[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-03/here-comes-nexus-7-nightmare-the-ipad-mini.html[/url]
[quote]By Peter Burrows and Adam Satariano - Jul 3, 2012 5:46 PM ET
Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to debut a smaller, cheaper iPad by year-end, two people with knowledge of the plans said, to help maintain dominance of the tablet market as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) prepare competing handheld devices.
The new model will have a screen that’s 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally, less than the current 9.7-inch version, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Apple hasn’t made its plans public. The product, which Apple may announce by October, won’t have the high-definition screen featured on the iPad that was released in March, one of the people said.
[t]http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iEYFZ7LjzUEk.jpg[/t]
[I]Hugo Barra, director of product management at Google Inc., with the Nexus 7 tablet during the Google I/O conference in San Francisco on June 27, 2012.[/I]
Hugo Barra, director of product management at Google Inc., with the Nexus 7 tablet during the Google I/O conference in San Francisco on June 27, 2012. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
[t]http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iLbdgJVB1nwI.jpg[/t]
[I]Google, along with other companies, are looking to compete with Apple's iPad for share of the tablet market.[/I]
Google, along with other companies, are looking to compete with Apple's iPad for share of the tablet market. Photographer: Adrianna Williams/Corbis
A smaller, less expensive iPad could undercut the ambitions of Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) to gain traction in the advancing tablet market, said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. The new device will probably have a price closer to Google’s Nexus 7 tablet and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, both of which have 7-inch screens and cost $199.
“It would be the competitors’ worst nightmare,” Wu said in an interview. “The ball is in Apple’s court.”
Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to comment.
Since the iPad went on sale in April 2010, Apple has dominated the tablet market, which is predicted by DisplaySearch to reach $66.4 billion this year. Apple has 61 percent of the market, according to Gartner Inc.
Apple’s rivals are eager to gain a toehold. Google said on June 27 that it will sell a tablet-style device called the Nexus 7. Earlier in the month, Microsoft announced a tablet called Surface that will have a similar screen size as the current iPad. Amazon’s Kindle Fire was released last year.
[B]Google Strategy[/B]
The entrants’ best chance of success has been to focus on markets where Apple had no toehold, said Jan Dawson, an analyst at Ovum Ltd. The Surface comes in two models that are most likely to appeal to buyers who want to continue using Microsoft’s Windows software, Dawson said. While Microsoft has not disclosed pricing or timing for either, the higher-end version will probably be pricier than the iPad and targeted more at an emerging class of laptop PCs called Ultrabooks, he said. The latest iPad ranges in price from $499 to $829.
Google’s Nexus 7 could stack up well against Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which went on sale in November. The Nexus 7, manufactured by Asustek Computer Inc. (2357), has a faster processor and better battery life than the Kindle Fire, as well as a front-facing camera.
Still, competing with a lower-priced iPad will be more challenging, Wu said. Apple benefits from having more than 225,000 apps that have been tailored specifically for the current iPad.
[B]Apple Retail[/B]
The company also boasts more than 360 retail stores where the device can be purchased and tested by consumers. Google said the Nexus will be available only from its online store, while Microsoft will sell its tablets online and at its smaller chain of 20 stores.
Apple has considered introducing a smaller tablet since the original iPad was released, one person said. That approach has worked for Apple’s iPod, which is the world’s top music player and comes in various sizes and colors.
Yet Apple co-founder Steve Jobs spoke skeptically of smaller tablets before his death in October. He said in 2010 that the iPad’s current size was the minimum required to ensure a good user-experience and enable attractive software applications.
The screen of the small model will have the same number of pixels as those in the iPad before it was upgraded to the so- called Retina Display earlier this year, one person said.
[B]Fatter Margins[/B]
Apple also may be at an advantage profit-wise. The gross margin on the latest iPad is about 37 percent, according to Wu. Apple could earn a similar profit on a smaller iPad because it will probably use the cheaper screen, Wu said. Apple can also charge more for the device without sacrificing sales, he said.
“This isn’t like the old days, when it cost thousands of dollars more to buy an Apple product,” Wu said. “Fifty or a hundred bucks wouldn’t be enough to make someone switch.”
Amazon, by contrast, loses money on every Kindle Fire it sells, with the aim of profiting from sales of books and other digital media. At the $199 price of the Nexus 7, Google’s plan should be to break even on the hardware, in exchange for the opportunity to win advertising and related revenue, said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner Inc.
Apple’s plans to release a smaller sized iPad were reported previously in blogs, including DigiTimes.
[B]Microsoft’s Stakes[/B]
The stakes are high for Microsoft and Google to succeed at hardware sales. Both companies have risked alienating long-time hardware partners, such as Samsung Electronics Co., by selling their own tablets, Gartenberg said.
“How does Samsung make money in tablets, when Google is partnering with Asus to make a product that makes no money?,” he said.
A failure to gain traction with the Nexus and Surface, respectively, might also undermine the credibility of Google’s Android strategy and of Microsoft’s introduction of the next version of the Windows operating system, Wu said. If Google and Microsoft can’t make a must-have product around their own software, consumers may be harder to convince that hardware manufacturers could do it, he said.
