that resolution is still ~2.6 times more pixels vs the iPhone 5, but maybe an A6 with a little clock boost could handle it.

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o0jelly0o said:
Other way around actually. The higher storage devices are becoming less needed. With iCloud, and all of that including iTunes Match, I see no reason why people want 64GB at all. I personally only want 8-16GB.
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Having owned 16GB and 32GB iOS devices I can tell you, even with iCloud, and iTunes match, 16GB gets a little cramped :)
 
o0jelly0o said:
Releasing on Black Friday would be idiotic. The sheer rush of holiday shopping would kill sales. You want it available Black Friday, but not released that exact day.
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On the contrary, Apple does what they want regardless of what others think or would do. And they might want to get all those folks that would wait at Walmart for $50 off a tv if they buy it before 8am to forget the tv and come line up at Apple for an iPad mini. It would be an insane gamble of a move sure, but its Apple so it could pay off. Especially if they don't do online preorders.

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SeanR1 said:
They also determined that 3.5" was the perfect screen size for a smartphone.
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At that time. That's something folks forget, context. At no point has Steve or anyone else ever said 'for always'. The statements are made based on the needs of the time in question and the tech available at that time. Nothing more or less. Needs and tech change. And all good companies will change with them
 
--- quote--
At that time. That's something folks forget, context. At no point has Steve or anyone else ever said 'for always'. The statements are made based on the needs of the time in question and the tech available at that time. Nothing more or less. Needs and tech change. And all good companies will change with them[/QUOTE]
--quote--

As I recall it was extensively researched (according to apple) that it was due to the "size of the human hand" (not the technology).

I guess human hands have become larger recently.
 
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