# All's fair in love and war in the tablet arena.



## Decon (Feb 16, 2011)

Amazon Highlights iPad shortcomings on the product page. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/amazon/9640402/Amazon-mocks-iPad-Mini-in-advert-highlighting-Apple-tablets-shortcomings.html


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## WriteJoMichaels (Oct 29, 2012)

Ouch. They're getting awfully cut-throat out there. I have an older Kindle Fire (2011) and am in love with my apps. I want to get my hands on the new one. I love some of the features like text to audio and author profiles right from the device.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Word is that the day after the iPad mini was announced, Amazon sold a record number of Kindle Fires. . . . .


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Word is that the day after the iPad mini was announced, Amazon sold a record number of Kindle Fires. . . . .


I read that, too. I think that a lot of people were waiting to see what Apple had to offer before they made their decision. And Microsoft unveiled their tablet just before Apple's announcement, so those folks who wanted to compare Amazon, Apple, Nexus, and Microsoft could do so. Obviously a lot of them chose one of the new Kindle Fires.


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## Zero (Jan 27, 2011)

I'm a pretty big fan of apple products...but I just don't get the ipad mini pricing.  To make a difference, they needed (IMHO) to price it around $250.  I know I'm not getting one any time soon, happy with my iPad version 2...and the Kindle Fire HD, Nook Color - I've got enough toys


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## CrystalStarr (Jan 17, 2011)

I was actually thinking of upgrading my iPad 2 to a 3 or doing the new mini. I waited until the mini was announced just to have all of my information. In the end I found the whole Apple announcement so strange and their pricing so crazy I upgraded my Original Fire to a new HD, 7 inch.  I'm loving my decision and I saved a lot of money.


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## kltmom (Jan 9, 2012)

I was also waiting for the iPad mini announcement before deciding what to do next....my daughter has the original Fire (her x-mas present last year) but I'm eyeing the Fire HD (7") for her x-mas present this year, especially because it has the front-facing camera; the improved graphics, UI, faster processor, thinner/lighter form factor, and better touch-responsiveness are all great too.  I was ready to get her the iPad mini IF it was at a good price point.  I mean, I certainly didn't expect it to be priced at $199 but I was thinking in the $249-299 price range, maybe.  The $329 starting price really turned me off, though.  There's just something about it breaking the $300 barrier...too much.  I will only consider it if I can get it on a good sale or discount that makes it lower than $300.  My daughter is asking to use my iPad2 more and more (she also likes taking pics and making videos with it a lot, she uses my old Droid Incredible phone like an iPod touch to do so); as a result my younger daughter is using the Fire more and more.  I'm planning on giving the Fire to my younger daughter and getting something new for my older daughter, but as of now I'm unsure between the Fire HD or iPad mini, or even maybe the iPad2 if I could get either of the iPads at a good price.


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

Zero said:


> I'm a pretty big fan of apple products...but I just don't get the ipad mini pricing. To make a difference, they needed (IMHO) to price it around $250. I know I'm not getting one any time soon, happy with my iPad version 2...and the Kindle Fire HD, Nook Color - I've got enough toys


The main difference here is Apple prices products with a profit built in, and everyone else is selling at/near cost. IT was stated during their financial call last week that the mini's margin is less than any of their other products. They expect the margin to increase as component prices decrease. But, they aren't willing to make it a loss leader.

When Apple introduced the iPad they were making money at a price point no one could compete at. They leveraged their relationships with suppliers and made it work. No one else has been able to reach that ability (perhaps Samsung because they sell to themselves), and with the fast life-cycle of the current market they might not ever see them become profitable.

The tablet market has become a race to the bottom, not unlike the App market, and "they" are banking on quantity over quality in making money on the sales.


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## CrystalStarr (Jan 17, 2011)

I guess I just expected it to be more advanced in some way.  I certainly haven't memorized all of the absolute specifics so I could very well be wrong. But isn't this really mostly just a smaller iPad 2 (announced a year a half ago?).  If it was more in line with the iPad 4 or even the 3 then I could look at that price a little differently.


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

CrystalStarr said:


> I guess I just expected it to be more advanced in some way. I certainly haven't memorized all of the absolute specifics so I could very well be wrong. But isn't this really mostly just a smaller iPad 2 (announced a year a half ago?). If it was more in line with the iPad 4 or even the 3 then I could look at that price a little differently.


At this point apparently the screen is the biggest cost item. To have put a retina one in would have been wayyyyy more expensive from what I have read. I glazed over at the tech aspect of it that made it so high, I think it is related to the touch screen aspect though.

