Apple reducing iPad 2 orders, but 'too early to tell' if it will be phased out

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 31
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by backtomac View Post


    I'm with you on this one. Ars is reporting that Amazon sold 4 million Kindles in December. While they didn't break out how many sold were Fires I think its safe to assume that its not an insignificant number. I bet a $299 iPad 2 would blunt the sales of the Fire.... and fast too.



    It would also give MS quite a bit of heart burn as well with Win 8 coming out sometime in 2012. That would make it much more difficult for Win 8 tablets to gain traction.



    Right. The Kindle Fire is a real contender for market share, even if Amazon actually loses money on every one sold. If the iPad 3 packs a quad-core A6, Retina Display and 16GB of storage for $499, then $200 less seems like the right price for an iPad 2 with all of those specs cut in half.
  • Reply 22 of 31
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    No one who was going to buy the Fire anyway?



    People aren't buying the Fire because they prefer it over an iPad; they're buying the Fire because they can't justify spending $499 on a tablet because as much as they want one, so much of what it does is redundant with devices they already own. The Kindle Fire's price also puts it in the gift-giving price range; $200 is likely the average gift expenditure for middle-class families. Only the rich give $500 gifts. A $300 iPad would make it obtainable/justifiable for many more people. People who are settling for Fire's and discounted Playbooks/Touchpads.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    How in the world do you think you can say that? Particularly when they're already getting tens of thousands of new customers at $499 EVERY MONTH.



    And they will continue to do so with the iPad 3; an iPad 2 sold for close to $300 would ward off the bottom feeders like the Kindle Fire that will otherwise continue to chew away at iPad's market share.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    AGAIN coming back to what is quite possibly a meaningless use case.



    Please explain why an 8GB iPhone is perfectly acceptable (Apple has two in their line-up), but an 8GB iPad would be useless?
  • Reply 23 of 31
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    Right. The Kindle Fire is a real contender for market share, even if Amazon actually loses money on every one sold. If the iPad 3 packs a quad-core A6, Retina Display and 16GB of storage for $499, then $200 less seems like the right price for an iPad 2 with all of those specs cut in half.



    I'd really like to see 16 gbs of flash for that machine at that price but I'm not sure Apple could manage that price. Then again 16 gbs of flash ought to cost what 8 gbs of flash cost 2 years ago when the original iPad came out.
  • Reply 24 of 31
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    People aren't buying the Fire because they prefer it over an iPad; they're buying the Fire because they can't justify spending $499 on a tablet because as much as they want one



    And so they go running back to the iPad once they realize how much those other cheap tablets suck.



    Quote:

    $200 is likely the average gift expenditure for middle-class families.



    Got the data on that?



    Quote:

    Only the rich give $500 gifts.



    Uh huh.



    Quote:

    And they will continue to do so with the iPad 3; an iPad 2 sold for close to $300 would ward off the bottom feeders like the Kindle Fire that will otherwise continue to chew away at iPad's market share.



    That doesn't answer the question.



    Quote:

    Please explain why an 8GB iPhone is perfectly acceptable (Apple has two in their line-up), but an 8GB iPad would be useless?



    The mindset that allows you to ask that question cannot reasonably be expected to understand the answer. This is because a mind contained within a situation of paradox cannot possibly comprehend the paradox inherent within it.
  • Reply 25 of 31
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Don't get hung up on terminology. Your statement reminds me of the the complaints from the ones who said the iPhone 4S wasn't a real upgrade because it kept the iPhone 4 nomenclature.



    IF there is an iPad with quad resolution screen (which I'm not convinced will happen this year), it wouldn't surprise me to see something like an iPad 2S which would have most of what the iPad 3 has (faster processor and more RAM, for example), but keeps the iPad 2 configuration otherwise. It could easily be similar to the current iPhone situation:



    iPad 3 (whatever it's called) - quad resolution, faster processor, etc

    iPad 2S or iPad 3 low res - same as iPad 3 but with current screen specs

    iPad 2 - current model



    Similar to the iPhone, there would be only one option in the lowest model (probably 16 GB). Maybe one or two configurations in the mid-range.



