Apple rumored to counter Amazon Kindle Fire with 'iPad mini' in 2012

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  • Reply 81 of 133
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tharsman View Post


    what is definitely not going to happen is a "cheapo" 10" iPad. Apple does not join any commodity price race to the bottom.



    The iPhone 3GS is $0.00 with a new contract. Can't get much closer to the bottom than that. Do you really think this is anything other than a way to compete with budget android models?
  • Reply 82 of 133
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AjitMD View Post


    Selling the iPad2 at a lower price after the "iPad3" comes to market makes the most sense. Apple could discount the devices by $100-150. By next year component prices like the cost of the touch screen, Flash, etc will have dropped at least by a 1/3 on the average. This way, the inventory and manufacturing stays simple. The iPad3 could have a retina display, quad core ARM, etc to justify the usual pricing.



    Apple does no see to like making Jr versions! Anybody here who has been around and remembers the IBM PC Jr with the chicklet keyboard?



    You have it exactly right I believe. From the very start Apple signaled that they would be aggressive in pricing the iPad. They have no reason to directly counter the Fire, which is designed and priced to be a content delivery device for Amazon. It barely plays in the iPad's space. The real competition at this point is from Samsung. If Apple lowered the price of the entry-level iPad to $399 they'd put a lot of pressure on Samsung and the other Android tablet makers selling in this price range. Apple has far better margins to work with, I'd wager.



    Yup, I remember the PC Jr well. File it under New Coke and Quickster as one of the most ill-conceived products in recent history.
  • Reply 83 of 133
    rolsrols Posts: 68member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sticknick View Post


    This will not happen.



    Agreed - iPad is one of their sweetspot sizes, iPhone is the other. This just won't happen.
  • Reply 84 of 133
    ssquirrelssquirrel Posts: 1,196member
    For those suggesting a 5.5" Big touch, here are the iPod Touch and iPad resolutions on a 5.5" scrfeen. Well below the 300PPI+ of the iPhone. Yes I know the iPad is well below that too



    960*640 5.5" 209.78 PPI

    1024*768 5.5" 232.73 PPI
  • Reply 85 of 133
    NO way Apple is going to do this. The only thing we will see is IPOD next generation with a 4 inch screen (maybe) along with Iphone 5 "if" the screen gets bigger. A lot of people I know don't want it bigger. Amazon fire is only going to play Android games scaled up which will look awful. What I think is really funny is how these "rumors" keep popping up. NONE of them are close to accurate.
  • Reply 86 of 133
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Conrail View Post


    Do you really think this is anything other than a way to compete with budget android models?



    Yes, because there's absolutely no reason for Apple to have to compete with budget Android models.



    The iPhone 3GS sold more units than any of them when it was FIFTY dollars, much less now that it's free.
  • Reply 87 of 133
    tjwaltjwal Posts: 404member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shen View Post


    Niche market? Non-sense! All old people are cheap!



    ...oh wait, I see what you... never mind then.



    Us cheap old people are the fastest growing demographic.



    If the iPhone is an example, Apple may very well drop the price of the iPad2 when the 3 arrives.



    PS. Us old people don't want a dinky little 7 inch screen. The current 10 incher is barely big enough.
  • Reply 88 of 133
    alfiejralfiejr Posts: 1,524member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Conrail View Post


    The iPhone 3GS is $0.00 with a new contract. Can't get much closer to the bottom than that. Do you really think this is anything other than a way to compete with budget android models?



    oh come on. that model is well over 2 years old now (but still very nice with the parts of the iOS 5 update it can run). but it doesn't stack up well against new Android smartphones, so no, it is not competing with budget android models.



    but it definitely does compete very well with all the "free" featurephones that telcos still selling huge numbers, especially in other parts of the world. that's the target market and models to compare the 3GS to.



    this article was suggesting Apple would come out with brand new but cheaper iPad tablet model - like the other OEM's are doing now. but of course tablet up-front prices are not subsidized by the telcos like phones are.



    you're comparing apples to oranges to bananas.
  • Reply 89 of 133
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Spurred by the recently announced Amazon Kindle Fire and its $199 price, Apple is rumored to be exploring a new low-cost iPad for release in the first few months of 2012...




    Lol, this is pretty weak even for a weak Apple rumor. Seriously all you have to be is Asian and claim you heard rumblings at a meeting? I was in China and I heard rumblings at a meeting of potential Apple component suppliers that the Nano is getting a 3G chip.
  • Reply 90 of 133
    No way! Not going to happen.
  • Reply 91 of 133
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Paul94544 View Post


    hey idiot, I don't want a price reduction, It makes me feel good knowing i spent $600 on my iPad2. People around me look and figure there's a great guy who can afford to buy premium products. And the hot chicks hit on me more. Makes me look bad if its priced at a measily $200!



    Is this a joke? If your self worth is tied up in how much you spent, then you probably need help.



    I don't know how much Apple cares about the existing owners if they're going for new ones. iPhone 3G 8GB $200 when the original 8GB was $600.



