Apple exec Phil Schiller defends $329 entry price of iPad mini - Page 2

You are assuming that the user-experience on the mini will be identical to what it is on the iPad...
perhaps very generally it may be,
but the experience on the iPhone and the iPad are markedly different,
so I'm not sure how you can presume to know what it will be on the mini...
did you receive a review mini that you've been using for a while?

No appealing to the freetard a$$hats here on this thread.  Had Apple priced it at $299, then they would simply switch tunes and say "It should be $249!".  Guess what?  Had Apple did $249, they would simply whine "But, but... it should be $199!!".

Simple thing is, most of these whiners and trolls would not even buy an iPad anyways.  They are just fanning flames for the sake of doing it.

Apple priced it just right.  Realistically, they will be the only ones making any money off their offerings.  Which of course the iHaters here will simply counteract it by saying "But, but... Apple has no right to make any profit off the back of consumers!!!"

The iPad mini is going to decimate the current market of lower-priced tablets.  What will happen now is that the Android/Kindle trash will simply get pushed down to $99 and be advertised as a combination tablet/doorstop.

I'll wait to see how the iHaters spin that one...
 

 

I know what the experience will be on an iPad Mini, even though I haven't tried one yet.

 

How do I know? I used to have an iPad 2, that's how.

 

yes, as idiotic as buying a 200 dollar hammer because it is made of brushed aluminum - never mind that technology has no inherent value but the one given by its use.

 

you should use iOS products, they are made and marketed to you.

 

Prejudice is often assumed by most people to be about race (although it doesn't have to be), whereas bigotry covers any kind of bias (even though a lot of people think it's only about race).  

 

Huh? It's $170 cheaper than an iPad 4. What's the problem? If you are going to compare to a refurb iPad 3, then use the refurb iPad mini price to compare. Refurb iPad minis will likely be available before Christmas.

 

But all of that is moot. Apple doesn't mind if you buy an iPad mini or an iPad 3 - they make money either way. 

 

Exactly how many has Amazon sold?

 

Yeah, seriously. Some people need to go get a job or something. 

 

Whining about a very reasonably priced $329 Apple product.  It's pathetic.

 

Depends if they can sell everything they make.  If not the price is too high.  We will see friday how it goes. 

 

The mini build quality is superior, but the rest of the specs are in favor of the other 2 tablets. On a spec sheet the mini is losing it, but on looks and feel and usability it wins hands down. To me the Android tablets are pure garbage because I love a good design, but a lot of geeks out there are specs freaks. I think most consumers will go for looks and brand name, which may let Apple get away with a small premium on price.

 

On the plus side, the mini price takes care of cannibalization.  It wont matter if the mini eats up ipad sales.

 

Spec sheet:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-57537541-243/ipad-mini-vs-google-nexus-7-vs-amazon-kindle-fire-hd/

Edited by herbapou - 10/24/12 at 10:19am

 

 

This is called a "defense"?

 

Sounds more like a statement. A generic Apple statement. The kind Apple usually makes. 

 

Seems the only problem here is AI's misleading headline. 

What bothers me far more than the $329 starting point is the total BS of a 100 up charge to double the storage. That's where the rip off is IMO.

 

Yeah, that's why I qualified what I said.  It's not out and out wrong or misleading, but it still came across as slightly stinky to me.  

The difference was almost entirely down to the browser chrome, and I thought he spent too long on it as it's really a minor point.  

 

I just wish Apple was a bit more honest.  

I miss the brutal honesty of Steve Jobs (although I'm not trying to imply that he wasn't above this kind of fudging either).  

 

 

Just remember to NOT ask Amazon.

 

Bad analogy. The iPhone and iPad have different UI's, in terms of both controls and principles. One would expect that the iPhone and iPad would have markedly different user experiences, even ignoring the size differences. However, the iPad Mini is designed to run iPad apps natively, so one would expect at the least for the experiences to be similar.

