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I for one think its a rip off, $249 to $299 TOPS. Thanks to the overpriced, in sufficient hardware, especially resolution it made my buying the Kindle Fire HD that much easier.

People always seem to forget that there's a reason Amazon's and Google's devices are so much cheaper: the person buying it isn't the customer, they're the product.
 
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I rest my case. Google’s own pile of apps—mostly mini-apps, many on iPad as well, are NOT in the same league as the best iPad apps. They’re great in some cases, but not as broadly powerful. Again, look at the list I posted. Google Remote? Google Shopper? Not what I’m taking about. Where is Procreate, GarageBand, Numbers, Bento and the like?

You’ve proven that Android has some decent mid-level apps, but that was never in doubt... although iPad has even more! What about the higher-end power and the very best UX design? Where’s the top-end on Android? Answer: it’s MUCH smaller.
 
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Selling at cost is stupid, that's the kind of business practice that causes stock market crashes and instability etc.

I think $329 sounds a little high to me compared with perceived build costs but I'm sure a couple of gens in and price will come down or be relatively low compared to other products. The ipad is already several years ahead of other tablets, screen being so much further ahead as the main pull.

It's not on my 'to buy' list but this will be a big christmas seller as a present.

What you have to ask is what corners do other companies cut to make profits and how much of a slice they are taking from content.

It all reminds me of the XBox and Play station console wars and in the end selling at cost meant no company won and it's taken years to make that money back putting the whole ecosystem at risk.

Apple only makes products and sells content but all these other budget tablet companies are huge and use profits from other sectors to fund lost leaders and I personally think that's unfair and responsible. People are always saying apple is the big evil company but I think it's actually the opposite and apple is actually being bullied rather than the other way round.
 
People always seem to forget that there's a reason Amazon's and Google's devices are so much cheaper: the person buying it isn't the customer, they're the product.

The reason they are cheap is because nobody would buy them at the prices Apple is selling. Cheap price is the only way you can sell a Kindle Fire in masses.
 
And Apple should sell it at cost why? Apple are in it to make a profit.

Apple's competitors are selling the 7" pads at cost, just to get folks in their ecosystem. Apple make HUGE profit margins, so setting the price at $299 would have made sense to lure more people in. What is the purpose of a 7" pad if not to get new entry customers. Forgoing $30 of profits now would have brought Apple millions of new customers who will now go to one of the other 7" pad.....JMHO
 
But what are the quality of those games. There are several on the ipad/iphone that are console level quality.

The only games on iOS that are console level that is not available on the Nexus 7 that I can think of are Inifity Blade games and that popular racing racing game series. Shadow Gun, Need for Speed, Mass Effect and EA sports games are all also on Nexus 7 with similar GFX.
 
Go to this article :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105...s-more-to-make-but-apple-eats-the-difference/

The BOM + assembly of an iPad2 (16GB) is about $250.
The 3rd generation iPad is (16GB) is ~$316 the additional memory to get to 32GB is about $16 and to get to 64GB is about another $35.

So we can all agree the is cost less to build an iPad Mini than an iPad2?
If that is the case then the margin for one of those is on the order of $80+.
If you bump to a 32GB version the margin for Apple goes to $170+

The iPad mini is not a Nexus 7 killer because it costs too much.
The Nexus 7 update dues next week bumps the memory to 32GB for $249 an equivalent iPad mini is 70% more at $429.
The iPad mini is for someone that wants an iPad with smaller screen.

The price for the incremental memory is obscene, but that's how they make money. $100 for 16GB of memory, $200 for 48GB... I just bought a 64GB sdx card for $45 retail.

I'm not an Apple basher:
We have 2 iPads, 2 iPods, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Mini and a Mac Pro in my household and we also own Apple stock.

The iPad mini with 32GB at $329 might have been compelling but not a $429. 16GB iPads run out of space too fast. At $329 (32GB) there were going to be two of them as Christmas presents for a couple of kids. Not at $429.
For $858 I can buy 3 Nexus 7 and have change left.

Looks like the kids will be getting Android. They don't really care.
The iPad mini is for someone that specifically wants an iPad, just smaller.
The 7" tablet market is still Android. Apple dropped the ball.

And since you own Apple stock, you should be happy. IPad mini was never suppose to be a 'Nexus killer'. What is does is establish a mid tier market. As a stockholder, would you want them to sell 20 million units at $249 and $0 profit to 'kill' the Nexus, or sell 8 million units at $329 and $80 profit while Nexus gets their share as well?

Why would Apple try to compete directly with Google and Amazon when their business model is to sell the hardware at cost to gain entry into the market? What Apple is trying to do is to create a premium market (not in term of technical specs but in terms of build quality, reliability, etc) for a slight premium price. There is a market for both the iPad mini and the Nexus.
 
The price is fair. It's the lowest entry price for a new iPad.

Apple doesn't race to the bottom on price. They're in business to make money. (And some pretty amazing products.)

With that logic, why wouldn't they price it at $398?

I mean, after all, that would be fair because it is the lowest entry price for a new ipad, right?
 
Given the usage of these tablets a weak support network is a potentially big issue. And yes it might be big enough for some that paying an extra $100 or even $200 for something with a better support system is worth it. Especially if you are looking at schools or businesses. If Junior's 'texts' are all on his tablet and it gets dropped and breaks and doesn't function, "I have ship it to texas and wait for a replacement so I can't do my homework for the next week" isn't really going to cut it. Especially compared to Mom driving him down to the Apple Store 30 minutes away and buying a replacement for $50 cause Mom was smart and got Apple Care on the dang thing.

Don't underestimate the importance of post purchase support. That's a major issue for many.

