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'iPad Mini' Pricing to Begin at Approximately $329

Over 900 comments about the dang price. Is it a surprise that this tablet is priced over $299? Apple makes its big profit on hardware sales. There are no guarantees that people are going to buy apps especially when you already have millions of pre-existing iPad users with apps they already bought. There are no guarantees that your going to buy movies and music. The only way Apple can guarantee a profit is to take the profit upfront.
A company like Amazon is using it's tablet as a vehicle to make you buy into services such as Amazon prime. Plus with the upgraded shipping their wanting you to purchase more goods from Amazon. Amazon would rather turn a profit on potential sales of videogames, clothes, books, TV's and tools than worry about high upfront tablet cost.
There is going to come a point in time when Amazon will price their 7 inch tablets at $100 out the gate. Apple will not have an answer for them price wise unless they expand their business model.

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randos said:
Yup, I guess you're right. Why else would iTunes be available on windows, but to sell Macs!

Yes Apple sell hardware, but they are also a business. Businesses exist to make money in whatever way they see fit. Businesses that evolve survive, those that don't will die.

I'm probably way off here, but I'd have thought that a reason for coming up with a smaller ipad would be to bring new people in to the Apple ecosystem. People who can't afford an iPad, get tempted in to buying an ipad mini, invest time and money on apps/content etc... then, when they have more money in future, and are looking to upgrade to a bigger tablet, they stay with apple because of their app/content investment.

For this to work, the smaller iPad would have to be competitively priced against the likes on Nexus/Kindle, etc...

A short term hit, but in the longer run it means both more customers and profits for Apple.
Click to expand...

Let's say Apple does release this tablet at $200. But what if a day later a jailbreak comes out on it and people rush to use pirated apps. Heck, you don't even need a jailbroken device to use pirated music and movies now do you. If you're Apple do you want to take that chance with your profits? Even soccer moms are starting to know what jailbreaking is.
 
gmanist1000 said:
gibbz said:
Not that Apple has been concerned playing a race to the bottom, but I remember prices on the original iPad were supposed to be approaching $999 and Apple was like, "BLAM, $499!".

Either that will happen again, or this thing might have a retina screen. Otherwise, they are conceding low-end of the 7" market.
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I remember that too, everyone thought they were going to have a very expensive tablet on their hands... and now $499 is too expensive.
Click to expand...

YEARS ago $499 was a great price, but in that time the entire tech industry has almost completely shifted to tables (and smartphones).
Today $499 is expensive, and $399 is high end for 10".

The 7~8" tablet size is pulled down by Amazon and Google to $199, average $249, so $299 is the high end for that class. $329 for Mini is really out of whack with reality.

Wake up, Apple!!
 
Why are people assuming it will start at 8 gig? 16 makes sense considering that's what they already offer with the bigger iPad, and the kindle has 16 for 199. Heck, if they really want to compete with kindle and avoid lowering prices, start at $329 for 32 gigs, going up to 64 and 128.

I think the price is on the high side, makes no sense that it's not $299, and $249 would have been even better. But I don't get the 8 gig assumptions, that's not in this article or MR's roundup.

Or I'd love to see them fool the rumor sites and ship it with retina display, that would make a huge difference in justifying the price.
 
TOYSTER17 said:
Hmmm, I wonder if that'll be $329 for 8GB. Either way, that's a bit too high. I was planning on getting one, but not at that price. Could probably find an iPad (3rd gen) close to that price on Craigslist.
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Please, please show me where you are seeing 3rd gen iPads going for $329 on craigslist.
 
GPS please ?

if the lowest price is for 8GB :eek: (hope not) => Nexus / Fire HD
if starts with 16GB => will think twice :eek:
+ retina => will think shortly before buying :)

but if GPS included in the base model => will buy anyway
:D

(do not care much for modem, the GPS will be used on the boat / in the car ...)
 
Lighter and fits in a coat pocket so I can leave the "man purse" at home. I love my iPad and use it daily. However, the iPad Mini might actually be the superior device. I can't wait to check it out.
 
