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iPad Mini's $329 Price May Hurt Windows 8 Devices

By - Source: AppleInsider | B 38 comments

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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Top Comments
  • 27 Hide
    Anonymous , November 3, 2012 11:37 AM
    Google's Nexus 7 $249 Price May Hurt Apple's iPad mini Device
  • 22 Hide
    izmanq , November 3, 2012 11:58 AM
    what high quality and reasonable price ? :| screen res 1024x600, and 512 mb ram, dual corea 1 GHz proc, for that specs they want you to pay 329 USD, high quality and reasonable my ass, not to mention that stupid map app. people buy this only for the stupid logo, so they can flash it around :p 
  • 21 Hide
    house70 , November 3, 2012 11:17 AM
    Sterne Agee put a lot of stock into AAPL, as expected, so their "analysts" will obviously do anything and everything to keep the value high, including making erroneous reports like this one.
    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.
Other Comments
    Display all 38 comments.
  • 20 Hide
    friskiest , November 3, 2012 10:10 AM
    MS isn't aiming for a blockbuster sale with the Surface RT,. its supposed to show what MS has to offer in the tablet/ultramobile market,. with that I believe they succeeded,.
  • 18 Hide
    vaughn2k , November 3, 2012 10:30 AM
    Is WU an Apple investor?
  • 21 Hide
    house70 , November 3, 2012 11:17 AM
    Sterne Agee put a lot of stock into AAPL, as expected, so their "analysts" will obviously do anything and everything to keep the value high, including making erroneous reports like this one.
    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.
  • 27 Hide
    Anonymous , November 3, 2012 11:37 AM
    Google's Nexus 7 $249 Price May Hurt Apple's iPad mini Device
  • 22 Hide
    izmanq , November 3, 2012 11:58 AM
    what high quality and reasonable price ? :| screen res 1024x600, and 512 mb ram, dual corea 1 GHz proc, for that specs they want you to pay 329 USD, high quality and reasonable my ass, not to mention that stupid map app. people buy this only for the stupid logo, so they can flash it around :p 
  • 13 Hide
    RealBeast , November 3, 2012 12:10 PM
    vaughn2kIs WU an Apple investor?
    Probably. Clowns like him are always pimping for companies where they have some interest or business relationship.
  • 18 Hide
    deftonian , November 3, 2012 12:21 PM
    Quote:
    He referred to Microsoft's $599 Surface RT tablet that is "arguably overpriced."


    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.
  • 9 Hide
    fat_panda , November 3, 2012 12:25 PM
    I still think Apple got it wrong in the pricing of iPad Mini, it's $130 more expensive than the Nexus 7!! But the world won't care and buy it anyways.
  • 15 Hide
    tacobravo , November 3, 2012 12:45 PM
    So he just compared a basic ipad mini to the surface with the cover on it. He should of compared it to the $499.99 one and mention that the ipad min does not come with Microsoft Home and Student 2013 Preview. Makes the ipad mini look like crap plus with the 16 GB Nexus 7 at $199.99...
  • 11 Hide
    southernshark , November 3, 2012 12:54 PM
    A random Zak Islam "Apple Moment"

    How Rare....

    When will Tom's stop reprinting this guy's trash?
  • 10 Hide
    beayn , November 3, 2012 1:26 PM
    There was too much positive Windows 8 / Surface news lately so Zak needed to post this ASAP. Can't have shares in Apple dropping again.
  • 2 Hide
    JBB-SaDo , November 3, 2012 1:26 PM
    The should have had someone with really small hands hold it....;)
  • 2 Hide
    avatar_raq , November 3, 2012 2:20 PM
    The surface is overpriced if compared to Nexus 7 not iPad mini. The 7.9" iPad mini 32GB + smart cover goes for $468 while the 11" surface with cover/KEYBOARD is $599, IMO both are equally overpriced. If this was the price for surface pro however, it would be very reasonable.
  • 10 Hide
    ojas , November 3, 2012 2:46 PM
    Yeah because someone looking for a 10.6 inch or 11" Windows tablet would suddenly buy a 7.9" iOS one.
  • 1 Hide
    iknowhowtofixit , November 3, 2012 4:33 PM
    I'd bet someone an iPad Mini that Zak Islam is going to write a Pro Apple article for his next piece!
  • 4 Hide
    eklipz330 , November 3, 2012 4:58 PM
    i might get TD'd for this, but i kinda like the size of the mini... i wish a nexus 8" would come out.
  • 3 Hide
    Anonymous , November 3, 2012 5:14 PM
    I would agree that the surface is over priced at $599. That's probably why it actually costs $499
  • 2 Hide
    sarcasm , November 3, 2012 5:57 PM
    Apple just has to price it at $329 to maximize profits. Never ever give anything to the consumer right off the bat. Would $299 really have hurt them that bad?
  • -2 Hide
    zubikov , November 3, 2012 6:17 PM
    Played with MS surface tablets this week, they feel clunky and 3 years behind the competition. Very unintuitive interface, lack of multitouch gestures and crappy maps. That's what $499 gets you. Everyone in the store was just as irritated with the interface and spent more time trying to figure out how to do anything on the tablet and commenting on its imperfections. Meanwhile, everyone already knows how to use an iPad mini, they feel light and smooth to the touch. Apple maps may be crap compared to Google Maps on the Nexus 7, but it's eons ahead of Microsoft.

    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.
  • 0 Hide
    killerclick , November 3, 2012 7:05 PM
    iPad Mini is not overpriced when compared to Surface.
    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.
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