ipad mini -how it makes sense for apple

[daytraderjo]

My original post

My original post states what i believe would be the best business decision would be for this ipad mini. What i believe would make them more profitable. Hence by my screen name, this is the way i think....ie. (to make them a more valuable company) and to keep the "swagger". I do not know what they WILL do, but from a pure profit perspective, thats what i think they ShOULD do. Otherwise you are competing against yourself, which as someone pointed out is not such a bad thing, but i have an ipad 3. (As do many). Why would i want this device?

 

[GoodBoy]

i have an ipad 3. (As do many). Why would i want this device?

Actually this is the problem for many people here. They own iPad 3 or waiting for iPad 4 and desperately want a 7" full featured iPad on pair with iPad3/iPad4. Unfortunately that's not gonna happen. iPad mini will be inferior to 9.7" iPad 3, not to mention upcoming iPad 4. My guess is we can realistically expect iPad Mini with iPad 2 hardware at best. Forget about the superior premium 7" iPad...

 

[JaySoul]

If the US version is $299, the UK version will probably be £199.

Frankly, that is too much. I think that if they are serious about hitting the mass market, they need to shave a significant chunk off that price.

If that means dropping the camera, and really making it much more of a consumption device, do it.

The market here is SCHOOL KIDS, people who buy KINDLES, and people who can't afford the iPad or who find it too big to travel with.

Don't buy into all the usual Apple marketing hype - "Ooh it's gorgeous, nobody has done it better blah blah blah". This is going to be a shrunk down iPad 2. That's it. It's should NOT cost too much, it doesn't deserve to!

 

[Batavian]

really, the only way i see this ipad mini making sense from a business standpoint for apple Is to have all sales tied into a cellphone carrier contract to subsidize the cost to 99-149 bucks for an iPad mini. This is a home run for Verizon and AT&T..

I follow you daytrader, but have a slightly different hope. Instead of an iPad Mini, it's an iPhone HD. I think there is an un-tapped market for "Ph-ablets" for business people wanting a phone and a large screen for spreadsheets (or day trading A large screen iPhone aka the iPhone HD would be a high end device subsidized by cellular contract.

 

[CTHarrryH]

I can only tell you what I think I'm willing to pay - as I've done on other threads. First my situation which is probably not uncommon.
I have several iPhone type devices and have been an Apple person since my Apple II. I travel somewhat for work and would like to switch to eReader type to avoid carrying books/magazines when I travel. I carry a work laptop which is very limited to what I can do on it (no personal email, limited public worksites etc.) I also carry a work phone as well as a personal iPhone.
I'd love to carry a pad but the full size iPad is just too big considering what else I deal with. A full size iPad is a personal laptop replacement for me.
So what we hear about an iPad Mini sounds great to me - books, movies, web browsing etc.
However, I'm not going to pay $300+ dollars for such a device that I can pay $200 elsewhere. Syncing stuff between that and my phone and other devices just isn't that important to me.
So as much as I'd love to get a mini - it has to be at the right price. Hey, I'd like to drive a Porsche also but there is a price point.
So Apple has its features and price need but so do I.

 

[mantan]

I can only tell you what I think I'm willing to pay - as I've done on other threads. First my situation which is probably not uncommon.
I have several iPhone type devices and have been an Apple person since my Apple II. I travel somewhat for work and would like to switch to eReader type to avoid carrying books/magazines when I travel. I carry a work laptop which is very limited to what I can do on it (no personal email, limited public worksites etc.) I also carry a work phone as well as a personal iPhone.
I'd love to carry a pad but the full size iPad is just too big considering what else I deal with. A full size iPad is a personal laptop replacement for me.
So what we hear about an iPad Mini sounds great to me - books, movies, web browsing etc.
However, I'm not going to pay $300+ dollars for such a device that I can pay $200 elsewhere. Syncing stuff between that and my phone and other devices just isn't that important to me.
So as much as I'd love to get a mini - it has to be at the right price. Hey, I'd like to drive a Porsche also but there is a price point.
So Apple has its features and price need but so do I.

