iPod mega, maybe, but I don't think they'll stray from the current size for tablet apps.
Regardless of what people think or say, screen sizes do impose a limit on practical use. I had a difficult time getting used to web development even on my original 12" iBook screen. There were just too many things open and jumping around was a pain on such a small screen.
Now, the standard iPod/iPhone interface on a larger screen would actually work!
These anal-ysts gets totaly drunk and then they make predictions. Since iPhone 4S/5 cold shower, everybody knows that apple will make just very limited changes to their upcoming products. No other iPhone\\iPad mini, cheap, low end... cmon
Unless Apple is going to loose profits, I don't see them going any lower than $399 on the iPad 2 next year when the iPad 3 comes out. Apple is not know for competing on price, but on value. However, fact of the matter is that for a good chunk of what most users do on an iPad (watch movies and tv shows, read books, surf the web, check e-mail), you don't need a powerful CPU or a 10" IPS display to do it, but a solid OS with good UI and a well-stocked content store, both of which the Kindle Fire has.
I can actually see a $299 iPad 2 with 8GB of memory and no cammeras, or at least only with a front facing cammera, existing alongside the iPad 3.
These anal-ysts gets totaly drunk and then they make predictions. Since iPhone 4S/5 cold shower, everybody knows that apple will make just very limited changes to their upcoming products. No other iPhone\\iPad mini, cheap, low end... cmon
Technically they did introduce 2 low end iPhones:
A new iPhone 4 with 8GB of storage (they started at 16GB before so this is a new model) for $99 and a free iPhone 3GS.
It will get fun next year, when I take it the iPhone 5 will become the 199 model, the 4S the $99 model and the 4 the free on contract model. At that point ATT wont be the only US carrier offering a free iPhone model.
They've been saying this about the iPad (AND the iPhone for that matter) since the second generation came out, yet they have been the best selling things in their product category. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
In the words of the late, great Steve: "Get RID of the crappy stuff!"
Some of you guys might want to read the whole story. It explicitly says that "mini" doesn't necessarily mean smaller, just cheaper.
All you have to do is look at the iPhone lineup to see how they could arrive at cheaper -- keep the iPad 2 around after the iPad3 comes out, but at a lower price and only an 8 or 16 GB version.
Something else to keep in mind -- Apple has an obvious way to subsidize hardware if they want to go that route -- they can require a two-year iCloud "contract".
Bottom line is that there are a lot of ways for Apple to offer a cheaper iPad while preserving margins and without selling a 7" device.
Do these analysts stop and think about what they are saying before they say it. Apple has rarely been a responder to competitors in this way. If they are placing a cheaper device it is something they've been working on for some time and not in a knee-jerk reaction to the Kindle Fire.
I still don't expect a Fire like device. The iPad is dominant with its current form factor and features. Steady upgrades should do it well.
next year or 2 years from now expect the kindle fire or water or air or whatever it's going to be called to be 10 inches and $199. apple needs to release a cheap ipad just to keep amazon at bay
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?
Wasn't even going to read it before posting what I am going to post, then read it anyway, but stopped the word "analyst".
Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, abso-friggin-lutely-bullshit! Of the lowest order.
AI, please quit with this shit, please, as if the whole iPhone 5 wasn't over the top, please know where the limits of readers patience is, you know this is BS, we know it's BS, so if you still feel the need to publish it, at least call it out as BS. Perhaps if there were more articles titles "Analyst BS strikes again" we would at least know you are being honest that it's a lot of shit thats likely not worth reading but for a laugh.
It stands to reason, if Apple thought 7" was the right size for an iPad, they would have done it already, and not scramble to produce one just because someone else has made one that you can't even buy yet which is being sold at a loss.
So the price of a 8-16GB iPod Touch with a 3.5" screen.
Now, let's think about it.
iPad apps are totally out of the scope because you can extend a iPhone/iPod app but you can not shrink an iPad app. So, this is basically, just big iPod Touch. Nothing added, just bigger and bulkier and lower density screen. The iPod Touch DX for people who can't read on small screen.
