iPad Mini Could Retail For $250, Delete iPad 2

Nerval's Lobster writes "If the Apple rumor mill proves correct, the unveiling of the iPad Mini this week could mean sayonara for the iPad 2. At least, that's the prediction of Evercore Partners analyst Rob Cihra, who wrote in a recent note to investors that he believes Apple will remove the iPad 2 from its lineup to make room for a smaller tablet. Apple insider excerpted parts of Cihra's note Oct. 19. Of course, that's just one analyst speculating about the future plans of a company known for playing things close to the proverbial vest: Apple's Oct. 23 event in California could feature all sorts of surprises. So what do we know about the iPad Mini? First, that it might not be called the iPad Mini — that's a moniker dreamed up by the press. Second, a cheaper and smaller iPad could impact the market for e-readers and 'price-sensitive users,' according to J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, which in turn could mean a challenging future for Amazon, Google, and other IT vendors marketing cheaper tablets. Third, the media—driven by unnamed sources and blurry spy photos—seems to have collectively settled on a 7.85-inch screen without a high-resolution Retina Display."

Comments

Bon Voyage

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't get all the hype with the iPad. I really don't.

Re:Bon Voyage

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, but it could sell for $250 or..... it could not!

It's a rumour. It's not news.

What do we know about an iPad mini? Nothing until it has been announced.

Re:Bon Voyage

[emagery]

I'm holding out, myself, for the all-in-one tablet... powerful enough to manage as an IT/developer's tool (I figure they're close enough already, but to the point that I won't be crippled without a laptop nearby) and includes FULL telephony... I realize one isn't about to hold a tablet up to their ear, but with bluetooth one could have one of those in-ear things just as they do now with an iphone... I'm simply not willing to buy multiple devices that have so much overlap but one damn feature or two that is unique when there's really no good reason for it.

Re:Bon Voyage

[Tridus]

Maybe you just don't have a use for one. A lot of people don't. Nothing wrong with that.

For me, it's a laptop replacement. Since I have a desktop and don't have a laptop, I just got an iPad instead. All I wanted was something I could read on that's portable, and it does a great job at that. Plays games, has my music (and an occasional movie), does browsing and email really well, has my ebooks, etc.

Battery life lasts far longer then a laptop does and it's more portable. Since I don't do real "work" with it, the limitations don't matter and its better then a laptop at everything I'd use it for. Doesn't even come close to replacing my desktop, but it augments it perfectly.

Re:Bon Voyage

[LDAPMAN]

Skype on iPad or Android and you have it. FaceTime and Messages work great too.

Re:Bon Voyage

[emagery]

Sadly, no... skype is currently not allowed to make emergency service calls. I'm speaking of a telephony service that is 100% exchangeable with modern requirements of having a damn phone number (yes, I hate phones.) If I didn't have to write down a phone number on forms I'd probably not even have one... but as long as I MUST, I'd just as soon not having to have a separate and ultimately unused object that handles it.

Re:Bon Voyage

[Anonymous Coward]

It's cause you don't own one. I used to feel the same way that you did until I decided to buy an iPad. Now I use it for tons of things which could all be done better by my laptop which usually sits, unused, a couple of feet away. But, never the less, I love my iPad, though I can't give you any rational reason why.

In short...it's an iPad thing. You just end up loving it without any reasonable justification.

Re:Bon Voyage

[afidel]

Use Google Voice for your contact number, no need for a physical phone. It still doesn't do e911, but I doubt that tablets will support e911 even after VoLTE is the norm due to it being such a niche use case.

Re:Bon Voyage

[warrigal]

I don't get all the hype with the iPad. I really don't.
This tells us more about you than it tells us about the iPad.

iPod cost

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't that cost less than an iPod?

Re:iPod cost

[Synerg1y]

An ipod touch, yes...http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/ipod_touch

Re:iPod cost

[Kenja]

It does, the difference is that an iPod Touch exists while an iPad Mini is just a theory at this point and any speculation as to its price is just that.

Re:iPod cost

[jspayne]

Yes, but the cheapest iPod Touch is a 32Gb model, while the cheapest iPads are 16Gb.

It's been a cyclic fad.

[Medievalist]

Tablet fads have come and gone... the iPad has actually done really well this time around, but I remember how the 486 tablets (that did all the same stuff at much lower resolution) were going to make PCs obsolete... sure they did.

Due to e-readers, I think this time around tablets might actually settle into a durable niche of their own. But a lot of people (such as myself) will never really have a use for one.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[slashmydots]

You would think it only takes 1 week for people en masse to determine you can't type remotely quickly on a tablet but indeed, it does seem to take 2-3 years. We do seem to be on the tail end of it though. I was more than happy to see netbooks go and these can follow right along.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[kiriath]

Uhh, *you* may not be able to type on a tablet quickly, but I can bust out some verbage with decent speed. Certainly well enough that I don't feel the need to go hunting for a 'physical' keyboard.

I doubt seriously this is a 'cyclic fad', they may not replace Desktop computers in whole, but there is a market and its not going away anytime soon.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

Due to e-readers, I think this time around tablets might actually settle into a durable niche of their own. But a lot of people (such as myself) will never really have a use for one. ...and a lot of people have a use for one. Both my 65+ parents for example use their iPads for several hours per day, to view photos of their grandchildren, play wordfeud and browse blogs and watch netflix. They do things with their iPads they never do with their laptop - such as purchasing and installing new applications. The form factor and convenience of the iPad really is great for them. Speed typing isn't really what they need.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, you're wrong. Old tablets sucked, hard. Current tablets (of both kinds) do 95% of what everyone wants to do everywhere but work, and they do it well.

Netbooks fell out of favor because a better device came along that did what they do, far better. No such option exists to replace tablets. They're not going anywhere, any time soon.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

how is typing on a tablet different from typing on a laptop keyboard with "chicklet keys"? it's seems like you're stuck in the 80s when keyboards had these gigantic inch high keys that clicked and clacked when you pressed them...sorry dad but those days are gone.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Missing.Matter]

True you can't type as fast on a tablet, so if that's all you wanted to do on a tablet they would indeed be useless. But drawing and writing on a tablet is certainly much more comfortable than on a desktop or a laptop. Tablets can also be used more conveniently on planes, the subway, while standing, or any number of places using a laptop or desktop is awkward. They can be passed around a room easily or turned around shown to a group. There are many use-cases for this form factor advantage. Touch interfaces are also more natural for many people. My 90 year old grandmother who's never used a computer in her life can use an iPad, because the interface and gestures are 1:1 with her movements, unlike a mouse (ever try explaining the difference between left-click, double click, and right click, and when to use each to someone completely new to computers?)

For the foregoing reasons, I don't see tablets as a fad anymore. They died before for technological reasons such as insufficient computational power, insufficient battery, terrible low resolution restive touch screens, and insane prices. This time around all the sweet spots seem to be met. For a long time tablets have been about consuming media, but I think as the touch interfaces mature we'll see the use cases expand. Just because they don't fit into your life doesn't mean they don't fit into anyone else's.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

Small lightweight laptops (14") were to a significant extent replaced by netbooks (14" + underpowered), and netbooks were replaced for the most part by small lightweight laptops. Maybe one is a subset of the other and nothing was actually replaced, just relabeled. (BTW, I am looking for a cheap tiny laptop, and found a lot of used thinkpad X series laptops on ebay.)

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[monkeyhybrid]

Most of the people I know who have a tablet, use it primarily for media consumption and typing speed is not really of much importance. Having said that, I can tap out emails and the like at a reasonable rate - I'd estimate something like 50ish words per minute. That's using the replacement Android keyboard, Hackers Keyboard, which I thoroughly recommend for most power users (gives you a normal qwerty layout with shift, ctrl, etc., buttons where you'd expect them to be).

If you think we're on the tail end of any fad though, you're very mistaken. Touch screen devices are the future of computing for most people's needs. PCs will be for power users, developers, office use, hardcore gaming, etc, but for what 95% of consumers do, a tablet is a perfect fit.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

probably no different if you hunt-and-peck as opposed to typing 80+ words a minute.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[XxtraLarGe]

Tablet fads have come and gone... the iPad has actually done really well this time around, but I remember how the 486 tablets (that did all the same stuff at much lower resolution) were going to make PCs obsolete... sure they did.

It's not for people like you and me. It's for people like my wife. She enjoys sitting in her chair and knitting while watching TV. Now she doesn't need to bump me off of the main computer in order to look up a pattern, she can pull it up while sitting in her chair, and she doesn't have to print it either. She also uses it for a camera. This weekend, an owl landed on the neighbor's porch, she was able to snap a photo and e-mail it, all without having to touch the computer. Perfect for her, and works well for me too.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[ToadProphet]

That's likely because you use a computer to create some sort of content outside of work. I'd say the majority of people no longer fall under this category - most are almost purely content consumers, with the occasional email or facebook update. For them, the tablet is perfect - easy to use and carry around.