As long as they start with 16GB it sounds like an "Apple Price" to me. As we all know, Apple does not play the pricing game. If the resolution is good and it is in fact 16GB for $349 I'll be picking one up for reading.
 
PracticalMac said:
YEARS ago $499 was a great price, but in that time the entire tech industry has almost completely shifted to tables (and smartphones).
Today $499 is expensive, and $399 is high end for 10".

The 7~8" tablet size is pulled down by Amazon and Google to $199, average $249, so $299 is the high end for that class. $329 for Mini is really out of whack with reality.

Wake up, Apple!!
Click to expand...

So a $30 increase from high end is "out of whack with reality"?

LOL - everyone look at this thread as the PERFECT experiment case study as to why retailers/manufacturers price things the way they do. That switch from a 2 to a 3 really makes people go bonkers.

If it has a retina display I'm all for it. I sold my Nexus 7 because the display quality wasn't up to what I was used to. Give me a 1536x1152 7.85" display and I'll give you $329+.
 
blueExcess said:
Uhhh… You know that's one in the same…. Market share has a DIRECT correlation with profits. I can't believe I even have to say that. Of COURSE they want a larger market share!
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Not true. Apple has pulled vast majority of smartphone profits while not having majority market share.

Same thing with the Mac business before Apple even got into mobile. They made premium computers and sold those at a premium and made a high profit margin. All this while having under 5% of PC market share.
 
If it is retina, of course $329 is quite a good price. But we have not seen from any rumors that stays it will be retina, more likely the 1024*768 same as ipad 2, which is inferior resolution wise compare to Nexus 7.
jrswizzle said:
So a $30 increase from high end is "out of whack with reality"?

LOL - everyone look at this thread as the PERFECT experiment case study as to why retailers/manufacturers price things the way they do. That switch from a 2 to a 3 really makes people go bonkers.

If it has a retina display I'm all for it. I sold my Nexus 7 because the display quality wasn't up to what I was used to. Give me a 1536x1152 7.85" display and I'll give you $329+.
Click to expand...
 
MacinDoc said:
Pixel density is only part of the equation. The Nexus 7 screen has been criticized for very inaccurate grey scale (although the article goes on to say that the display is good for the price), poor registration of inputs, creaky bezels and backlight bleeding, washed out images and colors, loose displays and dead pixels, ghosting issues, ghost touches, and a complete absence of support from Google.
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Well, I've dealt with a loose screen on my iPod Touch 2G for the last three years, so what will be different? Not to mention the five stuck pixels (not dead) it has had since day 1.
 
Figured no way they would price the mini less then the ipod touch. $299+ for a touch is too much imo. They should drop the ipod price and $299 for an ipad mini would make a little more sense
 
riveting said:
If it is retina, of course $329 is quite a good price. But we have not seen from any rumors that stays it will be retina, more likely the 1024*768 same as ipad 2, which is inferior resolution wise compare to Nexus 7.
Click to expand...

I remain increasingly skeptical the iPad mini will have a subpar display, given Apple is the company who began said war or resolution.

The in-cell tech alone will for sure make a 1024x768 display look better on the iPad mini, but I still can't see a company - which puts so much stock in creating devices with superior screens - produce a BRAND NEW product line that doesn't beat their competition.

Apple was NEVER going to produce a "budget" tablet. Sure, the mini will be cheaper than the regular iPad. But Apple's goal was never to compete on price. They'll use an A5 (or some variant), the battery life probably won't be as good as the iPad 3, but the screen will be great - though it remains to be seen how they will make it great (better resolution/more ppi, in-cell tech, something new - IGZO - perhaps).

Older processor (A5 or some variant), less battery life (thinking 7-8 hours as opposed to 10-12) but the screen will be brilliant. Just my $0.02.
 
PracticalMac said:
YEARS ago $499 was a great price, but in that time the entire tech industry has almost completely shifted to tables (and smartphones).
Today $499 is expensive, and $399 is high end for 10".

