Rumors Continue to Point to November 2 Launch Date for 'iPad Mini'

[tech4all]

8gig $229.99
16gig $329.99
32gig $429.99
64gig $529.99

That's overpriced.

8GB Nexus 7 is $199; 16GB is $249.

Unless you really love iOS over Android, there's no reason to get the iPad mini at those prices. That's a $80 premium for the 16GB version assuming same or similar specs.

Retina display doesn't cut it. The Nexus 7 technically isn't a retina I guess, but it's sure sharp enough for me.

 

[mdelvecchio]

iPad mini = The beginning of another John Sculley era ?

not at all. shoring up a product gap to ensure greater market share is a sound strategy. read about pricing umbrellas:

http://www.iamconcise.com/main/the-reason-for-the-ipad-mini.html

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if Apple wants this thing to be a book reader as a primary function, they're shooting themselves in the foot not making it retina.

i dont think thats their intended primary function. id bet the intended function is to close the pricing umbrella theyve opened for the competition, and protect market share.

No retina=no buy. Why would I ever want to trade down?

sounds like youd be much more interested in their premium tablet product, the iPad -- it has a retina screen and several other features that distinguish it from the mini.

 

[newyorksole]

I so hope for a model below $ 250.

the cheapest model WILL be $250, BUT it's gonna be 8GB which is totally insufficient in today's world.

but you know what? headlines/news outlets/blogs will say "WOW! New iPad mini starts at $249"

consumers will automatically call it a steal.

 

[lpoulain]

$349 8gb
$449 16gb
$549 32gb

pointless piece of junk



do you want to make iPads for the rest of your life

or do you want to change the world

I think that Apple's mission is to change their customers' worlds. Apple has totally revolutionized my relationship to the computer and the telephone. My wife, who has a serious visual impairment that prevented her from reading, got a Kindle and EVERY book now is large print. When I get her the mini, she will have every book as large print, AND email accessibility, AND visual media, all in essentially the same shape and weight as the Kindle with cover. That is changing HER world. I think Apple IS fulfilling its mission, thank you very much!

 

[zombierunner]

I think the nexus 7 will be the first android device i buy ... they are supposed to be coming out with a 32gb model sometime soon for the same price as 16gb ... no way apple can match that .... android app ecosystem is pretty decent now ... google play etc ...

come on apple ...

 

[mdelvecchio]

Why pay more for the smaller version that runs phone apps instead of full-sized apps? Unless you want/need something pocketable.

youve answered your own question. its all about the job-at-hand that each product fulfills -- for an ipod its being small and pocketable. for an ipad its about screen space and sit-down use.

Bottom line, this is Apple we're talking about. There's no way they will price the iPad Mini under $300. Not in a million years.

do you remember when ipods were $500? now theyre 50 bucks and do more. things change. apple smartly protected their market share and cannibalized their own products with...their own products. thats how you do it.

 

[BMNB1tch]

I think that Apple's mission is to change their customers' worlds. Apple has totally revolutionized my relationship to the computer and the telephone. My wife, who has a serious visual impairment that prevented her from reading, got a Kindle and EVERY book now is large print. When I get her the mini, she will have every book as large print, AND email accessibility, AND visual media, all in essentially the same shape and weight as the Kindle with cover. That is changing HER world. I think Apple IS fulfilling its mission, thank you very much!

cool story bro,

my point is that a tiny iPad is not innovative
just more of the same, boring zZzzZ
incremental updates means the stock will drop even more...

an a la carte Apple TV is innovative
a personal robot is innovative
Artificial General Intelligence is innovative
a realtime universal language translator is innovative

 

[50548]

Wow, you can't be serious.
Everybody that wants an eReader will probably buy an iPad Mini.
My father, a pilot, said the iPhone is too small for his apps and the iPad is too big for the cockpit. The Mini would be the perfect tool.
That's only 2 examples. It's going to be successful. You guys fail to see the amplitude of users.

And that's where you miss the point miserably. IF (and this is a big IF) the iPad Mini constituted a leading-edge e-reader, fine. However, it will simply be a smaller iPad, with a lower-quality screen, less performance and practically zero difference from the standard iPad (apart of course from those downgrades).

In other words, a me-too product badly aimed at Amazon. The downfall of Apple in the 90s began with exactly this attitude - lack of focus, loss of initiative, lack of a truly innovative approach.

Tim, once more I ask you: if the iPad Mini is just a smaller iPad, do NOT LAUNCH IT. It will flop as much as the Macintosh TV.

 

[paradox00]

That's overpriced.

8GB Nexus 7 is $199; 16GB is $249.

Unless you really love iOS over Android, there's no reason to get the iPad mini at those prices. That's a $80 premium for the 16GB version assuming same or similar specs.

Retina display doesn't cut it. The Nexus 7 technically isn't a retina I guess, but it's sure sharp enough for me.

7.85" > 7" and the iPad is a far more established brand. People will pay a premium price for an Apple product. I think this has been proven before...

 

[Patriks7]

I'm quite excited about this, but the more I think about it, the more I think that they could've gone with a slightly smaller screen than the rumored size...

 

[50548]

I'm quite excited about this, but the more I think about it, the more I think that they could've gone with a slightly smaller screen than the rumored size...

Closer to the iPhone 5's screen size? There you can see how irrelevant/redundant the iPad Mini would be.

 

[JSalig]

I hope Apple knocks it out of the park form factor-wise. It's really the only thing that can offset it being non-retina. If that's the way it has to be and they're looking to target ereaders, I want to see a beautiful, ergonomic tablet that rivals the aesthetics of the iphone 5 and have it weigh in under 10 ounces. Given Apple's obsessiveness with making things lighter and thinner it could serve them well here.