The 486 tablets came at a time when most folks using a computer outside of work were creating content, gaming, etc. The market simply wasn't there.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

80+ words per minute, lol, what are you a fucking secretary? no one cares, fag.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[robthebloke]

Hush now whipper snapper! I use a netbook on my commute. Having clicky keys is very handy when you've actually learnt how to touch type. Touch screen keyboards simply do not offer any feedback whatsoever - it is simply impossible to feel your way across the keyboard at night (and since it's dark now when I leave the office, this is actually very important!). I can encrypt the hard drive (useful for the many gigs of company source code & data on it). I can easily log into the renderfarm at work via SSH/VPN. I can run the same dev environment as I use at work (CentOS & usual g++ toolset). I can use a "proper" text editor (you know, one you can set up macros, custom syntax highlighting, auto-correct, etc). In short, I can do everything on it that I ever need to do on a computer. (Oh, and it has 4Gb ram, a 750Gb hard drive, and an Nvidia ION GPU for full OpenGL 3.3 support). I have a smartphone if I need tablet functionality (which actually I don't. I need it as a phone!).

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Cinder6]

Can't type remotely quickly? According to speed tests, I can hit 70 wpm sustained--it only drops when I start having to use punctuation other than periods and commas. This is annoying, but I'm still able to type faster than most people can on a normal keyboard. (Granted, it's still significantly slower than my normal average.)

Of course, iPads aren't being used for serious work--at least, not for long periods. It's being used for web browsing, video watching, reading, etc.--all things that it does well.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[jeffmeden]

Tablet fads have come and gone... the iPad has actually done really well this time around, but I remember how the 486 tablets (that did all the same stuff at much lower resolution) were going to make PCs obsolete... sure they did.

Due to e-readers, I think this time around tablets might actually settle into a durable niche of their own. But a lot of people (such as myself) will never really have a use for one.

Capacitive (and multi-touch) screens completely change the way that tablets are used. No tablet in the past is worth comparing to something that you can comfortably (as long as you know where your fingers are) type a document up *with the screen*. This was really the turning point for tablets, before that they were a cool thing you could maybe use as an E-reader (but battery life tended to be pathetic) or a VERY clumsy virtual clipboard/sketchpad.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

but i still wonder exactly what "serious work" requires typing out an endless stream of text? transcribing your bosses ramblings for him? personally i consider that kind of crap to be "shit work" not "serious work"...

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[GospelHead821]

I'm just curious regarding your opinion of netbooks. You say that a better device came along. What device would that be? I'm very happy with my netbook less as a portable media machine and more as an ultralight writing desk. It is a handy platform for keeping all of my writing in one place: essays, speeches for my Toastmasters club, short stories, and my unfinished NaNoWriMo attempts.

I suspect that the better device[s] to which you're referring are the tablets that followed the netbooks. They're superiour media platforms but for light, mobile productivity, they aren't even really trying. I don't think that all the hype that netbooks generated was merited but I think that there will remain a modest market for devices that are legitimate laptops but low-power, light-weight, and inexpensive.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

ever try explaining the difference between left-click, double click, and right click, and when to use each to someone completely new to computers?

Oh, yes, God, yes. DOZENS of times. And I keep telling my mom, but she... does... not... get it, bless her heart. :)

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[0123456]

No tablet in the past is worth comparing to something that you can comfortably (as long as you know where your fingers are) type a document up *with the screen*.

Nor is any current tablet, unless your definition includes typing five words a minute with one hand while holding it in the other. Even typing a URL is painful on my Android tablet and from my experience with iPods I can't imagine the iPad is much better.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

The iPad is really natural if you use Apple's laptop keyboards. The key spacing is exactly the same, so you can use muscle memory providing you're not typing numbers or non-comma-period punctuation.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Lucky75]

I think he's referring to Ultrabooks, which are just as light, but vastly more powerful.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Samantha Wright]

Your lack of cynicism is refreshing. Repeat after me: "we geeks are (almost) alone in our desire to have productive potrable devices, and everyone else just consumes, perhaps with the occasional e-mail or trip to Facebook."

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Samantha Wright]

Oh, and while you're at it, repeat this too: "as I am already posting on Slashdot, it is absolutely certain that my personal anecdotes in no way reflect the behaviour or opinions of the majority."

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[blind biker]

Uhh, *you* may not be able to type on a tablet quickly, but I can bust out some verbage with decent speed. Certainly well enough that I don't feel the need to go hunting for a 'physical' keyboard.

For a very arbitrary definition of "decent". The fact remains that you will never be able to match the typing speed achieved on a keyboard, even with limited travel, when typing on a tablet's screen.

Not to mention that, when typing on a screen, you must keep your eyes on that "keyboard" like a fucking moron. I haven't looked at my keyboard in decades, because I clearly feel where the keys are.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[mcwop]

Ad to that, the fact that speech recognition is built in and works reasonably well - getting better by the day.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[kiriath]

As with anything if you do it enough you'll get a 'feel' for where everything is. I don't look at the keyboard intently when typing, though it is difficult not to see it at all because oddly enough it is right there on the screen.

The fact remains that, moderate typing speed discrepancy aside, they are not a fad and they're not going away anytime soon. The fact that PC speeds haven't dramatically increased in the past couple of years leads me to believe that companies will want to pour more R&D into areas where the market is moving, with very fast PC's readily available and relatively inexpensive (not to mention longer lasting now) people are spending their gadget dollars on other things, like tablets. That all being said this 'go-round' with tablets seems to me to be much more successful than previous iterations of the 'tablet'.

It may have been a fad in the past, but these days the tablet is making headway and I seriously doubt the PC community will pull together anything that could compete with the tablet.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

were going to make PCs obsolete... sure they did.

They certainly did, and continue to, for hundreds of thousands of users that aren't like you. Just what is it that you think you do that is so important that you need a PC? My guess is that whatever it may be it is fundamentally tied to your exaggerated sense of self-importance. Gosh. What would the world do if you couldn't fuck with your PC all day?

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Lumpy]

Fir the medical field and the insurance field? they did. But 486 was the 3rd generation. I had a 386sx Dauphin DTR1 tablet that was used heavily by the FBI and law enforcement in the early 90's.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Lumpy]

Old tablets did not suck. it was the craptastic OS and apps that sucked.

Honestly Windows Tablet editions all have been utter crap even to this day.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[GospelHead821]

Ahh. I must concede those two points. Not that I meant for my anecdote to serve as an irrefutable counterargument, of course. Just adding my perspective to the conversation. On that subject, though, I like to think that one of the ways in which geeks can serve their communities is by promoting geek-like enthusiasm for creativity and exploration in the people around them. Too often, we lament how unimaginative our neighbours are. I believe that it's worthwhile to encourage them, though.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[GodInHell]

I only lose about 10-15 wpm going from my keyboard to my XOOM. And the XOOM is out-of-date hardware. (I average 67-78 WPM [more when on a roll] on a keyboard, for a frame of reference). The error rate is higher, and the auto-correct is a bit tricky. But typing "at speed" isn't the issue.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[GodInHell]

Not to mention that, when typing on a screen, you must keep your eyes on that "keyboard" like a fucking moron. I haven't looked at my keyboard in decades, because I clearly feel where the keys are.

How does that even work? My hands are on the keyboard when I type on my tablet, I can't type and look at the keyboard at the same time. Usually I just stare off into space focusing on what I want to sound while tapping away.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[RMingin]

Chiclet. It's a brand of gum, so if you're going to use it as a generic name, you should probably spell it right.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

Certainly well enough that I don't feel the need to go hunting for a 'physical' leopard.

Thank you XKCD.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[blind biker]

It may have been a fad in the past, but these days the tablet is making headway and I seriously doubt the PC community will pull together anything that could compete with the tablet.

I'm not interested in the "tablets are a fad" discussion. I've not mentioned it in my post on purpose.

But just a quick remark: there is no "PC community".

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[PlusFiveTroll]

This. Here.

Microsoft did a great job of making tablets suck. So much so a market never developed. Apple came along and made a bigger more computing useful iphone and it took off. Android works well enough that I've seen many businesses use it in applications that a tablet is useful. Microsoft is still trying to jam Windows on a tablet and wondering why it fails.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Tough Love]

The fact remains that, moderate typing speed discrepancy aside...

Sorry, no, it's not a moderate typing speed discrepancy, it's a massive discrepancy, a factor of 3 at best and more like 10 in practice. Plus, typing on a touchscreen is an ergonomic horror. If you do it hours over a long period of time, bad things are going to happen to your eyes, hands and skeleton.

The only possible way a tablet can displace a PC for typing intensive applications is with an actual keyboard.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Tough Love]

I can tap out emails and the like at a reasonable rate - I'd estimate something like 50ish words per minute.

Wow, that's amazing, incredible. Could you please prove it by posting a video on Youtube?

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[jedidiah]

These "users" were just consumers like couch potatoes. There was really very little they were doing with PCs to begin with. The fact that their limited use of a PC as a web terminal got displaced with another sort of web terminal is not really terribly interesting or relevant.

Even their use of the web was entirely passive.

Tablets are great if you don't have to actually input anything.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[mattack2]

For a very arbitrary definition of "decent". The fact remains that you will never be able to match the typing speed achieved on a keyboard, even with limited travel, when typing on a tablet's screen.

