iPad mini et al - Page 6

Lergnom · 10-31-2012, 03:57 PM

BTW, in the realm of how things are reported. I read the Asustek executive's words I noted above. Then I read them in a blog that linked to a report of the words. The link said the executive referred to actual sales. I didn't see that in the original story. Now I'm seeing links to the story reporting on the original story. It may be he referred to actual sales but if so it wasn't in the original source and now there's a link to a story that only cites a source that doesn't say what the link says. That is how accuracy is lost.

I was interested in HTML5 when it came out. I've never liked flash. It's a resource hog. But I'm in a non-profit that chose flash then because it was cheapest to do.

I distinguish between the business models too. But I separate Amazon. It is a merchandising business that, rather remarkably, remains afloat because it has seemingly unlimited support from Wall Street. It makes no money. It even loses money. I'm of mixed minds about it because a company that destroys the business of others while losing money on its own is in the long run not necessarily a good thing for us.

I think Google is aware of its margins but it has the benefit of dominance in a lucrative area of advertising related to search. It clearly thinks for the long run - see maps - and is willing to absorb cost but not like Amazon. Google mints cash. It is very profitable.

Apple's business is not as simple as it looks. They are, IMHO, driven as much by margins as anything else. The margin they make is their metric. This drives their obsession with their product supply chain. Witness the change in margin over time. It drops with new products added, ramps up as the products become more efficient, grows even more as older products continue to sell (like older phones, older iPads). I assume they figure that drop and rise into the iPad mini. Release the next one and the old one sells at higher margin even as the margins increase for this form factor generally.

xiggi · 10-31-2012, 04:44 PM

Quote:

I have trouble dealing with posts that include lines like this "passive tablets destined to the more gullible leisure market." I don't believe in denigrating the marketplace. If people buy the thing, they buy the thing. That's the market speaking.

Your trouble might have to do with dissecting one part of a sentence and overlooking the full context of a paragraph about the different target markets for the iPad and for the more complete devices that can run business applications.

This is what I wrote:

Quote:

The iPad will probably remain the leader for passive tablets destined to the more gullible leisure market, and perhaps the educational market. On the other hand, the new waves of tablets, hybrid, and ultrabooks will attract the business operators that value an interactive device that allows for input that transcends a finger or stylus. People might deride what MS or Google are introducing but the reality remains that running spreadsheets and processing text is a royal PITA on anything else than a device that looks and feels like a real computer, be a desktop or a bona fide laptop.

It is all a matter of expectations and productivity. As a consumer and user, I do not really care who makes a product as much as what I can do with it. And, to answer my friend EK, this has nothing to do with jumping on bandwagons or feeling left behind. I own and have been using Apple products from as long as I can remember; sometimes by choice, and other times by force (think in academic circles.)

As far as the iPad, perhaps we could look at the past threads on CC that discussed what people REALLY use their iPads for!

xiggi · 11-05-2012, 02:01 PM

I wonder how many here have made the plunge and bought the iPad Mini. I found mine to be better than expected and, fwiw, a nice position between the iPhone and the MacBook, reinforcing that it is much more than a phone and still less than a computer.

It is surprisingly thin and is more pleasant to use than the Kindle Fire.

Lergnom · 11-05-2012, 05:44 PM

The estimates are about 2+ million were sold over the weekend of the total of 3M new iPads - meaning the 4 and the mini - sold then. Ridiculous numbers. This is the point I keep making: the price is high because Apple is supply constrained. If demand were lower, the price would be lower.

Lergnom · 11-05-2012, 07:38 PM

BTW, I saw an estimate today that the Kindle Fire HD costs Amazon more than it sells for. The materials alone are $165. Even if it cost nothing to make and had no marketing, licensing, etc. costs, the gross margin would be a paltry 18%. (BTW, the place I read this had the price numbers reversed: with $9 for manufacturing the hardware cost is $174 in the original but the story lists it at $147.)

It's interesting how we take this. Many - sometimes including me - revel in the low prices and talk about how Amazon is interested in selling content. But the other side is they are predatory pricing, driving out competition in many markets because they, unlike other merchants, don't have to earn profits.

xiggi · 11-05-2012, 08:22 PM

Let me try again!

I wonder how many HERE have made the plunge and bought the iPad Mini. Here as in CC, not the US!

fendergirl · 11-05-2012, 08:26 PM

I do not know anyone that has bought one... yet. I'm sure someone will eventually. Then again, I only know two people with the larger ipad so who knows. I've never taken the plunge on an apple product before and don't intend to now. I did however not so subtly hint at a nexus 7 when my parents and I were at staples the other week.

blankmind · 11-05-2012, 08:35 PM

I happened to be looking at the mini and the ipad today. After playing around with the mini, I picked up the ipad and it really feels heavy in comparison. I wouldn't mind at all if someone bought me a mini.

oregon101 · 11-05-2012, 10:52 PM

I looked at the mini today with H. Ok--I hate how small the font is. I love how light and can so easily fit in my purse/bag. SO yes, 100%, am getting one and passing my ipad to my H (just 4 months old and he loves it). The last few months I have had to tote the ipad around in my bag as we traveled and add a water bottle and it is too much on my shoulder.

BCEagle91 · 11-05-2012, 10:54 PM

I may have to look at one. I've run into some App issues on the Nexus 7 that have me doubting the Android ecosystem a little.

BCEagle91 · 11-06-2012, 09:11 AM

I read an article from a person that has the Mini, Nexus 7 and Kindle. He likes the Mini. The only way I could justify it is if I gave one of our existing tablets away.

fendergirl · 11-06-2012, 06:32 PM

You can give one to me - lol.

Co worker just told me this morning that her daughter wants one of the little mini ipads for Christmas.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using CC

BCEagle91 · 11-06-2012, 07:09 PM

I was going to give it to my mother - she has no internet access and we could do the 3G plan on the iPad 2.

Lergnom · 11-09-2012, 07:02 PM

This freaked me out: per MS, the 32GB Surface has 16GB available after you allow for all the built-in stuff. By contrast, a 32GB iPad has about 28GB available. By "built-in", I mean the OS and built-in apps.

This isn't good. I had expected somewhere closer to 21 or 22GB free but MS says the 32GB has 16GB free and the 64GB has only 45GB free.

xiggi · 11-09-2012, 08:15 PM

Storage is much less an issue in tablets with expansion slots.

How much would a 64GB card set you back? Fifty or sixty bucks! How many flashdrives do frequent travelers have? I know I have more than a dozen of various sizes, and they are helpful in keeping storage nicely organized. And there is always Cloud storage.

Surface storage options | USB flash drive | Memory card

Additional storage options
In addition to the 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, the following storage options are available:
•USB flash drive or hard drive
•microSD, microSDHC, or microSDXC memory card
•Cloud storage using SkyDrive