I'm in the exact same boat. When I travel for work there are a lot of times I'd love a 7 inch tablet to read books, watch movies, surf the net, etc - in airports and hotels. The 7 inch form factor would be perfect.

I'd bought my wife an iPad, but have no interest in dropping $500-$700 for another one for how I'd use it.

The person next to me had a Galaxy Nexus. The screen looked great. I realized that it really doesn't matter where I downloaded rented movies from. Or that Netflix/slingbox work the same on wifi. When I think about the apps I use when I travel, most are free - email, banking, YouTube, twitter, facebook etc.

The whole Apple ecosystem made me think I 'needed' to have a device on it. But my music will always be on my phone. There aren't enough other 'must have' apps I own that'll make it worth paying $400 if there is a $200 alternative.

I'll pay $250 max for a device. If Apple makes one, I'll buy it. If not, I'll move on and buy something that fits my needs.

 

[ActionableMango]

I'll pay $250 max for a device. If Apple makes one, I'll buy it. If not, I'll move on and buy something that fits my needs.

Even if it is $300, you could wait a month or two and buy an Apple refurb for $250. Apple refurbs for the portable devices always include a brand new battery, brand new case, and normal length warranty. Totally worth it, IMO.

But all pricing is speculative at this point.

 

[Mliii]

I'm not sure why it is that people think that Apple has to cripple the Mini in terms of its feature sets for it to be a success.
Isn't it just as likely that there IS a market for a highly functional, more fully featured Mini because enough people want the smaller form factor?

 

[GoodBoy]

I'm in the exact same boat. When I travel for work there are a lot of times I'd love a 7 inch tablet to read books, watch movies, surf the net, etc - in airports and hotels. The 7 inch form factor would be perfect.

I'd bought my wife an iPad, but have no interest in dropping $500-$700 for another one for how I'd use it.

The person next to me had a Galaxy Nexus. The screen looked great. I realized that it really doesn't matter where I downloaded rented movies from. Or that Netflix/slingbox work the same on wifi. When I think about the apps I use when I travel, most are free - email, banking, YouTube, twitter, facebook etc.

The whole Apple ecosystem made me think I 'needed' to have a device on it. But my music will always be on my phone. There aren't enough other 'must have' apps I own that'll make it worth paying $400 if there is a $200 alternative.

I'll pay $250 max for a device. If Apple makes one, I'll buy it. If not, I'll move on and buy something that fits my needs.

Exactly. Actually I'm waiting till Apple announce it and show prices. Then I'm gonna buy iPad Mini for maximum 299$. If they gonna price it more I'm gonna get Nexus 7 from google for 249$ 16GB model.

 

[xofruitcake]

So Apple has its features and price need but so do I.

That is an entry level MBA question. We all know that low price will sell more device but cramp company's profit margin. The hard part is to find a price point that maximze profit. But I thought Ipod touch (5th Gen) and Ipad 3 pricing already give us a lot of hints of where Apple is heading on Ipad mini price. Anyone find it curious that Ipod touch (5ht gen) doesn't offer 16G? That seems to left IPad mini to start at 16G and 299.. We will find out in a couple weeks. But I don't see a problem of using Ipad 2 internal in Ipad mini.. Ipad mini is a low end product and it is price like one. Nexus 7 will/is selling well if folks like Android ecosystem. By Jan we will know if ecosystems is as important as we thought it is...

 

[RenoG]

Wow I had no idea how dependent people (travelers) were when it came to mobile devices and staying connected. Let see:

-Work laptop
-Work Phone
-Personal Phone
-Personal tablet/reader

Talk about inspector gadget, now with all that you need a big enough bag to carry it and its accessories i.e. usb cords, wall plugs etc. gotta keep that stuff charged.
Sheesh their goes traveling light, I'll just bring a couple magazines, and leave all the equipment at home thank you. I don't see it being that serious.