I bet you can't type on a Blackberry keyboard as fast as a desktop computer keyboard either.

So what? Different interfaces have different "limitations", if you want to call it that. I suspect most people aren't typing so much at one time that they need to be able to type entire novels quickly. (Of course they also have other benefits.)

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[findoutmoretoday]

Sorry, no, it's not a moderate typing speed discrepancy, it's a massive discrepancy, a factor of 3 at best and more like 10 in practice.

Nope, I am always slow.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

The iPad is really natural if you use Apple's laptop keyboards. The key spacing is exactly the same, so you can use muscle memory providing you're not typing numbers or non-comma-period punctuation.

Kindly look at the URL for this page.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Jeremy Erwin]

My own personal experience is that the iPad is a reasonably portable version of the web. Yes, it can do other things

It's is great for reading scientific papers in pdf form
the kindle app is pretty good if you don't want e-ink
And, of course, there's internet videos, except from the wankers who believe that "mobile video" should be subject to it's own special set of restrictions
But Safari is excellent. If the iPad didn't have an internet browser (and couldn't run an internet browser) it wouldn't be useful.

These 486 tablets you speak of: Were they lightweight?-- two pounds will do. Could they run a internet browser? Was the web that entertaining at the time? Did they require a stylus?

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope, he was right... tablets.

Most of the people using netbooks were using them as inexpensive laptops for kicking around on the "net" and other simple stuff. Tablets turned out to be a more attractive form factor for most netbook use cases.

And nobody said netbooks are gone entirely, just that tablets are preferred. I think that's obvious. And it's the same with laptops and desktops... they're not "gone", just far, far fewer of them are being bought. Nowadays you don't have to buy a powerful machine with shit battery life, just to kick around on facebook... so people don't.

I doubt we'll have any idea about an end to the tablet market until we see something new. You could speculate about potential in wearable computing, but I'll be surprised if things go that route any time soon.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Jeremy Erwin]

The PC community needs a killer app-- something that needs the brawn of a full scale CPU and graphics card, yet is so sensitive to latency that the thin client server model can't work. I Know! Gaming! Zynga should talk to Crytek about making a killer farming game

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Samantha Wright]

I couldn't agree more.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

I know this is off topic here, but I'm asking you to start another Biology Q&A, per your sig. :)

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Spectre]

I agree, my speed of typing is lower on a tablet than on a real keyboard. The level of noise from typing on a tablet is much less though. Instead of needing to taking notes on pen & paper during conference calls (because a real keyboard would be too noisy) and having somebody do data entry from my notes, now I can take my notes during the call directly on a tablet (that can run throughout a workday on its internal battery easily) and they are ready to be sent directly from the tablet as the call concludes. Faster notes to the developers and project manager, better accuracy (because nobody has to do data entry from my handwriting).

It may be a limited use case, but that use case is half of my work week.

Yes, I'm in too many meetings. I take most of the pain so our other developers with fewer social graces don't have to (it keeps us all employed).

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[monkeyhybrid]

Ok, just recorded a very sketchy video, typing with one finger so I can hold the camera (not very well!) with my free hand. Typing pretty much what ever came into my head and then counted the words and typos and worked out typing rate from there. In the video, I have the tablet on a table but I think this is fairly representative of holding it with the other hand seeing as I'm balancing a camera anyway.

Words per minute: 41
Typos: 6 (couple spelling mistakes and 4 missed spaces)

I honestly don't normally make typos like that and if I didn't have to concentrate on holding a camera at the same time, I'm sure I could have done that typo free at ~50 words per minute. Maybe faster if I had planned what I was going to write.

If I was typing anything lengthy, I may put the tablet down on a surface and use two fingered pecking method. I think I'd be up to at least 60 words per minute then and with less typos. I'm sure there must be much faster tablet typers out there though!

I was going to upload the video to Youtube but it was pushing me to setup a Google+ account for that so I'm afraid I could not be bothered. You can play / download the MP4 from my Dropbox though.

Before anyone replies to this saying how crap 40/50 words per minute is compared to a physical keyboard typer, I am not disagreeing! I just wanted to point out that using a tablet for firing off emails, even IRC and document editing, is not much of a problem. You get used to typing on a tablet screen just as you had to get used to typing on your clunk-clunk Cherry. ;)

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[monkeyhybrid]

Right, just did roughly the same test with two fingered pecking and much faster at 76 words per minute and only one typo (missed capitalisation at beginning of a sentence). :)

If I have a chance to get a helping hand to video it, I will do that if anyone is interested.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Medievalist]

These 486 tablets you speak of: Were they lightweight?-- two pounds will do. Could they run a internet browser? Was the web that entertaining at the time? Did they require a stylus?

Yes, yes, not really, most of them.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[mosb1000]

The only possible way a tablet can displace a PC for typing intensive applications is with an actual keyboard.

That's like saying the only way to replace a horse with a car for off-road applications is tho hitch the car up to some horses. It's true that you can't type as fast on a tablet. But attaching a keyboard to a tablet is silly. It's a new form-factor, it's not supposed to replace a computer for every purpose.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, you're wrong. Old tablets did suck. Windows on a tablet was just one major component of how they sucked.

Battery life was terrible. The old touch screens were terrible. Weight was terrible. And yes, windows was terrible.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Tough Love]

Oh, please do. Because you're talking out your ass. Nobody types 76 wpm with two fingers. That's 6.3 characters a second. Whoops, looks like you moved the decimal point there.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Jeremy Erwin]

If you want to use an ipad, all you need do is pick it. If you need a stylus-- well, those tend to get lost. Like remote controls, they can disappear between couch cushions.

As for the web being entertaining-- that's really a judgement call. Now, people can waste a lot of time on the web, so a device that lets you waste even more time, more comfortably, is a easy sale.

Perhaps the iPad is best understood as a recreational device, not as a device that lets you get more work done. To a certain extent, it's this generation's portable DVD player,or portable TV.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

"The only possible way a tablet can displace a PC for typing intensive applications is with an actual keyboard."

Uh, OK, right, so, when I need to type in class, at my desk (or at another venue), I have a (highly portable [and the competition is improving everyday, soon we will have even better rollout keyboards, better foldout keyboards etc,.) keyboard, then, when I pack it in my (small) backpack and go for a hike, and use it to take some pictures of some cool things there, and track my jog, and get my bearings, then use it to orient myself to the locally viewable stars just after dark, and then I can watch a netflix/free-tv (with less ads than on broadcast, and yet not pirating) after getting home, it is also my calendar, scheduler, has replaced my guitar-effect pedals (a Zoom 707, and a nicer snarling dogs Wah, replaced by a five dollar app [with FAR less line-noise than they ever put out]).

I am just at the top of the list here... fine, processors and chips don't allow for managing massive databases... yet. Did every home computer always allow for the high-end uses they are seen in today?

No.

You are correct that doing some of the most unique uses of these new portable devices, it takes addons, or 'things' that one must carry... but it will not always be so, and, seriously, computers have all sorts of "finicky" requirements, and needed addons, and tools to be "fully" useful. Yes, I need a goofy dongle to capture my DSLR pictures off my SD card.... but I CAN CAPTURE MY DSLR PICTURES OFF MY SD CARD IN THE FIELD.

And when SD tech has gone two more years, or X-Fi, or whatever that wireless SD technology is has progressed...

I would need to upgrade my ram to work fast, my Graphics card to run game X, my monitor to get resolution Y, my keyboard to be ergonomic, or to have the light up keys like those mac laptops have...
You are not demonstrating insight into the world of today... but rather, a failure of imagination to the world of tomorrow.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[rsborg]

Fir the medical field and the insurance field? they did. But 486 was the 3rd generation. I had a 386sx Dauphin DTR1 tablet that was used heavily by the FBI and law enforcement in the early 90's.

Wow, the amazing battery life, pervasive wireless internet and super-fast flash memory must've made that thing impressive for it's time.

Your anecdote is like a mainframe guru reminiscing about how powerful their old IBM mainframes were - the use case for a mainframe and a desktop has about the same kind of gulf. Once upon a time, mainframes were absolutely the only way to get computing done. Then it became a (very profitable) niche as workstations, desktops, then laptops (and now tablets) eclipsed what people could do with the technology.

In the coming decades, as technology improves even further, our descendants may be amazed to find out that we put typed on keyboards, phones to our ears or used archaic "cameras" instead of though-transcribing, just blinking their eyes to take snaps and movies and transmitting those to their network with a mere thought.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

Quote: "But attaching a keyboard to a tablet is silly."

Is it really "silly" though? Like, with pages (or any of several free notes apps), I have replaced a laptop for every-day use (and yes, laptops "can" do all the things I would want to do, but not really, because yes, laptops, or nettops are "portable", but not to the same degree as tablets, can I toss the keyboard from a laptop on the desk, and just run out the door with just the display in a small backpack, or slipped into my camera case, when I am going for a jog?

Not arguing with the idea that input ideas are changing, nor that the touch concept is a panacea... just, I don't get people trying to "convince" others that something is stupid.

