Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
ZDNET poses an interesting question: Has Apple redfeined the tablet as an 8in device?
http://www.zdnet.com/has-apple-redef...79/?s_cid=e539
I'm thinking they might have. Purely by accident.
The evidence isn't the iPad mini by itself but the Mini within the context of the evolution of the tablet market in the second half of 2012. |
I believe that the premise of the article is flawed. The author assumes that the 7" tablets are more desirable because of the size, and appears to dismisses the fact that the 7" tablets are less expensive. So is it size or price? I contend it is price.
The anti-Apple contingent for years has been claiming that Apple products are "boutique" items where customers are paying a premium for the brand. They dismissed the quality of the products, and did not place a monetary value on the engineering involved to make something like the Macbook Pro.
These Apple detractors pointed to the significantly lower prices of Windows-based laptops as "proof". They inadvertently made Windows-based computers a commodity... ie. "price" being the highest priority, value being of less if any importance.
Consumers have been trained to view Apple in that light... and Apple did nothing to correct that perception.
Enter the iPad 1....
Only Apple made money on 10" tabs because they were out there first (I'm ignoring the previous attempts Windows-based tabs) and set the bar for price. Everyone was shocked when the price of the iPad was announced. After ridiculing the iPad, competitors scrambled to produce 10" tabs but were unable to beat Apple's prices on the iPads.
10" tabs were $200, $300, and up more expensive than the iPad. With the consumer mindset that Apple products are "overpriced boutique" items, it is absolutely no surprise that these non-iPad tabs failed to gain traction. Why would price-sensitive consumers pay MORE for a commodity device than for a boutique device?
So the only thing that competitors could do was to produce a 7" tablet. The sole reason: price. They could sell a 7" tab for $150-200 less than an iPad. Consumers, having been trained to be price sensitive, buy them because they cost less.
If I'm correct, then when high quality 10" tabs are produced that cost less than an iPad, we should see sales of 10" tabs rise.