The 7~8" tablet size is pulled down by Amazon and Google to $199, average $249, so $299 is the high end for that class. $329 for Mini is really out of whack with reality.

Wake up, Apple!!
Click to expand...

They will charge what the market will pay. Once no one buys the product @ $x price they will be forced to lower prices. They wont lower prices just because amazon or google has a $199 tablet. If Apple sees dismal sales numbers on this new smaller iPad they will have to reevaluate their pricing for this category.
 
vwnut13 said:
Well, I've dealt with a loose screen on my iPod Touch 2G for the last three years, so what will be different? Not to mention the five stuck pixels (not dead) it has had since day 1.
Click to expand...
Well, you definitely should have taken it in for replacement, because those are unacceptable defects.

However, my point was that claiming that one screen is superior to another based on resolution alone is a very superficial way to assess display quality. For the most part, I've heard positive things about the Nexus display, at least for devices in that price range, but its resolution advantage over the purported iPad Mini's specs do not automatically make it a superior display.

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jrswizzle said:
I remain increasingly skeptical the iPad mini will have a subpar display, given Apple is the company who began said war or resolution.

The in-cell tech alone will for sure make a 1024x768 display look better on the iPad mini, but I still can't see a company - which puts so much stock in creating devices with superior screens - produce a BRAND NEW product line that doesn't beat their competition.

Apple was NEVER going to produce a "budget" tablet. Sure, the mini will be cheaper than the regular iPad. But Apple's goal was never to compete on price. They'll use an A5 (or some variant), the battery life probably won't be as good as the iPad 3, but the screen will be great - though it remains to be seen how they will make it great (better resolution/more ppi, in-cell tech, something new - IGZO - perhaps).

Older processor (A5 or some variant), less battery life (thinking 7-8 hours as opposed to 10-12) but the screen will be brilliant. Just my $0.02.
Click to expand...
You've got a good point. An in-cell display will likely have excellent brightness and contrast, and it wouldn't surprise me if it also had excellent color and greyscale accuracy, unlike the current Nexus screen.
 
my nexus is cheap, the $200 version. And it feels cheap. The device is great but the thing flexes and creaks.

If Apple can top the build quality I'll be happy.
 
PracticalMac said:
YEARS ago $499 was a great price, but in that time the entire tech industry has almost completely shifted to tables (and smartphones).
Today $499 is expensive, and $399 is high end for 10".

The 7~8" tablet size is pulled down by Amazon and Google to $199, average $249, so $299 is the high end for that class. $329 for Mini is really out of whack with reality.

Wake up, Apple!!
Click to expand...
and your base is companies that sell their products at a loss just to gain market share. Apple should just follow suit. That would be stupid!
 
Last edited:
osofast240sx said:
Are u trying to say iDevices have no place in business?

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i get it.
I just feel that Steve Jobs was not Apple. There is lots of other talent.
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They have a place in certain industries aka "creative" industry, but in terms of general business. Absolutely not. The world's top companies all still run on PCs (not including the "creative industry").

PCs are much more customizable then macs, and windows is like it or not the dominant de-facto OS that people still use with 91% PC market share.

The Surface Pro will be a game changer, i predict the ipad market share will shrink by at least 20% by the end of 2013.
 
If Surface runs RT and PCs run Windows 8, what happens to Microsoft as an "ecosystem?"

Again, I plan to keep my "new" iPad with 64G and 4G, as a second upstairs home computer. The mini goes into my purse for traveling, mostly to trade my stocks and stock options (Apple ones, of course).

Yes. I will buy the one with the most HD space and with 3G or 4G whatever is available along those lines.

terri
 
Why would the battery life b worse than iPad 3? Didn't apple tweak the iPad 2 with a lower voltage chipset a few months back that now gets much longer battery life? Why wouldn't this b in the iPad mini?
 
Anyone think there is any chance for color e-ink screens for this iPad mini? Since it will be focused on books?
 
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