    There are other reasons to argue that it probably won't happen.
  • Reply 92 of 133
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Alfiejr View Post


    oh come on. that model is well over 2 years old now (but still very nice with the parts of the iOS 5 update it can run). but it doesn't stack up well against new Android smartphones, so no, it is not competing with budget android models.



    but it definitely does compete very well with all the "free" featurephones that telcos still selling huge numbers, especially in other parts of the world. that's the target market and models to compare the 3GS to.



    this article was suggesting Apple would come out with brand new but cheaper iPad tablet model - like the other OEM's are doing now. but of course tablet up-front prices are not subsidized by the telcos like phones are.



    you're comparing apples to oranges to bananas.



    I am sure if we can find the numbers we would see the 3GS is outselling most, if not all Android phones on carriers where it is available. This was verified a few months ago. I don't see why it would have changed.



    I don't see anything coming from the Android OEMs that will change this. Seems like a lot of people give Android credit it does not deserve. An Android phone with the default OS install nightmare from the Manufacturer/Carrier just sucks. Any positive things you hear about Android come from tech nerds who completely replace the firmware.
  • Reply 93 of 133
    IPad mini and maxi? Methinks Brian White has a sick sense of humor.
  • Reply 94 of 133
    Mmm...



    The Fire is Amazons attempt to "to give away the razor in order to sell razor blades".



    Unfortunately the "blades" aren't priced high-emough to totally offset the costs of the "razor" (so Amazon must sell the razor too).





    Some here have posited that the telcos could offer the 16GB WiFi + 3G iPad 2 ($629 Retail) at:



    $0 with a 24 month data contract, at say, $25 per month or a total of $600.



    This numbers don't work -- the telcos would have the same problem as the Amazon Fire.





    A subscription service might work if there was a popular service with a higher price... hmmm.



    What if someone selling a TV/Movie/Music/Application subscription service, for, say, $50-$100 per month were to offer a 16 GB iPad 2 WiFi (Retail $599 / cost $220).





    Hmmm... Those numbers would appear to work!
  • Reply 95 of 133
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wovel View Post


    I am sure if we can find the numbers we would see the 3GS is outselling most, if not all Android phones on carriers where it is available. This was verified a few months ago. I don't see why it would have changed.



    I don't see anything coming from the Android OEMs that will change this. Seems like a lot of people give Android credit it does not deserve. An Android phone with the default OS install nightmare from the Manufacturer/Carrier just sucks. Any positive things you hear about Android come from tech nerds who completely replace the firmware.



    The 3GS is reportedly the second best selling device in the US. But how the numbers are tallied is not clear to me. The 3GS is only available on AT&T, AFAIK. Many Android devices are available on multiple carriers but under different model names. Are all the variants of Galaxy S counted as a single model in these surveys? Probably not. This does not take away from the remarkable longevity of the 3GS, but it does suggest it's easier to crunch numbers and mislead.
  • Reply 96 of 133
    Do investors and our financial class actually make decisions based on what seems to be such speculative information?



    This information as presented is just gossip.
  • Reply 97 of 133
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Apple is about the experience, not the hardware.

    So what would the users' experience be with all of the applications (which are the bedrock of the iOS.)...

    iPhone apps would be oversized, kid-toy looking (while not to the degree of when you expand to 10".

    iPad apps would be unusable because the interfaces would be half the size (the sanded fingertips syndrome.

    Developers would have to now write for 3 interfaces



    Tell me that that's a world Apple wants to be associated with, just so that they can have a check-off on their SKU list to match a product (Fire) that isn't even going to be a direct competitor in anything but media viewing.
  • Reply 98 of 133
    I guess I'll be the one dissenting voice.



    Personally I think the iPod touch is a decent competitor to the Fire (and better in a number of ways) except for people who want a larger screen.



    If the Fire sells well (and particularly if it cuts into sales of iOS devices) then the question is whether it's selling based on price, or if there really is demand for the midsize screen. Apple can definitely keep the iPad 2 available and even cut it down a bit to bring it in at $299. But they could also make a 7 inch model by just slapping a bigger screen on the iPod touch. Really, if they can afford to sell the touch for $199, if they thought there was a market for it, wouldn't it make sense that they could make a model with a bigger screen but similar internals for not much more than that?
  • Reply 99 of 133
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 11thIndian View Post


    Apple's solution to this would seem elementary.



    Like with the iPhone line, when the iPad3 is released next year, continue to offer the iPad2 at a reduced price. A 16GB iPad2 priced at $350 [$150 off the current MSRP] would certainly expose Apple to a broader market. Why would Apple put it's energy into developing an entirely new low cost version of the iPad?



    Apple will never try to compete directly with the Kindle Fire on price. Amazon and Apple's revenue model is COMPLETELY different. Amazon sells the Fire at a break-even or loss price because they're goal is to drive people to Amazon content. Apple is primarily interested in selling the hardware, and iTunes, iBooks, and the AppStore are in support of that.



    The fact that these analysts can't grasp this basic concept boggles my mind.



    These analysts have to produce something for a day's pay to the point of fabricating some news.
  • Reply 100 of 133
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by theoneaboveall View Post


    Dirty, rotten black lies! I seriously doubt Tim Cook would just say screw you Steve WE believe their is a market out there for smaller tablets. Thats just my take on it. Maybe a price reduction but even then I don't really see it unless the Fire really burns Apple in sales.



    Then again I'd welcome a price cut or a lower cost iPad...either way WE win.



    You mean Tim Cook doesn't look longingly at RIM's unsold inventory of 7" Playbooks and says, "I want that"?
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