iPad Mini – What’s Cooking?
In our previous post, we told about how analysts are predicting an early 2012 release of iPad3 based on the increased estimates of iPad builds. Now the latest buzz as per a report from Taiwan United Daily News is – that Apple is contemplating with the idea of a 7.35-inch tablet. Could this be an iPad Mini – a new category of product from Apple?
This could be a surprising move, because Steve Jobs previously dismissed the idea of a tablet with this size. He was joking that these tablets should come with sandpaper so that users can sand down their fingers to use these devices. As per Jobs, Apple did extensive user testing and they know their stuff in this area. Considering this, what could be the reason for a move like this now? It is possible that the soon to be released 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire might have changed the equations. Apple might be thinking to take Kindle Fire head on and maintain its supremacy in tablet market.
There’s another point of view also. Brian White of Ticonderoga feels that ‘mini’ might be from the price perspective – a tablet around $200 range. This is also very much possible, as a move like this will help Apple in taking on the Android based tablets. While iPad caters to the high-end market, with a low-cost iPad Mini Apple can have best of both worlds. In this quarter, iPad sales crossed 10million for the first time since its launch and this indicates the future potential of tablet market. We have to wait and watch if Apple will indeed launch an iPad Mini. But if it does, do you think consumers will queue for them also?
