# Mini iPad over Kindle Fire?



## Guest (Dec 19, 2011)

Hey everyone,

A few days ago I came across some news that state apparently Apple are looking to innovate a 'Mini iPad' in retaliation to the mass demand for the Kindle Fire. 

In my opinion, if the Mini iPad somehow isn't priced relatively level to the Fire, I do not think this will cause much of a problem to Amazon sales in terms of competition. What do you guys think of the Mini iPad idea? Do you think it will challenge the Kindle?


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

swiftness91 said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> A few days ago I came across some news that state apparently Apple are looking to innovate a 'Mini iPad' in retaliation to the mass demand for the Kindle Fire.
> 
> In my opinion, if the Mini iPad somehow isn't priced relatively level to the Fire, I do not think this will cause much of a problem to Amazon sales in terms of competition. What do you guys think of the Mini iPad idea? Do you think it will challenge the Kindle?


The price will have to be lower than the Fire's for the new demand.


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2011)

Shastastan said:


> The price will have to be lower than the Fire's for the new demand.


Exactly! And if I'm being honest, I do not see that happening. Hmmm...


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't think it will have to be lower, necessarily.  It will depend on the feature set, but I think it could be as much as $50 more and have a lot of demand due to Apple's reputation for slick innovative products.

Betsy


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I think it will also come down to personal preference. For me if you lay a Fire and a 7 inch ipad in front of me, even for the same price, I will still pick the Fire. I am not really hip on Apple stuff and I cannot for the life of me figure out Itunes. I am not dumb when it comes to this stuff, but that has to be the most non intuitive software I have ever used.

I have a prepaid iphone I haven't hooked up to it again after everything went wrong the last time. I even had to take Itunes off my computer as it wasn't working. 

So for me it would be a personal thing. If someone is already in the itunes and I thingy world, I would assume they would get the mini pad. 

Not seeing any ithingy costing 200 dollars though.


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## MartyS (Feb 3, 2011)

Basically a mini-iPad would be a larger iPod touch, currently the cheapest touch is about the same price as the Fire, so it's highly doubtful a larger version would be cheaper.

There is a void in the iPod - iPad size range, so it would make sense for them to come out with something the size of the fire.  One of the reasons I got a Fire was because occasionally I wanted a larger screen on my iPod touch, the Fire fills that need nearly perfectly (being able to add more memory with a micro SD card slot would make it perfect...).


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2011)

I agree with the personal preference aspect for sure, however for those who are in the decision-making process on what to purchase (no specific preference), do you not feel that the Mini iPad would threat Amazon Kindle Fire sales? 

If I was to work for Apple and I was deliberately innovating a product to compete with the Fire, I would focus more on the e-reading aspect. If they can come up with something even more interactive than the Fire then that could be enough to lure decision makers away. 

Right now the Kindle Fire is on Fire lol in terms of sales. I am looking forward to seeing if this speculation materializes.


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## KimberlyinMN (Dec 30, 2009)

Do you suppose they'd call it the iPantiliner?


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## ellesu (Feb 19, 2009)

I also read something about a possible smaller iPad. What I don't get is the thinking that Amazon is in competion with Apple on the iPad issue. My thinking (flawed as it could be) is that Amazon's main intent with the Fire is to sell - sell (or rent) books, movies, music, and other _stuff._ And the Fire does that quite well - in fact my Fire is proving to be devilishly seductive.  I'm reading (and enjoying) magazines again. I'm buying music again. I can't say my Fire has increased my ebook reading - my K2 had already accomplished that. Although I do want to check out graphic novels.  Yep. Amazon pretty much owns me online shopping and media wise and that's okay because we travel a lot with dh's job and Amazon always manages to have the big brown truck get all sorts of goodies (and necessities) to me. When I need to look at replacing my laptop or netbook I won't be getting rid of my Fire I'll just add another tool to help accomplish what I need to do.

I still do the lion's share of my shopping locally. Amazon has drawn me back into areas of spending I'd abandoned. Before I bought my K2 if I ordered a book it was from online used book sites - I'd given up hardback books because of the price. When my dd gave me a Keurig I would not have continued buying K cups for it if I hadn't found good prices on Amazon. Yet I still pick up a Starbucks when I'm in Target. And....I'll stop thinking out loud now.