I see this with people on the internet saying "stop taking pictures with an Ipad you look stupid".... wtf, who cares, crybaby. Now this is about keyboard too?

Why is it stupid to have a *laptop, where the keyboard is a separate entity from the display/guts

*(tablet)
It works for the needs of some people, and yes, not for others... but neither experience is some universal truth. And people saying that it is purely consumption form factor, I think that is incorrect. they seem like seriously efficient research tools. Perfect for work in the field (*provided some sort of life-proof case [and the fact that life-proof technology in booming and lots of research there, so it will be standard in a few years anyway [one complaint about current e-readers that I see vs "paper" books is that you can read in the tub... well, you can read every book ever, in the tub on a tablet, with a little investment).

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[ericloewe]

Why is it silly if it can potentially replace a laptop in many cases? Just attach the keyboard when using as a laptop.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[monkeyhybrid]

Second test, two fingers, correcting typos as I go: 75.2 wpm. If my girlfriend wasn't giving me grief at having to film such a ridiculous dick-measuring experiment (her words, not mine), I'd beat that again. ;)

On a full size physical keyboard I can easily get over 100 wpm with two fingers. Mind you, I've had years of practice after an accident left two of my fingers semi-crippled.

I'm sure I'm not the fastest at that either. This guy achieves 81 wpm on an iPhone, although doesn't look like he's using capitalisation or punctuation like I am.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[helix2301]

Well I think Apple is doing this to compete with Amazon and Samsung. Apple hates the fact they nipple at bottom of price point this will level the playing field as far Apple is concerned. I mean Google and Amazon sell these products at loss so not sure what Apple hopes to gain.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Lumpy]

No they weren't. did you ever touch one? I was getting 4 hours out of my circa 1999 Fujitsu stylistic. which was perfect, you just docked when you went back to your desk.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[TuringTest]

The fact remains that you will never be able to match the typing speed achieved on a keyboard, even with limited travel, when typing on a tablet's screen.

Most users I know use the "hunt and peck" technique and are unable to touch-type, so they will never be able to match the typing speed achieved on a keyboard, even with a physical keyboard. A tablet virtual keyboard thus proves no disadvantage to them.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[jrumney]

But drawing and writing on a tablet is certainly much more comfortable than on a desktop or a laptop.

I've yet to see a drawing or writing instrument for capacitive touch screens that is significantly better than the finger painting experience you get out of the box.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[mrbcs]

Insert cliche here:
"The first time Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck will be the day they start making vacuum cleaners".

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Samantha Wright]

It's okay; there never seems to be a perfect time. Done!

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Tough Love]

I have to admit, your hunt and pecking is very impressive. The correct calculation for words per minute is characters_per_second * 12, if you want to work it out precisely. The record on a computer keyboard is something like 290 WPM, or an astounding 24 chars/sec.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Joce640k]

Sorry, no, it's not a moderate typing speed discrepancy, it's a massive discrepancy, a factor of 3 at best and more like 10 in practice.

So....ummm:

a) Maybe most people don't type massive screeds on their computers, just tweet-sized notes.
b) Maybe most of them can't touch-type anyway...so they're not fast on normal keyboards either.

But hey, don't let pesky facts get in your way of your rants.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

Uhh, *you* may not be able to type on a tablet quickly, but I can bust out some verbage with decent speed. Certainly well enough that I don't feel the need to go hunting for a 'physical' keyboard.

Fine, you are not a touch typist and don't need to be able to enter text quickly and accurately. No one is saying there isn't a niche for computers used for media viewing, that is self evidently what most people use iPads for. Basically, the tablet becomes a glorified remote control for your TV.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

Sorry, no, it's not a moderate typing speed discrepancy, it's a massive discrepancy, a factor of 3 at best and more like 10 in practice.

Nope, I am always slow.

That is a silly argument. It's like saying that a Ferrari or Porsche is no faster than a one litre Nissan Micra because you don't ever drive more than 60 mph anyway.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[findoutmoretoday]

Ha, the one liter Nissan Micra with CVT transmission, it jumps to 7000 rpm and stays there up to 80 mph. I never tried it against a ferrari or an american V8, but it kept most cars behind me. I always dreamed to make a two liter front and back engine of that car.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

can I toss the keyboard from a laptop on the desk, and just run out the door with just the display in a small backpack, or slipped into my camera case, when I am going for a jog?

Who would take a tablet jogging?. Or do you call "walking briskly down to the coffee shop in training shoes" a jog?

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

Uh, OK, right, so, when I need to type in class, at my desk (or at another venue), I have a (highly portable [and the competition is improving everyday, soon we will have even better rollout keyboards, better foldout keyboards etc,.) keyboard, then, when I pack it in my (small) backpack and go for a hike, and use it to take some pictures of some cool things there, and track my jog, and get my bearings, then use it to orient myself to the locally viewable stars just after dark, and then I can watch a netflix/free-tv (with less ads than on broadcast, and yet not pirating) after getting home, it is also my calendar, scheduler, has replaced my guitar-effect pedals (a Zoom 707, and a nicer snarling dogs Wah, replaced by a five dollar app [with FAR less line-noise than they ever put out]).

Sweet fucking Jesus you sound like a tool.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

Not to mention that, when typing on a screen, you must keep your eyes on that "keyboard" like a fucking moron. I haven't looked at my keyboard in decades, because I clearly feel where the keys are.

How does that even work? My hands are on the keyboard when I type on my tablet, I can't type and look at the keyboard at the same time. Usually I just stare off into space focusing on what I want to sound while tapping away.

What bollocks, you cannot touch type on a fucking touchscreen keyboard, end of story.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

The fact remains that you will never be able to match the typing speed achieved on a keyboard, even with limited travel, when typing on a tablet's screen.

Most users I know use the "hunt and peck" technique and are unable to touch-type, so they will never be able to match the typing speed achieved on a keyboard, even with a physical keyboard. A tablet virtual keyboard thus proves no disadvantage to them.

If you can't touch type, you are not a serious computer user. Simple as that. I don't care how many how many shiny apps you can whizz through by scrolling with your finger, that is just media consumption. Well, whoopy doo, I can use the remote on my fucking TV too.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

I think he's referring to Ultrabooks, which are just as light, but vastly more powerful.

I think you misspelled expensive.

It is ridiculous to compare something costing GBP 200 with something that's over GBP 1000.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

80+ words per minute, lol, what are you a fucking secretary? no one cares, fag.

No, he's someone who uses a computer every day and doesn't want to be slowed down by being so lazy he can't be bothered to learn how to use it properly.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[tehcyder]

Ad to that, the fact that speech recognition is built in and works reasonably well - getting better by the day.

Yeah, we're pretty much approaching the fucking singularity. Again.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Plumpaquatsch]

The fact remains that, moderate typing speed discrepancy aside...

Sorry, no, it's not a moderate typing speed discrepancy, it's a massive discrepancy, a factor of 3 at best and more like 10 in practice.

And that's what you really need a PC for: to make up numbers.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Plumpaquatsch]

Well, whoopy doo, I can use the remote on my fucking TV too.

But he can type much faster on his tablet than you on your remote - thanks for proving how worthless hardware keys are.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Plumpaquatsch]

No tablet in the past is worth comparing to something that you can comfortably (as long as you know where your fingers are) type a document up *with the screen*.

Nor is any current tablet, unless your definition includes typing five words a minute with one hand while holding it in the other. Even typing a URL is painful on my Android tablet and from my experience with iPods I can't imagine the iPad is much better.

So how fast do you type on your computer with one hand while holding it in the other? Or is there a certain reason (beyond ignorance) why you have to hold a tablet that way while not the notebook?

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Missing.Matter]

That's why the resurgence of inductive stylus digitizers is so exciting. The iPad shunned the stylus like it was a relic, yet some of the best selling accessories for the iPad are fat (and useless) capacitive styluses. Windows and Android tablets are bringing them back, and people are finding that they are actually useful.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[TuringTest]

So you're suggesting that tablet computers are not for serious computing? Outrageous! So, maybe we should relegate them to be used for, say, amateur usage by non-experts?

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Medievalist]

I personally don't really have a use case for an iPad or cell phone. In fact the mouse is usually just an annoying distraction that slows me down when I'm using a computer. And my poor color vision and heavy scarring on my fingertips makes most touchscreens annoying for me to use - I have no sense of touch on my right index finger, and the tissue there has the consistency and moisture content of kiln-dried hardwood.

People on the Internet often seem to believe that if you point out you have a different perspective you are making some absurd claim that only your own perspective is valid. Starting this thread, I said that the tablet seems like it might finally find a viable niche this time around, and most of the responses here read like they are talking to somebody else entirely (except a few responses, such as your own).

I agree with your assessment of the IPad's utility as an entertainment device, and am amazed that nobody's pointed out it's pretty much optimized for viewing porn.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[lsatenstein]

Tablet fads have come and gone... the iPad has actually done really well this time around, but I remember how the 486 tablets (that did all the same stuff at much lower resolution) were going to make PCs obsolete... sure they did.