So this iPad mini will only target cheap old people. That's what I call niche market.
Being linked to Apples apps (iTunes, Apps Store, etc) is better than being tied to Amazons stuff with Fire. I don't see Apple clamoring to make a $199 tablet....they will just discount iPad2 when iPad3 arrives.
They might continue selling the iPad 2 at around the $350-$400 price point once the iPad 3 is released.
This is the most likely scenario. Although personally I think they could move the current 16GB WI-fi only iPad 2 to $299 - maybe by downgrading the storage to 8GB like they just did with the iPhone 4. Should be totally doable, considering they were clearing out original iPads at $349 last year with a full 16GB on board.
Then, an A6-powered retina display model could take over the $499 pricepoint.
No one would buy a 7" $199 Kindle Fire if they could get a 10" iPad for just $100 more. Apple doesn't have to have a product to match the 7" Fire (like this article suggests); they just need to make the Fire an unreasonable alternative.
For those of us with poor eyesight... an iPod Touch with a 5-7 inch screen size would be quite welcome. Keep the same pixel count and basic innards... just make it bigger. The mid-sized form factor has been well validated by many tens of millions of Nooks and Kindles.
Frankly I don't put much stock in the concerns about messaging and market focus. Given that you can buy an Apple laptop with screens of 11", 13", 15" and 17" sizes... What's so stunningly wrong about an iTouch/iPad Range of 3.5, 6.5 and 9.7?
If Apple is really that worried about a chaotic, confused product line, maybe they need a "hobby" page for the Apple Store... a place where they can stick products the market seems to be asking for... but which might otherwise clutter Apple's focus.
Something else to keep in mind -- Apple has an obvious way to subsidize hardware if they want to go that route -- they can require a two-year iCloud "contract".
Comments
iPod mega, maybe, but I don't think they'll stray from the current size for tablet apps.
Regardless of what people think or say, screen sizes do impose a limit on practical use. I had a difficult time getting used to web development even on my original 12" iBook screen. There were just too many things open and jumping around was a pain on such a small screen.
Now, the standard iPod/iPhone interface on a larger screen would actually work!
iPad mini = iPod Touch.
Absoltely agree. They already have this market taken care of.
The Kindle fire is great and all, but it has to really take hold and be an actual threat before Apple would do something like this.
Unless Apple is going to loose profits, I don't see them going any lower than $399 on the iPad 2 next year when the iPad 3 comes out. Apple is not know for competing on price, but on value. However, fact of the matter is that for a good chunk of what most users do on an iPad (watch movies and tv shows, read books, surf the web, check e-mail), you don't need a powerful CPU or a 10" IPS display to do it, but a solid OS with good UI and a well-stocked content store, both of which the Kindle Fire has.
I can actually see a $299 iPad 2 with 8GB of memory and no cammeras, or at least only with a front facing cammera, existing alongside the iPad 3.
These anal-ysts gets totaly drunk and then they make predictions. Since iPhone 4S/5 cold shower, everybody knows that apple will make just very limited changes to their upcoming products. No other iPhone\\iPad mini, cheap, low end... cmon
Technically they did introduce 2 low end iPhones:
A new iPhone 4 with 8GB of storage (they started at 16GB before so this is a new model) for $99 and a free iPhone 3GS.
It will get fun next year, when I take it the iPhone 5 will become the 199 model, the 4S the $99 model and the 4 the free on contract model. At that point ATT wont be the only US carrier offering a free iPhone model.
Spot on.
May get iPod Touch with a larger screen next year to combat the Fire, PSP, etc. Hope so.
indeed, if you want to tag the tough as an ipad mini it needs a bigger screen...
In the words of the late, great Steve: "Get RID of the crappy stuff!"
All you have to do is look at the iPhone lineup to see how they could arrive at cheaper -- keep the iPad 2 around after the iPad3 comes out, but at a lower price and only an 8 or 16 GB version.