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## Guest (Dec 20, 2011)

I bet Apple people will love it, and it may also cannibalize iPad sales, but Amazon people won't bother with it.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

foreverjuly said:


> I bet Apple people will love it, and it may also cannibalize iPad sales, but Amazon people won't bother with it.


Of course this implies the two sets are completely non-congruent. In fact, there are quite a few folks who have both Apple products and Amazon devices. . . . .


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I don't think it will have to be lower, necessarily. It will depend on the feature set, but I think it could be as much as $50 more and have a lot of demand due to Apple's reputation for slick innovative products.
> 
> Betsy


The savings this device would mean to me in app purchases alone would make it an easy decision to buy the smaller iPad over the Fire, even at a higher cost.

I'm excited and hopefully we hear something firm earlier in the year than later, my budget will only extend to reading about said devices at the moment anyway, so I can wait! LOL!


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## jkeith0919 (Feb 19, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Of course this implies the two sets are completely non-congruent. In fact, there are quite a few folks who have both Apple products and Amazon devices. . . . .


I really like both Amazon & Apple products. If Apple did come out with a smaller iPad & it was not TOO much more expensive than a Fire, I would definitely go for the mini iPad. I was, however, not very invested in Amazon prior to getting my K3 this January. I buy a ridiculous amount of ebooks from them now, but I do not see myself reading a book on the Fire. I want it for apps, web browsing & streaming video. If a mini iPad was something I could afford I would definitely go that route as I think Apple's products are a thing of beauty.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I don't think it will have to be lower, necessarily. It will depend on the feature set, but I think it could be as much as $50 more and have a lot of demand due to Apple's reputation for slick innovative products.
> 
> Betsy





jkeith0919 said:


> If a mini iPad was something I could afford I would definitely go that route as I think Apple's products are a thing of beauty.


I rest my case... 

Betsy


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## CrystalStarr (Jan 17, 2011)

It'd be a good move for Apple I think. It'd sell. Apple lovers would buy it for their kids or just because. When I bought my Fire my one hesitation was the fact that I've owned iTouches and an iPhone so I've invested in apps for that platform. So in a way an IPad would have made sense. Except for the price!  And honestly the size.

If there was a mini ipad I would have thought longer about it. But in the end I think the Fire would still have won out for me as I just love my Kindles. 

It'll all.come.down to individual preference.


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## Bob327 (Nov 17, 2011)

I purchased my fire mainly because of its small size that I could actually carry with me...  So I actually would be interested in a Mini Ipad.. 

Cost honestly is not a huge factor BUT I sure would not buy an mini ipad for twice the price of my fire...

Bob G


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Bob327 said:


> I purchased my fire mainly because of its small size that I could actually carry with me... So I actually would be interested in a Mini Ipad..
> 
> Cost honestly is not a huge factor BUT I sure would not buy an mini ipad for twice the price of my fire...
> 
> Bob G


Same here.


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

This is all just rumor since Apple hasn't announced anything and typically doesn't until the product is close to shipping, but I suspect a $299 7.45" iPad (that's the rumored screen size) would do quite well. People will pay a premium for quality, and Apple's reputation is top of the line right now. 

Remember, too, that users of Apple products might like the idea of going with an Apple device over a different manufacturer just so all their files and software have a better chance of syncing between devices. People pay for convenience too.


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## pitbullandfire (Nov 27, 2011)

Bob327 said:


> I purchased my fire mainly because of its small size that I could actually carry with me... So I actually would be interested in a Mini Ipad..
> 
> Cost honestly is not a huge factor BUT I sure would not buy an mini ipad for twice the price of my fire...
> 
> Bob G


x3 I'd be very interested depending on the price.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RobertKindle (Nov 22, 2011)

I don't know if it would have to be priced better than the Kindle Fire.  I would gladly purchase one especially if it had 16 GB of memory


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## gilly78201 (Nov 12, 2011)

it's all about price. will apple gets off their high horse, and sell a product people can afford? we will see. if this rumored mini ipad came true, I'd only be willing to spend 200-250, and I get a feeling it wont be so low.