Due to e-readers, I think this time around tablets might actually settle into a durable niche of their own. But a lot of people (such as myself) will never really have a use for one.

-----------
My grandkids take their ipads to bed under the covers. They were not able to do that with laptops.

Re:It's been a cyclic fad.

[Anonymous Coward]

My son has been known to take a laptop, a tablet, and a phone under the covers all wired together in a USB & charger mess, and wake up in the morning all tangled up. I keep expecting him to burn the house down.

Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[Anonymous Coward]

$250 would be nice but it's probably $329.

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/10/20/ipad-mini-pricing-to-begin-at-approximately-329/

Re:Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[MCSEBear]

AC parent is correct.

One of the blogs with an inside source and a proven track record for nailing what is to come in recent Apple announcements, 9 to 5 Mac, has also come out and said the starting price will be $329.

Read for yourself.

Sadly, a $250 price point seems to be wishful thinking. Apple isn't going to pull a Google and sell things anywhere near break even.

Re:Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[Dzimas]

From the source of that post [9to5mac.com]: "We created the likely pricing matrix for the smaller iPad shown above."

In other words, it's just a wild guess by a blogger to attract page views for his site. Everyone keeps repeating it as if it's an official document.

A quick glance at Apple's pricing shows that they strongly prefer prices that end in 49 or 99 for the iPod and iPad lines (the cellular equipped iPad is an exception). I'd expect to see an 8GB iPad Mini at $249 or $299, but it won't be a big seller. In fact, Apple may severely constrain supply to push buyers to a more profitable price point, while the media loudly touts "A breakthrough $249 iPad" that is almost impossible to get. Most buyers will opt to spend another $100 for an extra $10 worth of flash memory, especially if it's available for immediate purchase.

Re:Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[Blue Stone]

$329 translated into GBP (+20% VAT) = ~£250. For the 8GB wifi model.

The upgraded Nexus 7 32GB wifi model will soon be sold at £200. For the equivalent iPad mini (32GB wifi) you'll be paying ~£330 (and more likely £350). And that seems about right for the premium Apple like to charge for its products.

Re:Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[JDG1980]

If it's $329, I don't see who their target audience is. People who specifically want an iPad already have one; this isn't much of a price drop compared to the iPad 2. People who want a 7-inch tablet can get the Nexus 7 for much cheaper, and unlike the first generation of Android tablets, that device has actually received good reviews and works well for most people.

Selling the iPad Mini at $329 would basically be bringing back the old Apple price premium. Due to good supply chain management, that had been pretty much whittled down – you can't buy a good smartphone for much cheaper than the iPhone, and 10-inch Android tablets aren't much cheaper than the iPad (and no current Android tablet matches the iPad 3's resolution, though that is set to change soon). Apple has been successful in the portable device market not because of fanboys, but because they sold good devices at a competitive price. But $329 for a 7-inch tablet is not close to being competitive – unless they have a surprise (Retina display?) in store.

Re:Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[Crookdotter]

Are you joking? $329 will be £329 most likely.

Re:Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[jo_ham]

Are you joking? $329 will be £329 most likely.

On what evidence? The base retina iPad is $499 in the US and £399 in the UK. Why would that be different for the iPad mini?

Re:Macrumors shows $329 as the base price.

[crankyspice]

$250 would be nice but it's probably $329.

Agreed. As an Apple fanboi since they only shipped 6502-based machines, and the current owner of a MacBook, Pro, and Air and last-gen Mac mini, plus iPod Nano, Touch; first gen iPad, iPhone 4S...

And a Nexus 7 (and various other Android tablets)... There's no way (based on the Bexus) Apple can hit the $249 price point at the build quality they demand and their users expect... The Nexus 7 is great (compared to my previous Abdroid tablet experiences), but plasticky and with too much chassis flex. It's like a Toyota Camry vs. a Lexus ES...

The name?

[Anonymous Coward]

May I suggest the iPad slim? Rebrand the full size device the iPad Maxi and market it for those nights with particularly heavy browsing flow.

so...

[slashmydots]

So after all the "bigger screen, MOAR PIXELZ!!!!1!!!" ad campaign for the new iPhone, they made this one lower res and smaller and rebooted old technology. I didn't know Apple customers' top 3 wanted features were decrementing the version number, less pixels, and a smaller viewing area.

Re:so...

[Applekid]

So after all the "bigger screen, MOAR PIXELZ!!!!1!!!" ad campaign for the new iPhone, they made this one lower res and smaller and rebooted old technology. I didn't know Apple customers' top 3 wanted features were decrementing the version number, less pixels, and a smaller viewing area.

It's clearly a stopgap measure. Apple needs to get a "Goldilocks" product to keep someone else from owning that size profile and eroding their market share in smaller and larger formats.

The best engineering will be in both the iPad and the iPhone: best battery life, best display, etc. This mid-size is a compromise of the two, and won't really excel at anything in particular. If it ever does, it will be because of functionality that will be held back from being released on other sizes. Maybe external storage? Maybe two cameras for 3D? Maybe some software tweak that won't be made available? It's obviously only conjecture: it really doesn't make too much sense to me.

Apple is clearly run by a bean counter these days, so, minus the big-picture drawn by Jobs, they're just paying attention to their competitors. Too much attention, methinks.

Re:so...

[squiggleslash]

Apple, and many iPad owners, have for years not really understood why people buy smaller tablets, with Steve Jobs openly mocking them and commiting to never producing one.

It's not exactly surprising that the specs of a tablet Apple doesn't want to make, intended for a market it just doesn't understand the existence of, might be underwhelming.

Re:so...

[MightyYar]

Too much attention, methinks.

Exactly. When your competition is making zero or even negative profits on each unit, just stay away from the whole damn thing unless you think you can command a big premium. Or unless you want in on their business model, which I think Apple would do poorly in.

Re:so...

[AmiMoJo]

Since when did Apple care about the low-profit end of the market? They don't do any cheap products, they are a premium only brand. And before you say it even the products that are relatively cheap, like the smaller iPods, are not cheap in their class.

If Apple do release an iPad Mini at this price point it would be a major change of direction for them.

Re:so...

[spire3661]

+insightful

Re:so...

[CastrTroy]

I've never really understood it either. 7 inches is too large to fit in your pocket, yet too small for a lot of tasks. Once you need to carry a backpack/purse/messenger bag to carry the device about, you might as well at least have a 9-10 inch screen. I've been waiting for the Google Nexus 10 which is rumoured to be coming out. If they give it a reasonable price, like they did with the Nexus 7, then I'll be buying one for sure. I have an eBook reader that only has 6 inch screen, which is fine because I only use it for fiction novels. But for something that's supposed to be used to browse the web, I don't think that anything in the 7 inch range would be big enough. Ideally, I'd like to have a 14 inch tablet, but I know that would be cost prohibitive.

Re:so...

[bennomatic]

On the other hand, when Apple ignores what its competition is doing (larger screens on phones, 4G/LTE) people complain that Apple is being arrogant and that anyone who agrees with their decisions is iSheep.

They've done really well with their previous strategy, but no strategy wins forever in a competitive environment. While I think it would be a shame to see them go to a 100% reactionary strategy, trolling Slashdot and other sites for suggestions for new features to release and/or making Samsungian copies of every device that sells more than 10,000 copies, a slight adjustment to address a market which they didn't care about before, but which appears to exist and be under-served, is not a bad idea.

I think that the 7.85" iPad is a purely defensive move. They don't want other vendors to get a strong foothold in the tablet market purely because of their inaction on mid-sized devices. If they continue to use the previous-generation components--CPU, GPU, display--they can take advantage of economies of scale that other vendors don't have, and with an even modest success rate, they can put a dent in the growth of 7" Android-based tablets.

Me, what I'd like to see is a 13-15" iPad "Pro" model, with more room for detailed work (without zooming) for artists, illustrators, photographers, etc. It would be mostly for use on an easel-type desk, because it'd be unwieldy to hold in one hand, but I think it could be a success in some niche markets.

Of course, I don't expect to see it any time soon, but if some Android vendor comes out with one and it is a hit, I doubt that they'd ignore it. A company like Wacom could lead the way with an Android-based large-screen tablet.

Re:so...

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, i've been given a nexus-7 recently. I think that my wife's galaxy-nexus phone is just enough for most of the things you do with a nexus-7. However, the 7inch size is perfect for writting: in portrait mode, you handle it with both hands and use the thumbs to type: holding the tablet and writing comfortably at the same time... while seated in the sofa or wandering through the corridor.
Also 7in is a very good size for the kids (they play tangram).
So I wouldn't have purchased it... yet I'm really thrilled with this gift.

Re:so...

[squiggleslash]

Ah, but you're wrong. 7" FWIW is just small enough to fit in your (trouser) pocket, and once you use it you'll realize that it doesn't really have any less screen real estate in practice than the bigger tablets.

Moreover, 10" tablets are designed to be the same size as "a sheet of paper" because someone who should have known better (I'm looking at you corpse of Steve Jobs) thought that was a good idea, given that's something people feel comfortable holding.