Something else to keep in mind -- Apple has an obvious way to subsidize hardware if they want to go that route -- they can require a two-year iCloud "contract".
Bottom line is that there are a lot of ways for Apple to offer a cheaper iPad while preserving margins and without selling a 7" device.
Do these analysts stop and think about what they are saying before they say it. Apple has rarely been a responder to competitors in this way. If they are placing a cheaper device it is something they've been working on for some time and not in a knee-jerk reaction to the Kindle Fire.
I still don't expect a Fire like device. The iPad is dominant with its current form factor and features. Steady upgrades should do it well.
next year or 2 years from now expect the kindle fire or water or air or whatever it's going to be called to be 10 inches and $199. apple needs to release a cheap ipad just to keep amazon at bay
I can actually see a $299 iPad 2 with 8GB of memory and no cammeras, or at least only with a front facing cammera, existing alongside the iPad 3.
"Hey, I have a great idea."
"What's that?"
"Let's TAKE OUT THE CAMERAS in a device for which people screamed to have cameras."
"Okay."
"Because they're obviously what costs the most about said device."
"Yep."
"And it's not like having said cameras is important to our business position of pushing the FaceTime feature or anything."
"Nope."
"Right, get on it!"
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?
Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, abso-friggin-lutely-bullshit! Of the lowest order.
AI, please quit with this shit, please, as if the whole iPhone 5 wasn't over the top, please know where the limits of readers patience is, you know this is BS, we know it's BS, so if you still feel the need to publish it, at least call it out as BS. Perhaps if there were more articles titles "Analyst BS strikes again" we would at least know you are being honest that it's a lot of shit thats likely not worth reading but for a laugh.
It stands to reason, if Apple thought 7" was the right size for an iPad, they would have done it already, and not scramble to produce one just because someone else has made one that you can't even buy yet which is being sold at a loss.
Rant over.
Hi, everyone
mid-to-high-$200 range
So the price of a 8-16GB iPod Touch with a 3.5" screen.
Now, let's think about it.
iPad apps are totally out of the scope because you can extend a iPhone/iPod app but you can not shrink an iPad app. So, this is basically, just big iPod Touch. Nothing added, just bigger and bulkier and lower density screen. The iPod Touch DX for people who can't read on small screen.
So this iPad mini will only target cheap old people. That's what I call niche market.
Obviously garbage.
They might continue selling the iPad 2 at around the $350-$400 price point once the iPad 3 is released.
This is the most likely scenario. Although personally I think they could move the current 16GB WI-fi only iPad 2 to $299 - maybe by downgrading the storage to 8GB like they just did with the iPhone 4. Should be totally doable, considering they were clearing out original iPads at $349 last year with a full 16GB on board.
Then, an A6-powered retina display model could take over the $499 pricepoint.
No one would buy a 7" $199 Kindle Fire if they could get a 10" iPad for just $100 more. Apple doesn't have to have a product to match the 7" Fire (like this article suggests); they just need to make the Fire an unreasonable alternative.
iPad mini = iPod Touch.
For those of us with poor eyesight... an iPod Touch with a 5-7 inch screen size would be quite welcome. Keep the same pixel count and basic innards... just make it bigger. The mid-sized form factor has been well validated by many tens of millions of Nooks and Kindles.
Frankly I don't put much stock in the concerns about messaging and market focus. Given that you can buy an Apple laptop with screens of 11", 13", 15" and 17" sizes... What's so stunningly wrong about an iTouch/iPad Range of 3.5, 6.5 and 9.7?
If Apple is really that worried about a chaotic, confused product line, maybe they need a "hobby" page for the Apple Store... a place where they can stick products the market seems to be asking for... but which might otherwise clutter Apple's focus.
Something else to keep in mind -- Apple has an obvious way to subsidize hardware if they want to go that route -- they can require a two-year iCloud "contract".
No way will this ever happen.