 

[CTHarrryH]

The total number of gagets to travel depends upon the company you work for. If you work for a company like I do and the company supplied and required devices are very limed to business only stuff and you want to do other things - yup you carry a lot. Could I do with fewer - sure. But I spend a lot of time on the phone and if I want the company to pay that bill - a company phone. My kids consider text the only way they communicate and we can't do text on company phone, etc.etc.
I hate it but it is becoming reality.

 

[RenoG]

The total number of gagets to travel depends upon the company you work for. If you work for a company like I do and the company supplied and required devices are very limed to business only stuff and you want to do other things - yup you carry a lot. Could I do with fewer - sure. But I spend a lot of time on the phone and if I want the company to pay that bill - a company phone. My kids consider text the only way they communicate and we can't do text on company phone, etc.etc.
I hate it but it is becoming reality.

My, how times have changed.....

 

[vvesperr]

Bottom line: one more nail in the Android tab coffin.

 

[mantan]

Bottom line: one more nail in the Android tab coffin.

Which is bad news for us as consumers.

As much as a lot of folks around here think 'when Apple wins, I win', as consumers we get more innovation and lower prices when there is true competition.

I'd like nothing more than Android tabs to continue to push the bar and innovate at a low price.

 

[brendu]

Yep, and their advertisement will be, "pay more and get less with Apple." A real winner I'm sure that would be. I'm sorry, don't mean to be insulting, but have you seen the specs of the competition? They have superior specs (from what you've suggested) for a much cheaper price. Apple is *not* that arrogant and their value is *not* that good

So remember when I predicted a $249 entry price for an 8gb model? Just wanted to throw this out there.... Obviously this means nothing, but I am gonna stick with my prediction...

http://www.cultofmac.com/195936/an-...49-in-black-or-white-lte-models-start-at-549/

 

[WilliamLondon]

So remember when I predicted a $249 entry price for an 8gb model? Just wanted to throw this out there.... Obviously this means nothing, but I am gonna stick with my prediction...

http://www.cultofmac.com/195936/an-...49-in-black-or-white-lte-models-start-at-549/

Are you seriously claiming victory (in a game I'm not playing) using a rumour to provide proof to your speculation? You make me laugh (and please, I don't mean any disrespect by that comment at all, these conversations are so much more fun than the text alone allows them to appear).

Did you also notice that list of models and see how many there are? Way cool! We still don't know too much about the specs of any of the models, but it's exactly what I said (in this thread here) would be the greatest of all outcomes, a high end iPad Mini (for those like me who want high end specs and don't care about price) and a base model iPad Mini (for the market that doesn't require high end specs but is still iPad aspirant). Here's hoping for the best of all worlds!

 

[Tigger11]

So remember when I predicted a $249 entry price for an 8gb model? Just wanted to throw this out there.... Obviously this means nothing, but I am gonna stick with my prediction...

http://www.cultofmac.com/195936/an-...49-in-black-or-white-lte-models-start-at-549/

Given the less then $8 price difference in parts for an 8 GB device and a 16 GB device I sincerely hope a 8 GB device is not in the cards, because an 8 GB device is not going to be a useful tablet very quickly.

 

[brendu]

Are you seriously claiming victory (in a game I'm not playing) using a rumour to provide proof to your speculation? You make me laugh (and please, I don't mean any disrespect by that comment at all, these conversations are so much more fun than the text alone allows them to appear).

Did you also notice that list of models and see how many there are? Way cool! We still don't know too much about the specs of any of the models, but it's exactly what I said (in this thread here) would be the greatest of all outcomes, a high end iPad Mini (for those like me who want high end specs and don't care about price) and a base model iPad Mini (for the market that doesn't require high end specs but is still iPad aspirant). Here's hoping for the best of all worlds!

You misunderstand, and likewise no disrespect. I do not claim victory in a discussion over a rumor. Just pointing out that what I was predicting is looking quite possible.

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Given the less then $8 price difference in parts for an 8 GB device and a 16 GB device I sincerely hope a 8 GB device is not in the cards, because an 8 GB device is not going to be a useful tablet very quickly.

I agree but feel like apple might offer 8gb to make as much profit as possible.