    Not disagreeing but maybe keeping it simple is better. New model when it comes at quad res, lower price previous model for a while ...



    A small part of me would love to see an older iPad at Kindle Fire prices just to stir the proverbial ...
  • Reply 26 of 31
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Partial Quote:

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    Only the rich give $500 gifts.



    Ever heard of saving up?
  • Reply 27 of 31
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    Only the rich give $500 gifts.



    I'm FAR from rich, but I managed to come up with enough for an iPad 2 for my wife for Christmas. Another fellow I work with bought both of his kids their own iPads this year. Neither of us are anywhere near the famous 1%, but we were able to do it. I seriously doubt we were the only 2 working class stiffs to have a little financial discipline leading up to this past holiday season.
  • Reply 28 of 31
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Mmmm...here's a product line up I'd like to see:



    $728/$829/$929 iPad 3 4G A6 16GB/32GB/64GB quad rez

    $599/$699/$799 iPad 3 A6 16GB/32GB/64GB quad rez



    $529 iPad 2 3G 16GB

    $399 iPad 2 16GB



    $299 5" iPod Touch 8GB A5 960x640

    $99 5" iPod Touch 8GB A5 3G 960x480 on contract for 2 yr $25/mo data plan



    <current iPod touch lineup>



    Yes, the base price for the current model gets bumped $100 because frankly I think the yields on the quad rez displays will be low and to offset the ASP hit from the lower entry price point to combat the pressure from lower priced android tablets.



    The iPod touch needs some kind of refresh and I think a 3G model with a larger size would appeal to many.
  • Reply 29 of 31
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by F1Ferrari View Post


    I'm FAR from rich, but I managed to come up with enough for an iPad 2 for my wife for Christmas. Another fellow I work with bought both of his kids their own iPads this year. Neither of us are anywhere near the famous 1%, but we were able to do it. I seriously doubt we were the only 2 working class stiffs to have a little financial discipline leading up to this past holiday season.



    The average American family was expected to spend $646 total for all gifts this Holiday season. Dropping $500 on one single one does seem to me a bit over-budget for a typical middle-class buyer.



    http://americanresearchgroup.com/holiday/
  • Reply 30 of 31
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    The average American family was expected to spend $646 total for all gifts this Holiday season. Dropping $500 on one single one does seem to me a bit over-budget for a typical middle-class buyer.



    http://americanresearchgroup.com/holiday/



    So? For internet shoppers the average was $714. Even at $646 it could easily break down into Mom buying "Dad" an iPad 2 for $500 and $50 each for mom and the two kids with the understanding that "Dad's" iPad is for the whole family.



    Would 2 Kindles be better? It depends on which app ecosystem you're already in.
  • Reply 31 of 31
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nht View Post


    So? For internet shoppers the average was $714. Even at $646 it could easily break down into Mom buying "Dad" an iPad 2 for $500 and $50 each for mom and the two kids with the understanding that "Dad's" iPad is for the whole family.

    .



    I'm sure that there are some families with $600 or $700 budget that will go ahead and get an iPad. But I'll bet there are plenty who simply won't. Just who do you think bought those 4 million Kindles in December?



    If they sell the iPad 2 at $399, that will help quite a bit. It would be even better if they could get down to $299. The iPad 2 is still a very capable tablet and should be for some time. It would be insane to just discontinue it once the iPad 3 is available. (I'm not saying that you are suggesting this) Apple need a tablet to fill the space between the Fire and the $499 entry level iPad. Thats a pretty big void that someone will exploit if given the chance.



    This whole debate reminds me of the debate that raged here about Apple selling iPhones on other networks. Many here said Apple didn't need VZ, Sprint or TMobile and were doing just fine. I and others argued that it was helping Android gain momentum and would hurt Apple in the long run. Even while iPhone still enjoys a growing market share, Android has apparently gone over 50% market share. I don't know that if the iPhone was available earlier on VZ or Sprint it would have changed this but one certainly has to wonder. My point is that Apple seems to now have a somewhat credible competitor in the tablet space with the Kindle Fire. They should not be so slow to respond to it IMO.
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