iPad Mini's $329 Price May Hurt Windows 8 Devices
Prices for devices such as Microsoft's Surface said to deter consumers.
In addition to expectations over the iPad Mini hurting the PC market, the tablet's price is also expected to negatively impact Windows 8 devices.
Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said in an investor's note that the iPad Mini's main rivals are not 7-inch Android tablets, but rather Windows 8-powered tablets and PCs.
"We continue to believe iPad Mini is the competition's worst nightmare and will likely slow down adoption of competitor tablets," Wu said. "In particular, we believe this could end up being a very tough holiday season for Windows 8."
The analyst believes the iPad Mini's $329 price tag will attract consumers more when compared some of the new Windows 8 devices that have higher prices. He referred to Microsoft's $599 Surface RT tablet that is "arguably overpriced." While consumers may believe the iPad Mini is overpriced when compared to other 7-inch tablets such as Google's Nexus 7, Wu suggested that Apple is just following its usual strategy.
"This controversy reminds us of what happened with iPod Mini and iPod Nano," he said. "Both predecessors were criticized as being overpriced but went on to do much better than expected. The key reason being high quality at a reasonable price, and we see something similar here."
The iPad Mini, which launches in several territories today including the U.S. and UK, sold out of its initial pre-order inventory in 23 minutes. As for its price, Apple believes the tablet's quality warrants the premium price tag.
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A toy like iPmini can not be a direct competitor to Surface tablets. It's like comparing cars and semi trucks. They serve different markets and different needs. People will buy Surface for productivity and toy tablets for playing.
A toy like iPmini can not be a direct competitor to Surface tablets. It's like comparing cars and semi trucks. They serve different markets and different needs. People will buy Surface for productivity and toy tablets for playing.
LMAO, are you kidding me? Then what does he have to say about The new iPad? or even iPad 2 for that matter??
This just goes to show you that the guy is a paid advertiser for apple. Look at the source of this article.
How Rare....
When will Tom's stop reprinting this guy's trash?
I don't think iPad mini is Surface's biggest threat, it's Microsoft's inability to do anything right. Microsoft said they'll sell nearly 10 million of these next year. They'll be lucky with 5, and it will be sad to watch them throw away $1.5 billion in marketing costs to achieve 2-3 billion in sales.
Just ask your friends and family, who's in a rush to get the surface tablet for x-mas this holiday season. You see any high school kids envying their classmates with a surface? Anyone on facebook even mentioning it (besides sponsored storied)? You walk into a starbucks, library or a classroom, anyone using a surface yet? How about the commuter train or bus? It's been a week, I haven't seen a single one. It's a hackjob wannabe product that's three years too late to the market.
1024x768 on an 8" screen vs 1366x768 on a 10" screen.
A5 vs Tegra 3.
Best (well, largest) app store vs Office.
$330 vs $500
Now compare each to Nexus 7 and they both look like highway robbery.