But he's wrong. But nobody holds a full sized, unfolded, sheet of paper for any length of time. As a portability metric, it's a mistake. The 7" tablets are roughly the size as "a sheet of paper" folded in half, which is something people are willing to hold for an extended period of time.

This is something I learned the hard way. My first tablet was a 10" one, intentionally, because I didn't think a 7" was "big enough". I then got a Kindle Fire, and realized I'd been utterly, utterly, wrong the first time. The Fire was small enough that I actually took it with me, while the 10" was something I rarely look anywhere because it was too big. 10" just isn't portable - well, it's portable in the sense that your laptop is portable, but if you're going to carry around something like that, well, why not carry around the more powerful, open, and capable device?

Either way, Apple doesn't "get it". Or maybe someone there belatedly does, but enough people at Apple don't that - if the current rumors are true - they're going to handicap the 7-8".

Which is a shame - for Apple - because the likely benefit of producing a sub-par 7"-8" tablet will be to simultaneously bless the form factor, while undermining the iPad brand, driving people to Android. As a fan of the latter, and critic of Apple's recent turn to the dark side, I'm "happy" about this, but I think it's bad for them.

Re:so...

[Anonymous Coward]

Since when did Apple care about the low-profit end of the market? They don't do any JUNK products...

FTFY, per Steve Jobs's own words as seen here. There's so much crap in the low end of the market that I'm happy to pay a reasonable premium for something I know isn't a total piece of garbage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu0qeb_rJYU

Re:so...

[jedidiah]

That fruity logo is no guarantee that you won't get a total piece of garbage.

Re:so...

[Spectre]

My concern over the smaller screen is that I can touch-type on an iPad on-screen keyboard (when in landscape orientation). I wouldn't be able to do that on a 7" display. I'd prefer to have one more inch of keyboard on the iPad for more comfort in touch-typing, but the current size is barely adequate.

Re:so...

[mattack2]

If it's premium only, why are other tablets with similar hardware specs priced the same?

I don't want a mini

[Anonymous Coward]

I want a large one, right up my ass.

This post sponsored by Amazon for Ubuntu.

Re:I don't want a mini

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently this doesn't violate Dice standards. Just what the hell does violate their standards?

What about iPod touch

[Missing.Matter]

It seems strange to pay less for a 7" iPad mini than a 3" iPod touch.

Re:What about iPod touch

[Anonymous Coward]

miniaturisation always adds to cost, it's a bell curve regarding price and size

Re:What about iPod touch

[OzPeter]

It seems strange to pay less for a 7" iPad mini than a 3" iPod touch.

You seem to have a time machine handy. So could you tell me next weeks lotto numbers?

Re:What about iPod touch

[Triv]

It seems strange to pay less for a 7" iPad mini than a 3" iPod touch.

a 4th gen iPod is $199; 5th gen is $299. Slotting a tablet between those two makes sense, especially considering that they serve different purposes and speak to different consumers.

Re:What about iPod touch

[grumpyman]

Very good observation - what's the impact on Touch with introduction of a smaller iPad? My guess is, if there's a mini iPad, it has to be $299 or so... at a premium of other similar Android (that's how apple makes $).

Re:What about iPod touch

[Missing.Matter]

I made no comment on what the price will be. My comment was conjecture, that if the price is less than the iPod touch, I would be less inclined to buy an iPod touch because I would feel as if I am overpaying. Many people have an innate (usually irrational when it comes to technology) intuition that bigger == better. Line the three devices up side by side and most people will price the iPod touch as the least expensive, the iPad mini as the middle, and the iPad as the most expensive. When you tell them "No, the iPod is the middle and the iPad mini is the least expensive" it seems counterintuitive. The reaction is then either "Am I getting ripped off for the iPod touch?" or "What's wrong with the iPad mini that makes it so cheap?"

Re:What about iPod touch

[OzPeter]

I made no comment on what the price will be. My comment was conjecture...

Conjecture would not involve a statement that is a definite comparison.

Re:What about iPod touch

[MCSEBear]

The iPod Touch starts at $199 and the iPad Mini is expected to start at $329.

Since this website has an excellent track record for nailing Apple's upcoming announcements, their pricing is likely much more accurate.

Re:What about iPod touch

[interkin3tic]

Perhaps the tablet market is more lucrative for apple, and they want to try to stop losing the market to android. Maybe they figure that the ipod is competing with the iphone, that if they price the ipod higher, more people will opt for an iphone instead of an ipod and a cheap phone?

I've always suspected that if companies stoped playing such stupid games, and just made pricing rational, they'd probably do just as well if not better in the long run, than annoying people with shenanigans like this.

Re:What about iPod touch

[csumpi]

+1. I have no idea who has $299 for an mp3 player. Maybe Apple is trying to kill off the iPod Touch line.

Re:What about iPod touch

[spire3661]

Slotting an ipad between them immediatly exposes the GROSS overcharging for the 5th gen ipod touch.

Re:What about iPod touch

[StormCrow]

The iPod Touch isn't an MP3 player, it's a non-cellular iPhone equivalent for using iPhone apps on that also happens to play mp3s. If you JUST wanted an mp3 player, you'd get an iPod Nano.

Nexi

[the eric conspiracy]

It looks like Google will be adding some models next week - Nexus 10, with an extremely high resolution screen for less than $300. And a Nexus 7 32G with the price of the original Nexus 7 dropping to about $160.

Some new Nexus phones too.

I have a Nexus Galaxy phone that I bought from Google and use on a prepaid plan. It's a nice unlocked choice without the junk the phone company loads on your phone, and the prepaid aspect gives me a lot of flexibility.

Re:Nexi

[Bill_the_Engineer]

Other than possibly advertising your love for Google, was there a point to your comment?

Are you saying Google makes a habit of copying other products?

Are you saying competition is good?

both?

Anyway yes we all know Google exists, this is a story speculating on what Apple will announce tomorrow.

Re:Nexi

[squiggleslash]

I suppose this text didn't appear in the summary then:

Second, a cheaper and smaller iPad could impact the market for e-readers and 'price-sensitive users,' according to J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, which in turn could mean a challenging future for Amazon, Google, and other IT vendors marketing cheaper tablets.

I think we can safely suggest that the GP was on-topic given his comments clearly related to TFS.

Re:Nexi

[Anonymous Coward]

Other than blatantly advertising Slashdot's fetishistic love for Apple, was there a point to putting this article on the home page?

Are they saying Apple makes a habit of copying other products?

Are they saying competition is good?

both?

Anyway yes we all know Apple exists, that was a comment speculating on what Google will announce next week.

Re:Nexi

[JDG1980]

It looks like Google will be adding some models next week - Nexus 10, with an extremely high resolution screen for less than $300

The current word is that the Google/Samsung joint venture tablet will have a 2560x1600 screen resolution. Awesome if true, but I can't imagine them getting that out at a $300 price point. More likely it will be the same price as the iPad 3 (starting at $499). Even so, it will probably restore competitiveness at the high end of the tablet market, which is a good thing.

Re:Nexi

[tuppe666]

. More likely it will be the same price as the iPad 3 (starting at $499)

Why would you think that they wouldn't price the device cheaper than the iPad. I can only imagine the Google pricing for a market share grab. Its what they did for the NEXUS 7 why would they change strategies from a successful one to an unsuccessful one.

Re:Nexi

[Anonymous Coward]

Because it would complete with Samsung's own tablets that sell for $599. I'm thinking they will undercut a little make it $499

Re:Nexi

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh god, this is hysterical. You see what he did?!! This is soooo clear. See, he copied the pro Apple post and made it a pro Google post.

Oh god, that is innovative, I tell you. I mean, it's not at all what Apple claims Google did to start with...

Oh wait...

Re:Nexi

[csumpi]

Enough of the who copies whom stuff already.

They all copy. Here's a good read for you: The Tweaker.

Re:Nexi

[the eric conspiracy]

Why would I think? It's not my personal opinion, just rumors.

Smashing if true. I have been thinking about a Nexus 7, but for $300 or even $400 a Nexus 10 would be a great buy.

Above that and I'll probably go with the Nexus 7.

Re:Nexi

[Bill_the_Engineer]

I didn't say he was off topic. I was wondering where he was going with his statements, other than "don't forget about Google" which inevitably appears in the comments of any article mentioning Apple. Just like we have "don't forget about Apple" posts in anything related to Android.

Re:Nexi

[Anonymous Coward]

Other than blatantly advertising Slashdot's fetishistic love for Apple,

Faggots like you need to learn about respect.

Some people like Apple products. If you don't like Apple
products, shut your cum-slurping faggot mouth and
move on. You do not get to decide what the rest of the world
prefers, little faggot. All you get to do is serve your masters
and then when your little faggot body fails, you die.

Re:Nexi

[JDG1980]

Because it would complete with Samsung's own tablets that sell for $599.

Which Samsung tablet starts at $599? The Galaxy Note 10.1, currently Samsung's premium tablet product, has a base price of $499. Of course extra flash memory and a cellular modem will cost more... we were talking about base prices.

Re:Nexi

[Anonymous Coward]

Who exactly gives a fuck ?

Smaller? I want bigger.