“They’re really sticking their necks out this time, putting their own brands on this front and center,” Wu said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Burrows in San Francisco at [email]pburrows@bloomberg.net[/email]; Adam Satariano in San Francisco at [email]asatariano1@bloomberg.net[/email]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at [email]tgiles5@bloomberg.net[/email] [/quote]
Google is doomed.
Picture of new iPad mini;
[IMG]http://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/2430/as-images.apple.com/is/image/AppleInc/step0-iphone4s-gallery-image2?wid=488&hei=531&fmt=png-alpha&qlt=95[/IMG]
Now with new phone feature, starting at $899,-
This is clearly a response to the Surface / Nexus 7 release. Seems like Apple knows that these products will become highly successful and are trying to take the throne in this category. However, I cannot imagine that they will sell it for the same price as the Nexus 7.
Competition is good. Looking forward to see how this unfolds and who finds themselves ontop. Personally, I'm a fan of the Nexus at the moment. Definitely picking one up in the future.
[QUOTE=VistaPOWA;36613779]This is clearly a response to the Surface / Nexus 7 release. Seems like Apple knows that these products will become highly successful and are trying to take the throne in this category. However, I cannot imagine that they will sell it for the same price as the Nexus 7.[/QUOTE]
I would be extremely impressed if they released a tablet for even $300, let alone $200.
[QUOTE=VistaPOWA;36613779]This is clearly a response to the Surface / Nexus 7 release. Seems like Apple knows that these products will become highly successful and are trying to take the throne in this category. However, I cannot imagine that they will sell it for the same price as the Nexus 7.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't say that, iPad mini parts and rumors have been popping up for a while now.
Though it's pretty clear that the Surface/Kindle Fire/Nexus 7 are going to be its primary competitors.
Aww how cute.
'cheaper' as in 'only' $400
Been wanting a decent portable computer of some kind, I'll probably buy the cheapest one, which is hopefully going to be Surface.
[QUOTE=Cows Rule;36613928]Been wanting a decent portable computer of some kind, I'll probably buy the cheapest one, which is hopefully going to be Surface.[/QUOTE]
As an iPad user myself.. even I'm tempted by Surface.
[video=youtube;GeaNkYt4hbI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeaNkYt4hbI[/video]
he's right
it is like the folks at apple are from another planet
[QUOTE=Dav0r;36613947]As an iPad user myself.. even I'm tempted by Surface.[/QUOTE]
This, the surface looks really good, probably better than the iPad and this.
When you ignore the price and just look at the same thing being released with 2-3 inches shaved off the screen it sounds incredibly stupid.
oh my sides! this is amazing, i'm going to have to prepare my wallet for this.
[QUOTE=Dav0r;36613947]As an iPad user myself.. even I'm tempted by Surface.[/QUOTE]
It ultimately comes down to how much the Surface is going to be priced, but as of right now I'm leaning towards the Nexus 7.
I hope they update the iPod Touch lineup too. I'm hung up on whether I want to get a Nexus 7 since I'm an apple fan but the specs of the Nexus 7 really beat the price/performance ratio of Apple products into submission - something that the iPod Touch was usually adept at keeping up with.
And I don't think I can see the Surface being less than $300.
I don't see how is the Ipad Mini Nexus7's Nightmare, unless they sell it on the same price-range with the same specs, which I hightly doubt.
Remember when people were estimating the iPad was going to cost 800 to 1000 dollars before it was announced?
Apple knows how to compete based on price, sometimes.
I'm sure their mini tablet will also be 200 dollars.
[editline]3rd July 2012[/editline]
Also remember when the first Android tablets were 600 dollars on contract?
[QUOTE=person11;36614195]Remember when people were estimating the iPad was going to cost 800 to 1000 dollars before it was announced?
Apple knows how to compete based on price, sometimes.
I'm sure their mini tablet will also be 200 dollars.
[editline]3rd July 2012[/editline]
Also remember when the first Android tablets were 600 dollars on contract?[/QUOTE]
Considering the iPod Touch is $200 and the iPad is $500 you'd think something inbetween would also fall inbetween that range ($300-350)
Looks more like a Kindle Fire (I love that thing btw.), not seeing the iPad in there, but that's just me.
Well shit, there goes any chance left for the Surface.
If amazon & google can price their stuff aggressively I'm sure Apple will follow. Maybe with iPad 2 specs to lessen the cost?
[QUOTE=person11;36616403]If amazon & google can price their stuff aggressively I'm sure Apple will follow. Maybe with iPad 2 specs to lessen the cost?[/QUOTE]
You'd still get more bang-for-the-buck with a Kindle Fire or the Nexus 7.
Unless you're a diehard iOS fan.
Watch as someone magically loses a prototype in a bar.
[QUOTE=Alyx Zark;36613789]Competition is good. Looking forward to see how this unfolds and who finds themselves ontop. Personally, I'm a fan of the Nexus at the moment. Definitely picking one up in the future.[/QUOTE]
Knowing Apple, it wont even be competition. They'll claim some bullshit on how Nexus infringes a patent or something and try to ban it.
so it's an iPod touch?
And the most pointless device of the year goes to....
Eventually you'll be able to buy an iTouch of any size between 3 and 15 inches because apple can't do anything else apparently
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