Price isn't much of a problem... as a laptop user I wanted something more portable than standard iPad but I didn't want to deal with Android. The iPad mini is exactly what I wanted. I'm a little miffed about the $100 for the first additional 16gb of storage. That's getting a little ridiculous but meh... I'm not about to jump to Android over that. I don't care that it doesn't have retina. Frankly, I want a go anywhere, just-works device for reading and browsing. For high-photo editing from my 20 mpx SLR, I've got a 24" monitor so I wasn't going to use an iPad for that anyway. I know for a fact that we're getting at least two of these this holiday season.... just hope availability isn't too much of a problem.

 

Uh… Android tablets? Are you saying the iPad mini should cost 40% more than Android tablets, and because it doesn't, it's far cheaper and a better deal?

 

Well, they listened to us at least once in the recent past. xMac and giant, pointless television, here we come!

 

Yes, for a device that is mostly used for reading, having a 16:9 screen was a really good idea. If I need a sarcasm tag, you've failed at sarcasm.

 

Notice that the iPad isn't for reading. It's for tableting. 

 

Oh, I'm seeing some half-baked nonsense, stupidity, and dumbing down, all right. Just not sure it's coming from Apple.

 

So you wouldn't say the iPad and iPad mini have different UI, in terms of both control and principles?

I'd buy it if it were $429. Defend that!

Some of the "price awkwardness" of the iPad mini is no doubt caused by the iPod touch starting at $299.

I think it would be unacceptable for the iPad mini to be priced less than the iPod touch.  Even the 16 GB model.

It would be illogical, and it would make the iPod touch feel drastically overpriced.  (Some say it actually *is*.)

 

Eventually, Apple could drop the price of the iPod touch, which would enable them to drop the iPad mini price.

The timing, if it ever happens, will depend on manufacturing costs, component costs, consumer demand,

and many other Numbers spreadsheet variables.

 

And, of course, there's always the possibility that Apple could keep the 2012 iPad mini in the lineup, in a

single 16GB configuration at $229 - $279, after the 2013 iPad mini has shipped.  That way, Apple wouldn't

need to drop either the 2013 iPod touch or iPad mini prices.

If there was no competition, it would have been ok.
But compared to other devices out there (same category - 7" tablet) - its WAY too expensive. The screen is low-res, the specs are 2 years old (almost) and it costs 40% more than KindleFireHD or Nexus 7. I know the eco-system is better and the OS is great, but seriously, is that worth paying more for getting worse specs?

 

This is how Apple keep high margins on idevices, people buying the 32 and 64g versions are the ones paying the premium and allowing the 16g version to sell at a lower price. this is also why Apple doesnt put micro-sd on its devices.

I agree.

A lot of folks are overreacting. The sky is not falling. There is plenty of room in the market place for all the players. The lower end Kindles/Nexuses are fine. They will sell to a budget conscious consumer. The iPadMini will sell to consumers who desire a better quality and more refined and more capable device. If the $129 difference is important to you buy the Nexus and get over it. Personally $129 is not a big deal and I think it is worth the extra money. Looking at it positively Apple now has made it possible to own a smaller ipad3 for a lot less that $499, granted it doesn't have the retina dsiplay but really the difference is not that big a deal and I think the fact that it can now fit in a jacket pocket or a woman's purse will be a big seller. Add to that parents can now get one for their kids Christmas present without having to pay the full iPad price will be really big. Just watch the Christmas sales. Also don't understtimate the cache of owning a more expensive device . It does make one look more well off right! not a cheapskate. It impressed the opposite sex! I'd love to see Apple do an ad where the guy gets to date the hottie because she walks off with him rather than to Nexus user, imagine!

 

to me its worth it because the experience is a lot better.

 

You're the "genius" that is calling iOS users stupid in your other post and claiming that a piece of crap Nexus, a 16:9 tablet running a shitty OS called Android, made for cheapskates, people on welfare and clueless Fandroids offers a superior experience.

Ouch.

What 'competition'? As someone asked before, do you have any numbers? (Actual ones put out by the company, I mean).