Apple has never ever been about specs - their lower spec'd products often work better than others higher spec'd ones. It is the way they have always been in all their areas. They build the hardware to do what they expect it to do, and it normally works very well.

We have sooooooo much investment in iOS that i honestly can't see switching. I haven't totally ruled it out - but I keep pondering and reading and being thankful that I am broke and don't HAVE to decide right now!


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## jonathanmoeller (Apr 19, 2011)

I very strongly suspect that 90% of people who buy tablets primarily use them for web browsing, social media, and media consumption. So if you don't need any other features, why not spend $199 instead of $329?

Of course, Apple did sell their entire initial run of iPad Minis. So that might be an influential 10%!


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## Zero (Jan 27, 2011)

TraceyC/FL said:


> When Apple introduced the iPad they were making money at a price point no one could compete at. They leveraged their relationships with suppliers and made it work. No one else has been able to reach that ability (perhaps Samsung because they sell to themselves), and with the fast life-cycle of the current market they might not ever see them become profitable.


Yeah, I understand all that and hence why when I bought the original iPad, I knew what I was getting. Loved it, and was hooked. I was hoping they would leverage their buying power and brought the price of the iPad mini more reasonable (at least reasonable in my head). The $329 starting price is a big factor for me, I just can't justify it enough. Maybe if I get rid of my iPad 2 - it would make sense to get the mini...but then again, I have an iPad 2 3G with 32GB. So comparative 32GB mini with LTE is $559. I would go with a WIFI only, but a 32GB is $429. I can't see it make sense in my head.



TraceyC/FL said:


> We have sooooooo much investment in iOS that i honestly can't see switching. I haven't totally ruled it out - but I keep pondering and reading and being thankful that I am broke and don't HAVE to decide right now!


I'm in the same boat. I have hundreds of dollars in apps that I've bought over the years and probably equivalent hundreds of dollars in digital music. But what is helping (and smart of Amazon) is all the free apps and sales of apps/music. So now it is more balanced for me, and the free Amazon Prime video is a huge plus factor. Over the summer, I also started buying a lot of Amazon digital music (summer sale really started my buying spree)...so I'm now straddling the android line. Probably not what my Apple devices like to hear.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Zero said:


> I'm in the same boat. I have hundreds of dollars in apps that I've bought over the years and probably equivalent hundreds of dollars in digital music. But what is helping (and smart of Amazon) is all the free apps and sales of apps/music. So now it is more balanced for me, and the free Amazon Prime video is a huge plus factor. Over the summer, I also started buying a lot of Amazon digital music (summer sale really started my buying spree)...


If you use the Amazon MP3 uploader for your music, you can transfer your iTunes library to Amazon, and with the MP3 downloader you can load your Amazon music to iTunes. I've used this to combine libraries across 3 laptops and a desktop.


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## Zero (Jan 27, 2011)

BTackitt said:


> If you use the Amazon MP3 uploader for your music, you can transfer your iTunes library to Amazon, and with the MP3 downloader you can load your Amazon music to iTunes. I've used this to combine libraries across 3 laptops and a desktop.


Yeah...I just didn't want to pay $25/year...ugh...more money.


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## 3pointers (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm with the rest of you.  I really was hoping for a lower price on the ipad mini.  We have the original iPad and it's getting to that point where so many apps are crashing on it because they're being written for newer iPads (same thing happening to my MacBook Pro as my OSX is 5..

I would immediately jump on the Kindle Fire 8.9 but some of my favorite game apps are not developed for Android.

I'll probably end up with a full size iPad, but then my husband will want a newer one too.  I just need to be rich to have all these cool gadgets


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## ginaf20697 (Jan 31, 2009)

As if it wasn't pretty obvious how overpriced the iPad mini is this teardown had the parts totaled at $188 and it's even worse for the versions with more memory.

http://allthingsd.com/20121103/teardown-shows-apple-ipad-mini-costs-at-least-188-to-build/


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Actually, that surprises me as I always expect retail to be roughly twice cost; so I would have expected the parts cost to be lower, especially since there are other costs involved than just parts.

Betsy


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

I thought this was an interesting editorial on the subject or pricing.

I do worry about the race to the bottom in pricing and what it means for competition, if there is no money to be made no one will really be able to come along and up the ante.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/03/editorial-amazon-and-google-are-undermining-mobile-pricing/

Would I like the price to be cheaper on the iPad Mini - sure, but I guess I don't expect Apple to produce a loss leader either. I expect as production costs go down, it might be one of the few products to get a lower price. Time will tell, but Apple's loyalties are to its shareholders, and I bet they would have been ticked to find out it created a new margin for the mini too.


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