[Anonymous Coward]

I want a full color high resolution tablet sized 9x12 that doesn't cost more than about $350. Until they get to that point I don't need one because my phone already does everything a tablet can do - and more. I want a bigger screen, not a smaller one.

Price sensitive users huh

[Dyinobal]

I love the phrasing Price Sensitive users, aka cheap bastards. Seriously why anyone would get an ipad for ebook reading over the options offered by Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Re:Price sensitive users huh

[Anonymous Coward]

um, they probably wouldn't if they want a device JUST for reading ebooks. the thing is, that's not what most people want. especially if someone can only afford one $300 device, they're probably not going to get an ereader. they're going to look for a full tablet device. right now the kindle fire and nexus 7 are good options, though the fire has some distinct disadvantages. apple's looking to compete in that niche. they NEED to.

Re:Price sensitive users huh

[the eric conspiracy]

> why anyone would get an ipad for ebook reading

How about not having your content deleted and your reader bricked at the whim of your corporate owner?

http://www.bekkelund.net/2012/10/22/outlawed-by-amazon-drm/

Re:Price sensitive users huh

[Anonymous Coward]

Holy shit! I just closed my Amazon account. For any data miners on Amazon.....FUCK YOU!

Re:Price sensitive users huh

[Anonymous Coward]

I love the phrasing Price Sensitive users, aka cheap bastards. Seriously why anyone would get an ipad for ebook reading over the options offered by Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

The reason some people would get an iPad is because it will also be useful
as a GPS device. That is a very valuable feature for people who leave
their mother's basement.

Re:Price sensitive users huh

[Anonymous Coward]

All you are doing is moving your trust from one corporate owner to another, apple as the drm provider or amazon or google or barnes and noble.

You cannot trust any of them not to do what that linked article described. They ALL have clauses to terminate your account without a moment's notice, without telling you why.

But I believe the original point of Dyinobal was to bring up the superior screen for reading eBooks eInk vs lcd, not the alleged immoral actions of the company.

Was just watching this

[Ol Biscuitbarrel]

Mad Tv - IPad - YouTube.

Never for the long haul

[Grayhand]

I'd be shocked if they didn't drop the iPad 2. There's no point in keeping it since it's old technology. It fit a niche but if people want a cheaper option they'll get the mini. I don't see a need to come up with one for every price point. You've got the full strength then a cheaper version for those that can't aford the full sized one. What I want to see is more memory. Where are the 128 and 256 models? I found the HD films looked only marginally better while sucking up twice my capacity so I stopped buying them right after I tried one. They burn up too much space. With 128 or 256 I could hold multiple seasons of TV shows or a decent movie collection, a 120 to 250 at standard def. Right now I have to plan ahead and only load what I'm likely to watch.

Re:Never for the long haul

[Belial6]

Maybe Apple users just think different, but everyone I know that are buying 7" tablets are not doing it for price. (Although they really like the price) They are doing it because they want a tablet that fits in their large pockets or purses. Large tablets are dandy for places that you can set them down and walk away from them, but they suck for carrying around all of the time. Jobs didn't understand this, and it is sounding like his replacement doesn't either.

Re:Never for the long haul

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly why I am thrilled with it! I love my apples but my phone/ipod is quite small for many things. (old eyes) and the ipad is just too big for my usage. My ONLY wish left to be answered is an iwhatever that integrates better with exel. Then it would fulfill almost everything I need and I would no longer need my netbook/laptop.

Re:Never for the long haul

[csumpi]

+1. Another factor is weight. 10" tablets are too heavy to hold, so they are either laid flat (which is a pin in the neck), or propped up (can't type). The 7" factor is much lighter, and one can even type with two thumbs while holding it.

Re:Never for the long haul

[Jeremy Erwin]

The iPad 10" is great for carrying around the house, but I feel like I need a bag, or a shoulder strap to carry it outside. I'd love something that I can put in a jacket pocket. I tried the iPhone, at the store-- it feels cramped.

Doubt it

[pubwvj]

iPodTouch/iPhone = small screen
iPad mini = medium screen
iPad = large screen

Each has a market. Having them all lets Apple get more market penetration. In fact, many people, like us, buy multiples. I don't want to carry even an iPad mini around in my pocket by an iPodTouch is just right. Goldilocks was onto something.

If anything, I would expect Apple to bring out an iPad MAXi with a bigger screen. Then you've got the iTV for the really big version.

Next make them all run MacOS and Windows (all Macs can do both) and it's a home run.

Re:Doubt it

[Anonymous Coward]

I would expect Apple to bring out an iPad MAXi

And that would be called the MaxiPad?

Re:Doubt it

[pubwvj]

Exactly. :) But to be trade markable they switch it around.

Re:hell yeah niggy!

[Baloroth]

ordering one tomorrow and a maxed out mac mini too! u jelly PC fags?

Little bit, I guess. I do wish I had that much money to overspend with.

The king is dead. Long live the king!

[OzPeter]

I'm the first to mention this, but there there are solid rumors of the "New iPad" getting a revamp with a move to the new lightning connector. The latest iPod touch has the new lightning connector and the iPad mini will have it too. Apple is not shy about ditching technology so it would make sense to ditch the iPad 2 to ensure that all of its mobile lineup carries the lightning connector

$250? Apple doesn't do non-profit products.

[guidryp]

All the people thinking Apple has to compete with Nexus/Fire are forgetting something. Those products have essentially no profit margin, they are non-profit products.

Apple doesn't work that way. Apple makes its money with nice healthy profit margins, of which there would be zero in an 8" 4:3 iPad. That is another thing, did everyone forget how rounding works. The iPad Mini rumors state the display is 7.85". If you going to round off to the nearest inch, that is 8" not 7" like everyone keeps stating.

Basically there is no way in Hell that (we exist for profit margins) Apple is going to sell an 8" iPad for less than $300.

Re:$250? Apple doesn't do non-profit products.

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple's profit margins are an endangered species. Android tablet market share has *exploded* just in the last few months and Apple is going to have to lower prices drastically, without lowering their quality if it wants to maintain competitiveness. Unfortunately their "iPad mini" strategy appears to be following the idea of lowering quality in order to lower price, and I am afraid for Apple's future because of it.

Re:$250? Apple doesn't do non-profit products.

[squiggleslash]

I agree there's no chance it'll come out at $250, but that's because of marketing, not anything else.

Apple can sell hardware at cost and make profits if they control the ecosystem which delivers content to the hardware, and they do indeed do that.

The rumors say this'll be more than $300. Of course it will be. The price is always a good way to say "This is better", and adding 20-30% to the price of something doesn't price it out of the ballpark but it does make it appear, to many people, to be a better quality product, regardless of whether it is or not. But Apple could, at least in theory, back that up by actually making a better tablet. It doesn't look like they've done that (Apple fanbois will claim it is merely because it has iOS on it, but in hardware terms the specs aren't rumored to be anything to write home about), but they could do that, and make nothing on the hardware, knowing they're raking it in on the Apple's app store.

Re:$250? Apple doesn't do non-profit products.

[jmauro]

This has been inferred for last 4 years or so, but somehow it never seems to come to pass. First it was the newer SanDisk mp3 players going to eat into the iPod margins, then the new Android phones would eat into the iPod margins, then the new Amazon Fires would eat into the iPads.

Somehow through all of the competition their margins just keep getting better.

Re:Smaller? I want bigger.

[WillAdams]

Blowing mod points...

First device in that space for this season is Sony's Tap 20:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2011644/sony-tap-20-review-a-windows-8-all-in-one-thats-also-a-humongous-tablet.html

20" 1600 x 900 pixel display.

William

Oh, come on!

[93 Escort Wagon]

The event is freaking TOMORROW. What's the point in posting an article today that speculates what the price of the iPad Mini might be? We'll actually know tomorrow - no speculation involved!

Re:Oh, come on!

[Anonymous Coward]

It keeps us from talking about the debate.

Re:Oh, come on!

[tuppe666]

The event is freaking TOMORROW. What's the point in posting an article today that speculates what the price of the iPad Mini might be? We'll actually know tomorrow - no speculation involved!

Because its really interesting, The IPad Mini price point is interesting because this quarter is incredibly exciting, with Apple forced to bring out a Tweener tablet that will cannibalise its both high margin iPad and iPod touch, at the same time trying to stave of competition from Androids successful 7" ranges from Amazon and Google. That is ignoring the other side of the equation where a successful launch of Nexus 10 or Surface or both could put a real dent in Apple High end High Margin profit.

We know that Surface will be priced at the full size iPad, and we know that the Nexus will be offering more storage for the same price. The only other unknown is the Nexus 10 price if it exists at all.

Re:Oh, come on!

[csumpi]

Clicks? They got you, didn't they?

Re:Oh, come on!

[amiga3D]

Better to talk about the weather than the debate. Or sports, computers, music, TV, or....hell anything is better than talking about the debate.

Re:Oh, come on!

[93 Escort Wagon]

Clicks? They got you, didn't they?

Nope - see my sig.

(Okay, it's not always true - but it was in this case)

Re:hell yeah niggy!

[Reverand Dave]

Apple: When you have more money than sense.