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## MartyS (Feb 3, 2011)

gilly78201 said:


> it's all about price. will apple gets off their high horse, and sell a product people can afford? we will see. if this rumored mini ipad came true, I'd only be willing to spend 200-250, and I get a feeling it wont be so low.


That's where the iPod touch is priced now, so they would have to cut the price on the iPod touch in half in order to sell an iPad mini in that price range. Hard to imagine them doing that but it would be great...


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## Edge (Mar 6, 2009)

MartyS said:


> That's where the iPod touch is priced now, so they would have to cut the price on the iPod touch in half in order to sell an iPad mini in that price range. Hard to imagine them doing that but it would be great...


It'll never happen. Apple will market their 7" tablet as superior in every way to the Fire, and will thereby justify the price difference by stating the millions of apps available, Apple styling/attention to detail, super-smooth scrolling, etc. Afterall, the iPad has the same internals as the iPod/iPhone. All Apple has to do is slap the same internals into a 7" case and there you have it (with a smaller battery, obviously).

The 7" iPad will cost a lot more than the Fire, and the Apple faithful will gobble it up hook, line, and sinker.

Has anyone seen the Samsung ads for the Galaxy SII parodying the Apple faithful? Sadly, the parody is actually quite accurate (much to the chagrin of nearly every Apple faithful person I know).


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

I would probably buy it.  

My daughter wants a tablet but the Kindle Fire isn't set up in a way where I would feel comfortable letting her use it on her own.  I like the way the iPad is set up but I just can't see myself spending $500+ to get her one of her own.  The iPod touch is an option but I'm afraid it is a bit too small.  I don't want to get the Nook Tablet since I am already set up with Amazon and Apple content and really don't want to add a third company to the mix.

An iPad that cost $200-$300 would fix my problem.


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

gilly78201 said:


> it's all about price. will apple gets off their high horse, and sell a product people can afford? we will see. if this rumored mini ipad came true, I'd only be willing to spend 200-250, and I get a feeling it wont be so low.


The iPad was priced at HALF at what everyone expected it to be, and what prior tablets were selling for at it's introduction. They started the tablet price war, and notice that there hasn't been much competiion at the iPad size/specs until recently. Competing tablets have been the 7" size because that is where they needed to be for pricing.

I have no clue what they'd do for pricing, with the overlap of pricing with the touch, it will be interesting.

But $299 and I'm buying one. At least.


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## Christopher Hunter (Apr 11, 2011)

I don't think Apple will do it for the same reason they don't sell the first generation iPad now. They'd be undercutting themselves when they already have a reputation as tops. Amazon is probably a generation or two away from truly, truly competing with Apple in the tablet market. Until then, Apple will probably stand pat and release update versions of what they have.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

See, and I don't think Amazon is putting 'competing with Apple' at the top of their 'to do' list. I think they're looking to build up their own niche market and have their own group of fans. . .at which they've succeeded admirably so far with all the Kindles -- including the Fire. It's a _completely different sort of product_ than the iPad and, as has been mentioned, many here see no conflict in owning one of each.

Admittedly, there are people who will ONLY buy Apple devices . . . .so they probably won't go with a smaller screen device unless Apple makes it. Heck, there are probably people who won't EVER buy an Apple device and won't get a larger screen tablet unless Apple DOESN'T make it. Still, if Apple thinks they can make money on it, they'll do it and sell it for whatever they can. Their right.

Full Disclosure: I admit being reasonably invested into the Android OS so would likely pass on an apple device unless it was just absolutely spectacular.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I also don't see Amazon as being in competition with Apple with the Fire but rather with B&N and their Nook line...  and I love my Apple devices...but since I have an iPad 1, an i'Touch and a Fire, a smaller version of the iPad doesn't interest me.

Betsy


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

I always said "If Apple came out with a 7" iPad I'd be all over it."  At this point, though, if Apple came out with a 7" one next year, I probably wouldn't jump on it yet, simply because of what I already have now.  I have an iPad (bought a a good discount after the iPad 2 came out).  I use it some, but I use my Fire and iPhone more, and it's because of the size.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I don't see Apple doing this unless they sell it at a high price.  Their 8GB ipod touch is almost $200 (with the 32 GB at about $300), so a 7" tablet would be more than that.  I don't see their ipod touch prices coming down in the near future either.


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