After the holiday quarter I expect most companies to sell product. The real test will be next holiday season and if sales have a reasonable spike when a new model is released.
Creating a smaller iPad will open the door for future larger than iPad tablet computers. People could get introduced to the lower priced 7.85" iPad and love it. Then in another year when Apple introduces a fully capable tablet computer that is equal to or even better than Mac Books, there will be a natural progression for those people to purchase them. Since they will already be familiar with the OS and Apple, they will automatically go with an Apple tablet computer to replace their older Windows machine.
The iPods and iPhones have done this for Apple's iPad and Macs. A smaller iPad will do the same for the company. It will bring more people to the Mac line of computers. Somewhere in this ecosystem will be the Apple TV. I don't know how well it will fit into this. If it has great interoperability with the other Apple products then it too will be a great reason for people to purchase it.
The obvious solution is for Apple to create an iPad-Mini using the iPad's original resolution, if they are going to double it on the iPad HD. That's basically what they did with the iPhone, when they jumped to Retina.
Yeah... Barclay's analyst moved his prediction of sales down from 18.4 million to 17.1 million KFs for 2012.
I think he's still out by about 14 million units.
Also interesting is the downgrade of dedicated e-readers overall, tho it probably shouldn't be any surprise.
BTW, Archos new 7" Child Pad is a good example of a company filling in a niche market that Apple wouldn't find worthwhile. At $129, and with a heavily curated Android app store appropriate for kid's, it's likely to get some parent's attention.
So is this a real concern for Samsung Securities or a weak attempt to get people's not to buy the 10" iPad in hopes of a 7" model coming soon?
That's the kind of games Microsoft use to play with their vaporware announcements. Unfortunately, for Samsung that only works when your the leader and they are not the leader, Apple is. Also, marketshare is no longer enough to make you the leader, as Apple has shown in the PC market.
So is this a real concern for Samsung Securities or a weak attempt to get people's not to buy the 10" iPad in hopes of a 7" model coming soon?
If this was meant as a public announcement for wide consumption I don't think they would have used that particular venue. So IMO it's not meant to influence potential iPad buyers. I consider it real, and Samsung would know if a 7" (nominal) iPad was in the works.
However, talk of a smaller-sized iPad has drawn skeptical looks from some who cite comments from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dismissing the possibility of a 7-inch tablet. "The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn't because we don't want to hit that price point, it's because we think the screen is too small to express the software," Jobs said during a conference call in 2010.
Here's the problem: Steve Jobs is dead. He's no longer with us. Tim Cook is the CEO and he makes decisions which may not be what Steve Jobs wanted.
Steve Jobs simply told Tim Cook that Tim Cook can do whatever works best for Apple.
I trust Tim Cook to do his job and so far, he has done extremely well.
As others have noted, the 7" market could be huge. I believe the product would be branded iPad and not iPod, however. There are many precedents for Apple moving into different form factors and they all have been about usability and profitability. iPod Nano and Shuffle, 11" MBA, etc.
Apple isn't ceding any market; it's purely for now a prototyping/testing and go-to-market issue-if it is an issue at all. Steve has been known to throw off competitors by publicly denying an interest in entering certain product category markets. I also think Tim is a more aggressive competitor than folks realize.
With a smaller form for other consumer segments (including the education market) along with Apple's precious 40% net margin, Apple could afford to let the consumer decide-larger iPad or smaller iPad. All the bases would be covered, IMHO.
Price? $299 Wifi only and $399 Wifi and 3G. Smaller iPad for the kids, larger one for the 'rents. That would kill the Fire. If the current iPad 2 or iPad 3 is too expensive, a smaller $299 iPad would be a sweet spot for Apple and consumers. If that's too expensive, go for an iPod Touch at $199. The iPad 2 will never go down to $299. Apple knows pricing and the value of its products to the market.
Because we've heard this rumor since 2004, and I don't know if you've noticed, but it hasn't come true.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carthusia
Price? $299 Wifi only and $399 Wifi and 3G. Smaller iPad for the kids, larger one for the 'rents. That would kill the Fire. If the current iPad 2 or iPad 3 is too expensive, a smaller $299 iPad would be a sweet spot for Apple and consumers. If that's too expensive, go for an iPod Touch at $199. The iPad 2 will never go down to $299. Apple knows pricing and the value of its products to the market.
I just don't see Apple legitimizing an eReader as competition.
I think a ipad mini is a possibility. If they make one with the same resolution as the original ipad there won't be fragmentation. Also it will mean the end of the psp vita and 3DS If it has a 30 pin controller adapter or Bluetooth controller. And IMHO win8 tablet machines will give apple a lot of competition on 2013. This move will have all the price ranges cover before that.