Lots of iPads

[lilfields]

I know a lot of people with iPads, but I never see anyone using it. Doesn't anyone else find that strange? I see people using their smart phones and MacBooks or UltraBooks. So really aside from the cool factor, is an iPad really...necessary? To be frank, I can't stand using an iPad, some people say the size is just right...but to me it feels super awkward to use. The Kindle (the original with e-ink) I think feels great to use, something about the iPad just feels weird. Maybe it's the idea of having an OS made for phones on it. I hope the Surface fairs better. Unfortunately for Microsoft there isn't a cult there, Apple has a cult.

Re:Lots of iPads

[Anonymous Coward]

I saw someone using an iPad once.

True story.

Re:Lots of iPads

[amiga3D]

I know I see a lot of people in cafe's and diners using them. I went by Barnes&Nobles just last week and 3 people were sitting there surfing on iPads. I have no real use for something that large but I do have a Galaxy Player 5" tablet that I love. I use the thing everywhere mostly to read on but also occasionaly to watch a show or something and then I surf on it quite a bit also. I think a 5" device is perfect for me, big enough to see but small enough to fit in a pocket.

Re:Lots of iPads

[Jeremy Erwin]

Lots of ipads can be seen on Metrorail/Metrobus (Washington DC area)

Re:hell yeah niggy!

[Anonymous Coward]

Responding to troll posts: when you have nothing new or interesting to say.

In a theater so... pico projector

[Anonymous Coward]

My guess is the iPad Mini has a pico projector. If Apple has solved the blindness problems at decent brightness levels the pico laser projectors make a great image and don't need to be focused. This would be a classic surprise move by Apple to trump everybody else.

Apple have patents on this, and pico projector company MicroVision's CEO just resigned a couple weeks ago (could be inside info... Apple having a projector would crush them).

So what do we know about the iPad Mini?

[DerekLyons]

So what do we know about the iPad Mini?

Absolutely nothing - the iPad mini (and it's specs and costs) are complete fabrications by "journalists" and "analysts" who have to churn out so many words per day to justify their existence.

Re:So what do we know about the iPad Mini?

[WillAffleckUW]

Not true. We know the form factor.

It's a relaunch after unsuccessful patent license negotiations for 3D tech.

A double standard?

[joneil]

When the RIM Blackberry tablet first came out up here in Canada, I distinctly remember the first reviews on the news and in print. One of the big "complaints" about the RIM tablet was that it was smaller - only 7.6 inches wide. Strangely enough, the article here states the new mini iPad is 7.85 inches wide.

      I remember too it wasn't so much what the reviewers on TV said, it was how they said it, their "tone of voice", the inflection in the words, not the words themselves. Now that Apple is doing a small tablet, it's the next "exciting product". *sigh*

      Anyhow, the basic 8 gig RIM tablet occasionally goes on sale here in Canada for around the $100 mark and they are usually sold out instantly long before you can drive to the store or even think of ordering one online. Leads me to think the number one use of tablets is e-mail, surf the web, read books and/or business documents. I don't use my iPad for music or movies or TV shows, etc, just business. Over the past year I've taken most the apps off that I had on my "old" original iPad one, because I simply don't use it for very much more than those items above.

    True you can do a million and one things with an iPad - or most tablets nowadays, but in real world use I find I still need a full featured laptop. I love my iPad for what it is, I make great use of it, but I see zero need for me to upgrade to an iPad 3 or a mini-iPad or any other new tablet. Somedays i think the real reason for the latest and greatest iPad is so you can look cool at Starbucks. for me, I will wait until my current iPad dies out or becomes hopelessly obsolete, and then, with all the choices out there, my next tablet will be whatever gets the job done.

Re:A double standard?

[CastrTroy]

My biggest beef with the blackberry playbook is that it has a huge frame around the screen. So basically you end up carrying a 9 inch device but only get 7 inches of useable space.

Re:Smaller? I want bigger.

[spire3661]

Sony makes decent (dumb)consumer electronics, but it falls flat on its fucking face in any sort of computing device. Id rather have a cheapo chinese tablet then a Sony.

It's 'dollars', Biff.

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you Biff from Back To The Future?

It's 'dollars', you idiot. The expression is "more dollars than sense."

It's a pun.

7 inches fits in a cargo pocket

[Chirs]

but a 10" doesn't. Also, what do you mean by "too small"? The number of pixels on a Nexus 7 matches a lot of the larger tablets, so as long as you can read the smaller font size you're golden. Lastly, 7" is small and light enough to easily hold it in one hand. 10" is borderline too bulky.

I say all the above as the owner of a firesale Touchpad. I use it a lot (alternate between WebOS/CM9 as needed), but I'd probably really like a Nexus 7.

Re:7 inches fits in a cargo pocket

[CastrTroy]

I don't generally wear cargo pants, and I don't really want my device dictating which pants I'm going to wear for the day. I don't know about you, but pixels don't actually define the size for me. Pixels define the clarity of what I see. I'm perfectly happy using a 17 inch 1280x1024 monitor to do my work. But I would not be able to get my word done on a 7 inch screen with the same or higher resolution. The "click target" can only be made so small (physically) before I can't reliably hit it.

Re:7 inches fits in a cargo pocket

[Jeremy Erwin]

The iPad Retina display makes things prettier, and possibly easier to read. It's nice enough that the iPad 2 looks crude by comparison. But my 1080*1920 22" display is far more useful than my ipad's 10 inch display-- because I can display multiple windows, and (with a mouse) interact with hundreds of very small widgets. The ipad's useful resolution is determined by the size of my fingers.

Oh, whatever shall I do?

[WillAffleckUW]

Quick, let me buy the hype-driven Surface RT tablet and get something that will not work.

Oh. wait. Never mind.

Here's a news flash, my iPad2 is going to work fine. I'll buy an iPad mini when the price drops in the New Year.

Re:hell yeah niggy!

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple: When you have more money than sense.

I fixed it for you, bitch :

Apple : when you are successful enough that you can afford to buy good stuff
                        which works well, so you don't need to deal with the hassles that bottom
                        feeders like "Reverand Dave" embrace because they are unable to earn
                        enough money to buy the best.

Re:Smaller? I want bigger.

[PlusFiveTroll]

MSRP on those is $999. Who knows what it will actually sell for. Also, it's a Sony, made by the devil, in hell.

You're looking at the keyboard anyway!

[mosb1000]

Not to mention that, when typing on a screen, you must keep your eyes on that "keyboard" like a fucking moron.

This has the be the stupidest complaint about tablets that I hear in every discussion. You don't need to be able to touch-type because you're looking at the keyboard anyway!

Re:You're looking at the keyboard anyway!

[PeanutButterBreath]

You don't need to be able to touch-type because you're looking at the keyboard anyway!

Which means you can not be tracking your input in real time, or observing whatever it is you are typing about, etc.

If looking at the keyboard while typing was desirable, touch typing would never have become the standard of competent keyboard input.

Re:You're looking at the keyboard anyway!

[tehcyder]

Not to mention that, when typing on a screen, you must keep your eyes on that "keyboard" like a fucking moron.

This has the be the stupidest complaint about tablets that I hear in every discussion. You don't need to be able to touch-type because you're looking at the keyboard anyway!

No, I think yours is the stupidest defence of not touch typing that I have ever heard. If there were no advantage in touch typing instead of staring at your fingers as you typed, no one would bother touch typing in the first place.

Re:You're looking at the keyboard anyway!

[mosb1000]

Usually, you can't look at the keyboard and the screen at the same time. With a tablet, you can.

Re:hell yeah niggy!

[Reverand Dave]

Apparently I touched a nerve with some fanbois

Next Media Animation(NMA)'s Apple iPad Mini Report

[antdude]

Watch it on YouTube. ;)

MaxiPad?

[gelfling]

Are they really going to wind up with a MaxiPad?

Proverbial vest?

[Anonymous Coward]

I always thought the saying was: playing cards close to your chest. I didn't realise someone made a proverb out of it and turned chest into vest.

Competition

[phorm]

Competition also tends to push down costs.
The mini is a response to many of the smaller (Nexus 7, kindle, etc) tablets that are gaining popularity at the $200-$300 price-mark.

The iPod doesn't seem to have similar competition in terms of popularity.

Looking forward to a new iMac

[FiloEleven]

MacRumors also thinks it highly likely that a new iMac will be unveiled at the same time. I hope so, because my 2007 MacBook Pro is getting long in the tooth, and while it serves most of my mobile computing needs it just can't keep up with my music recording software of choice. I'm confident that the curent-gen iMacs will, and if a new model is released, I'll be able to snag the newly-outdated one at a healthy discount.

I like the hardware and the OS, and I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for it. I also don't need the cutting-edge, and since my "mobile" setup already involves an audio box that requires power and a desk to sit on, I don't mind the sacrifice of full mobility. Here's hoping.

Re:Smaller? I want bigger.

[WillAdams]

Yes, but given that a 20" LCD TV is ~$350, I couldn't take the OP's price point seriously, and it's a rare device which doesn't eventually go for less than list price.