I didn't underestimate anything, I conceded. That means I admit the statement is correct.
 
I'm a huge Apple fan and have been for years but It's my opinion that they are really starting to price gouge now. There has always been the "Apple Tax" but it's getting out of hand.

Folks that say that tend to not have a realistic view of the costs of things. They forget costs like R&D, licensing fees, labor costs, running those pretty Apple Stores where they camp out to get their new stuff. Yes Apple makes a lot of money but it's not as much as you think.

But hey there is a solution, DON'T BUY APPLE STUFF. Easy as pie and you don't have to worry about that "Apple Tax"
 
I don't think you know what RAM is.

Oh, do we know for sure how much RAM is in the iPad mini? Or are you just guessing?

I would weigh what you don't know against what I don't know and I have a feeling you'd come out on top...just saying. But hey, keep up the hateraide! :D
 
Apple's competitors are selling the 7" pads at cost, just to get folks in their ecosystem. Apple make HUGE profit margins, so setting the price at $299 would have made sense to lure more people in. What is the purpose of a 7" pad if not to get new entry customers. Forgoing $30 of profits now would have brought Apple millions of new customers who will now go to one of the other 7" pad.....JMHO

I am not sure the extra $30 would make a huge difference and I think the Mimi's margin is already in the lower end. At $299, would it be more attractive, sure. But you would still have the same people who would say that the Nexus is still cheaper and a better deal. The consensus before the event was that it would be in the $299 - $349 price point and so I think the price is quite reasonable.
 
I rest my case. Google’s own pile of apps—mostly mini-apps, many on iPad as well, are NOT in the same league as the best iPad apps. They’re great in some cases, but not as broadly powerful. Again, look at the list I posted. Google Remote? Google Shopper? Not what I’m taking about. Where is Procreate, GarageBand, Numbers, Bento and the like?

Who needs those apps? Why would anyone want to do creative work on a small screen? Do it on desktop and be 10x more productive. It's just a waste of time to do it on a tablet (and especially a phone). And surely there are apps like Procreate and Bento on Android.
 
RAM does not equal storage space...

More cores meants faster processing... Meaning fast photo loading, faster browsing, faster CPU related processes, and more

We don't know how much actual RAM the iPad mini will have yet until the teardowns. Unless they've released that info already.

More cores means blah blah blah. Ok...sure. But I like how you ignored my request to show real examples of how this is better on say the Nexus 7 and how it runs circles around something like the iPad. Yes, more cores theoretically would make things faster, but who cares if nothing takes advantage of it. Since there's no software to do a head-to-head comparison to show how 4-cores in a tablet blows away 2 cores in the iPad, we're all talking out of our a$$es.

Which I expected everyone to do when I wrote that. Glad I wasn't disappointed.
 
tards

I love all the comments from the tard experts...

People who complain about a price difference of $329 instead of $299, a difference of $30. $30 would not cover taking a date to a movie these days. But most would not understand that. So think of it as 6 Starbuck lattes, or 10 energy drinks.

And they are probably paying $1500 to $2000 in fees when they sign a 2 year cell phone contact.

When someone whips out their plastic to buy a mini tablet I don't see saving $30 or even $75 will make them not choose an Apple iPad mini. If they want an iPad mini they will get one.

If there Mom won't increase their allowance by $30, then I guess they are stuck with a Kindle or an Android.
 
It is $129 more than Kindle Fire HD. For that you get a much nicer enclosure, a larger screen, a better tablet app selection, better cameras, 3 ounces less weight, better battery life and no ads.

They are much different experiences, trust me, as I have owned the original Kindle Fire. KF is decent for reading novels, and that is about it. If you want to play the super popular games it works for that as well. Reading anything other than novels or browsing the web pretty much sucks on 16:9 - in portrait you have to zoom to read anything, in landscape you have to scroll too much.

While I wish Apple would have hit $299, I think they are justified in charging more for a better experience.

Yea I just realized the Kindle had "sponsored ads". Ugh. I think Ill opt for the Mini now.

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People always seem to forget that there's a reason Amazon's and Google's devices are so much cheaper: the person buying it isn't the customer, they're the product.

Yea, I think I want the Mini now, especially for size.
 
iPad mini more than iPod Touch

The iPad Mini was inevitably going to be more than the cheapest new model iPod Touch, and hey, in fact the Mini is only $30 more.

Actually it's not $30 it's $130 for the same 32GB configuration.
Excuse the pun, but you must compare Apples to Apple.
 
They're making 30% on each sale! Why, for that, they pay for server time, space on the store, advertising and so on, and the whole business of selling it through the Apple ID. Terrible deal for sellers, I guess. That's why they keep flocking to the Apple Store.

And do you have the actual costs to Apple for those servers etc. And numbers to show that said 30% is paying over those costs. Keeping in mind that many apps are free and those Apple gets nothing but still has to pay the support costs for said apps.
 
Then why would they always promote they are for Teachers and School systems?
If you think School Budgets are huge like Apple I have a bridge to sell you.

That's your choice. Apple isn't going to cry over it. They are too busy servicing those that do buy, not worrying about those that choose to go with price or otherwise since they know that they can't ever make you happy. Not unless they want to run themselves into the ground selling things at under cost (which this would likely end up being) or going cheap on production so they can make a few pennies of profit.
 
Do you realize that for the same price you could buy three Nexus 7 tablets which are better tablets than iPad Mini?

I would argue this point. There are pros and cons to both. For you, the pros for Nexus 7 will outweighs the cons. For others, different criteria are more important to them so the iPad mini is better.

There are Chinese knockoffs that have Nexus 7 specs and are cheaper than Nexus 7 as well.
 
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