I love touch gaming but if they want to own the segment on handhelds they need a 30 pin controller adapter for ios devices. That way Sony and nintendo games can be sold for iOS...
I doubt we will see a 7 inch unit, but it would be about time for Apple to go into this market. There is no way in the world I would buy the current iPad for two reasons:
No Excel and Power Point
Too large
Without Excel and PP there is no way I could substitute my MBA for the iPad even on short trips, and regarding the size, unlike my wife who carries her iPad in her handbag, I want a device that fits into a large jacket pocket.
I'm sorry, I can't really reconcile the 2 simultaneous desires you want for the iPad. You want it to use it for MS office, yet you want it to be smaller? And you want it to be smaller so it can.. become a Macbook Air replacement? Your wants seem utterly contradictory and irrational. If I wanted a MBA replacement I'd want a BIGGER iPad, not a smaller one. More so if I wanted to use it primarily for productivity work like Excel/PPT which require keyboard input, and would be much more frustrating and unuseable with a smaller screen.
That being said, there's strong rumours Office for iPad will be revealed soon, so there's that.
My first reaction is that this is a planned leak by Samsung as an attempt to dampen sales of the iPad 3 -- some people will delay buying, thinking a new model is coming in 6-7 months.
This is, indeed, a possibility!
But, consider this: there may be a way to use a smaller screen (with smaller buttons and controls) -- without the need to sand your fingers to a point or carry a stylus.
Some possibilities that could be used in combination:
Device-resident Siri subset for dictation and commands
A transparent HUD with resized (full-sized) buttons and controlls
User and app-definable keyboard macros and shortcuts
An invocable "cursor/keypad" HUD with magnifying glass, arrow, mouse overs, etc.
Several 3rd-party apps have virtual kbs with additional keys as above.
I am entering this post on my iPad in portrait mode using the split keyboard... It is quite nice and has a transparent center area that could easily provide the additional keys and the cursor/keypad.
Try it -- I think you will see the possibilities!
IMO, if there is a demand for a smaller device, it need not have exact 1x-2x or retina resolution -- 1.5x would be OK. This could be handled by an enhanced SDK and execution-time hardware assist... Say, preferential resolution-independence...
If the need is there, the developers will come -- and often lead the way!
Comments
No doubt but without a working product this is at best a novelty and no threat to Apple.
And a working product available for sale to consumers is what Samsung has said is coming this year.
How is Apple HDTV a bust?
The idea that Apple would make a television.
<crickets chirping>
Speaking of 7" tablets, has there been any news lately about Kindle Fire sales?
<crickets chirping>
Barclays sees sales cooling off.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/...market-ereader
Barclays sees sales cooling off.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/...market-ereader
Yeah... Barclay's analyst moved his prediction of sales down from 18.4 million to 17.1 million KFs for 2012.
I think he's still out by about 14 million units.
Barclays sees sales cooling off.
http://articles.businessinsider.com/...market-ereader
After the holiday quarter I expect most companies to sell product. The real test will be next holiday season and if sales have a reasonable spike when a new model is released.
Creating a smaller iPad will open the door for future larger than iPad tablet computers. People could get introduced to the lower priced 7.85" iPad and love it. Then in another year when Apple introduces a fully capable tablet computer that is equal to or even better than Mac Books, there will be a natural progression for those people to purchase them. Since they will already be familiar with the OS and Apple, they will automatically go with an Apple tablet computer to replace their older Windows machine.
The iPods and iPhones have done this for Apple's iPad and Macs. A smaller iPad will do the same for the company. It will bring more people to the Mac line of computers. Somewhere in this ecosystem will be the Apple TV. I don't know how well it will fit into this. If it has great interoperability with the other Apple products then it too will be a great reason for people to purchase it.
The obvious solution is for Apple to create an iPad-Mini using the iPad's original resolution, if they are going to double it on the iPad HD. That's basically what they did with the iPhone, when they jumped to Retina.
Yeah... Barclay's analyst moved his prediction of sales down from 18.4 million to 17.1 million KFs for 2012.
I think he's still out by about 14 million units.
Also interesting is the downgrade of dedicated e-readers overall, tho it probably shouldn't be any surprise.
BTW, Archos new 7" Child Pad is a good example of a company filling in a niche market that Apple wouldn't find worthwhile. At $129, and with a heavily curated Android app store appropriate for kid's, it's likely to get some parent's attention.
http://maxborgesagency.com/press/arc...iendly-tablet/
So is this a real concern for Samsung Securities or a weak attempt to get people's not to buy the 10" iPad in hopes of a 7" model coming soon?
That's the kind of games Microsoft use to play with their vaporware announcements. Unfortunately, for Samsung that only works when your the leader and they are not the leader, Apple is. Also, marketshare is no longer enough to make you the leader, as Apple has shown in the PC market.
The idea that Apple would make a television.