 

No he was removing the distraction in terms of comparing usable image size.  It looked like the chrome in both browsers (i.e. wasted space) were about the same in size.

 

Currently, the only difference is size, and, as far as I know, Apple hasn't issued any Mini specific HIG, nor do I expect they will. So, the question is simply, how much does the size difference affect the user experience. The iPhone simply doesn't enter into the equation.

 

Stupid post. The elements they were comparing (aspect ratio, screen real estate, app selection, etc) has nothing to do with price, and everything to do with useability. It's not like he was comparing specs. I thought it was very effective, as the Nexus 7 is the best selling 'smaller' tablet and the closest competition Apple may have in that product category. The comparison also hit the nail on the head, as it brought up pretty much all the reasons as to why I returned my Nexus 7 shortly after I bought it. Everything from the awkward 16x9 aspect ration, near useless landscape mode, sluggish performance, shitty tablet optimized app selection, etc drove me crazy. The specs didnt seem to help it there, and I have a feeling the mini will be a million times more responsive, even with the 'inferior' specs. At the end of the day, the iPad mini does seem like a better value all things considered. It has the same CPU as my 3rd gen iPad which is pushing 4X as many pixels, and which is still fast as hell. 

 

Also, not sure what you're on about 'double' the price. Here in Canada the Nexus is $259, while the iPad mini will be priced at $329. Yeah, double indeed. The nexus is ~ 80% of the cost. You think its overpriced, don't buy it. Thats how the market works, theres a ton of options out there. But I predict its going to wipe the floor with everything else sales wise, because at the end of the day most people want an iPad, not a generic tablet, and can justify the difference in price. 

 

Also I love all the OMG PAYING MORE FOR WORSE SPECS LOL trolls in this thread. This attack has only been levelled against, oh I don't know, every SINGLE Apple product ever. And you still don't fucking get it. Do you not realize you can get a better specced, cheaper alternative for every single Apple product out there, including their iPod. iPhone, laptop, desktop lines, if thats the ONLY criteria you're looking at? If you're buying specs, you can go elsewhere, it will always be the case. Amazing how short-sighted and simply idiotic some people can still be in their assinine and discredited arguments. 

Edited by Slurpy - 10/24/12 at 10:39am

This bad boy is going to cut more into iPad sales than into Android 7" sales. I think Apple is trading one for the other.  Bottomline, people buy Apple because it is Apple.  Now they can have an Apple Tablet for far less.  $199 is an impulse buy, $329, not so much.

 

Apple leads in consumer satisfaction in every category, often by a very wide margin. 

 

Why should we assume that will change with the iPad Mini experience?

 

Apple is doing to the iPad what they did to the iPod: create an entire family of devices around a platform. 

 

no need for sarcasm tag... your ignorance on the subject is obvious. I guess you never walked with a paper back in your back pocket?

as for your other reply to my post, same as above would apply. 

Edited by agramonte - 10/24/12 at 10:42am

 

Exhibit A.

I think the pitch was wrong but every hands on "review" I've seen so far has nothing but good things to say about the product. Of course these aren't extensive reviews but if it was crap it wouldn't take long to figure out.

Highly doubtful. Refurbished iPad 3s weren't available until months after introduction.

 

There's just no denying a refurb. iPad 3 is far more functional than the iPad mini, for just $50 more.

Are you a Samsung lawyer? 

 

Not if somebody is looking for a more portable and much lighter tablet. It all depends on the usage.

 

Mmmm...sometimes it takes daily use to ferret out the annoyances that change a device from a "I use this thing every freaking day...all my other gizmos is collecting dust" to "I'd use this more often if X didn't suck".

If the current 16GB A5 iPad was dropped to $229 and there was an 8GB version of the new iPod Touch at $199, an iPad Mini with a retina display, an A6 processor and 32GB of flash at $329 will seem like the right price. The only question is when will this upgrade take place?

Somebody has to pick up the garbage too.