 

[darkslide29]

That's overpriced.

8GB Nexus 7 is $199; 16GB is $249.

Unless you really love iOS over Android, there's no reason to get the iPad mini at those prices. That's a $80 premium for the 16GB version assuming same or similar specs.

Retina display doesn't cut it. The Nexus 7 technically isn't a retina I guess, but it's sure sharp enough for me.

Some people are ok with paying more for a device made of aluminum and glass, over plastic. Some.

 

[Lancer]

Well depending on price and what I have left over after I get my new iMac I'll consider one for Christmas

 

[ZipZap]

I still firmly believe that the iPad mini will become the defacto standard and will outclass the competition.

I expect that it will be slow be gain momentum one move people have a chance to put this form factor into their hands. The ipad 2 will fade out. And the iPad three will HAVE TO get lighter to remain relevant.

Remember this is my opinion.

As for November 2, I suppose that is the shipping date and Oct 23 the announcement/preordering?

 

[doelcm82]

Did they make a retina iPod Touch and not have to charge $459 or give it a 4-hour battery life? Why does retina for a modestly larger screen have to come with a price almost as much as a full-sized iPad and/or significant battery tradeoffs compared to iPod touch or iPad?

I know we think it won't have retina so we want to start building up our "Apple is always right" rationale points for not including it, but, other than that, if a big focus of this thing is reading iBooks, I'd think retina might matter more here than in iPod Touch and iPhone.

The iPod Touch with Retina is $299. Giving the iPad Mini a 2048-by-1536 7.85" display will affect the battery life and the price.

I haven't heard whether the problems with the iPhone display are also affecting the availability of the iPod Touch with Retina display, but I suspect that the difficulties in manufacturing high-DPI displays would limit the number of units Apple could deliver.

Why do those people deserve our scorn? Do we work for Apple? Is there something in them seeking what they want that hurts us in some way? If next year's mini is the one that Apple "should've, could've" built this year, they should roll it out this year. That whole "holding back" concept is- IMO- dumb (from the "delighting consumers" point of view). There will always be "cool" and "magical" new things to build into a next generation. (note: of course, I understand the monetary rationale of the "holding back" issue, so I won't be negatively surprised when some important thing probably in all of the other iDevices is left out of this one).

Apple consumers are like political constituents. Constituents want lower taxes AND higher spending on the pork THEY care about (cuts on programs OTHER people care about are okay). They want government to get out of their lives and into the lives of people doing things they disapprove of. Politicians always disappoint, because they promise what they can't deliver.

Apple consumers want the latest, most expensive, hardest to make technology, and they want it now, and at the lowest price.

I didn't say that Apple consumers deserve Apple's scorn. I DON'T work for Apple, so I'm free to scorn my fellow consumers for wanting more than they are willing to pay for.

 

[Cockney Rebel]

I think that Apple's mission is to change their customers' worlds. Apple has totally revolutionized my relationship to the computer and the telephone. My wife, who has a serious visual impairment that prevented her from reading, got a Kindle and EVERY book now is large print. When I get her the mini, she will have every book as large print, AND email accessibility, AND visual media, all in essentially the same shape and weight as the Kindle with cover. That is changing HER world. I think Apple IS fulfilling its mission, thank you very much!

... Siri will be very useful for her, too.

 

[Joe HS]

Please no 8GB model, or even 16.

 

[gnasher729]

That's overpriced.

8GB Nexus 7 is $199; 16GB is $249.

Absolutely. If the iPad Mini 8 GB is $229 and 16 GB is $329, that makes the Nexus vastly overpriced.

Seriously. What parent would buy a Nexus as a Christmas present for their kids? Only if they hate them.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Let's take a vote. How many here still think there isn't going to be a smaller iPad?

 

[Tonewheel]

iPad Mini. For light days.

 

[AppleScruff1]

Absolutely. If the iPad Mini 8 GB is $229 and 16 GB is $329, that makes the Nexus vastly overpriced.

Seriously. What parent would buy a Nexus as a Christmas present for their kids? Only if they hate them.

Where can I get customers like this?

 

[xofruitcake]

I wouldn't buy 8 GB myself, but 8 GB for $229 is a price that greatly reduces the profit for Apple while killing the competition, so while its not something I would bet on, it is a possibility and Google, Amazon and everyone else would have to buy clean pants.

I think 249 is a more likely price point. And Apple will make great margin on a 249 tablet. Iphone 5 tear down cost is around 200. And I would guess that Ipad mini tear down cost will be in the 140-150 range with $10- 20 bump in the each storage upgrade. The low cost units probably will sell the most. But even with the lowest cost unit, we are still looking at about 40% gross margin... Not the 60+% margin that Iphone 5 enjoy but plenty of money to make especially if the low price generate more sales...

 

[AidenShaw]

Absolutely. If the iPad Mini 8 GB is $229 and 16 GB is $329, that makes the Nexus vastly overpriced.

Seriously. What parent would buy a Nexus as a Christmas present for their kids? Only if they hate them.

Where can I get customers like this?

I want to find those blind sheep too.

A 16GB Mini-Ipad at $329 makes the $249 16 GB Nexus over-priced.

Only on planet RDF.....

 

[uknowimright]

Absolutely. If the iPad Mini 8 GB is $229 and 16 GB is $329, that makes the Nexus vastly overpriced.

Seriously. What parent would buy a Nexus as a Christmas present for their kids? Only if they hate them.

eww $229 and $329? those are too cheap, doesn't give it that Apple premium feel, now if they charged $399 then I would know it's quality, also hopefully they don't include a charger, would love to buy one of those separately, at min $50