So Apple has told you this?
So is this a real concern for Samsung Securities or a weak attempt to get people's not to buy the 10" iPad in hopes of a 7" model coming soon?
If this was meant as a public announcement for wide consumption I don't think they would have used that particular venue. So IMO it's not meant to influence potential iPad buyers. I consider it real, and Samsung would know if a 7" (nominal) iPad was in the works.
So Apple has told you this?
What, about a vaporware TV?
However, talk of a smaller-sized iPad has drawn skeptical looks from some who cite comments from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dismissing the possibility of a 7-inch tablet. "The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn't because we don't want to hit that price point, it's because we think the screen is too small to express the software," Jobs said during a conference call in 2010.
Here's the problem: Steve Jobs is dead. He's no longer with us. Tim Cook is the CEO and he makes decisions which may not be what Steve Jobs wanted.
Steve Jobs simply told Tim Cook that Tim Cook can do whatever works best for Apple.
I trust Tim Cook to do his job and so far, he has done extremely well.
Apple isn't ceding any market; it's purely for now a prototyping/testing and go-to-market issue-if it is an issue at all. Steve has been known to throw off competitors by publicly denying an interest in entering certain product category markets. I also think Tim is a more aggressive competitor than folks realize.
With a smaller form for other consumer segments (including the education market) along with Apple's precious 40% net margin, Apple could afford to let the consumer decide-larger iPad or smaller iPad. All the bases would be covered, IMHO.
Price? $299 Wifi only and $399 Wifi and 3G. Smaller iPad for the kids, larger one for the 'rents. That would kill the Fire. If the current iPad 2 or iPad 3 is too expensive, a smaller $299 iPad would be a sweet spot for Apple and consumers. If that's too expensive, go for an iPod Touch at $199. The iPad 2 will never go down to $299. Apple knows pricing and the value of its products to the market.
So Apple has told you this?
So has Apple told you they are?
Because we've heard this rumor since 2004, and I don't know if you've noticed, but it hasn't come true.
Price? $299 Wifi only and $399 Wifi and 3G. Smaller iPad for the kids, larger one for the 'rents. That would kill the Fire. If the current iPad 2 or iPad 3 is too expensive, a smaller $299 iPad would be a sweet spot for Apple and consumers. If that's too expensive, go for an iPod Touch at $199. The iPad 2 will never go down to $299. Apple knows pricing and the value of its products to the market.
I just don't see Apple legitimizing an eReader as competition.
I love touch gaming but if they want to own the segment on handhelds they need a 30 pin controller adapter for ios devices. That way Sony and nintendo games can be sold for iOS...
I doubt we will see a 7 inch unit, but it would be about time for Apple to go into this market. There is no way in the world I would buy the current iPad for two reasons:
No Excel and Power Point
Too large
Without Excel and PP there is no way I could substitute my MBA for the iPad even on short trips, and regarding the size, unlike my wife who carries her iPad in her handbag, I want a device that fits into a large jacket pocket.
I'm sorry, I can't really reconcile the 2 simultaneous desires you want for the iPad. You want it to use it for MS office, yet you want it to be smaller? And you want it to be smaller so it can.. become a Macbook Air replacement? Your wants seem utterly contradictory and irrational. If I wanted a MBA replacement I'd want a BIGGER iPad, not a smaller one. More so if I wanted to use it primarily for productivity work like Excel/PPT which require keyboard input, and would be much more frustrating and unuseable with a smaller screen.
That being said, there's strong rumours Office for iPad will be revealed soon, so there's that.
My first reaction is that this is a planned leak by Samsung as an attempt to dampen sales of the iPad 3 -- some people will delay buying, thinking a new model is coming in 6-7 months.
This is, indeed, a possibility!
But, consider this: there may be a way to use a smaller screen (with smaller buttons and controls) -- without the need to sand your fingers to a point or carry a stylus.
Some possibilities that could be used in combination:
- Device-resident Siri subset for dictation and commands
- A transparent HUD with resized (full-sized) buttons and controlls
- User and app-definable keyboard macros and shortcuts
- Additional virtual keyboard keys like: home, tab, arrows, select start/end...
- An invocable "cursor/keypad" HUD with magnifying glass, arrow, mouse overs, etc.
Several 3rd-party apps have virtual kbs with additional keys as above.I am entering this post on my iPad in portrait mode using the split keyboard... It is quite nice and has a transparent center area that could easily provide the additional keys and the cursor/keypad.
Try it -- I think you will see the possibilities!
IMO, if there is a demand for a smaller device, it need not have exact 1x-2x or retina resolution -- 1.5x would be OK. This could be handled by an enhanced SDK and execution-time hardware assist... Say, preferential resolution-independence...
If the need is there, the developers will come -- and often lead the way!