Arrival of cheaper iPad is possible
Submitted by Sam Ross on October 16, 2011 - 8:36pm
Brian White, an analyst with the Ticonderoga Securities heard the rumors when he was touring China and Taiwan to meet the component suppliers. White said that he heard the rumors of an ‘iPad mini’ which might arrive by 2012.
White said that the word “mini” does not indicates its smaller size device, but it reflects the price of Apple’s new low cost iPad. White said the device will cost less than $200 and is expected to arrive in the first few months of 2012.
The reason why Apple is coming up with such a ‘cheaper’ device is to move into the market which is more price perceptive. The other reason is, it will fade off Amazon’s entrance in the cheaper segment, which is coming up with Amazon Kindle Fire.
In a note to the investors, Brian White wrote, “We believe this lower priced iPad could be priced in the mid-to-high-$200 range. We expect this will be followed by a much more powerful, feature rich standard-priced iPad 3 in (the second quarter of 2012).”
Cheaper devices
While making a cheaper device manufacturers compromise with the size of the device and not with the quality. Amazon Kindle Fire has a 7 inch screen whereas iPad has a 9.7 inch screen. Apple’s former CEO, late. Steve Jobs had earlier slammed manufactures for producing a small size 7 inch tablet.
According to Jobs, 7 inch screen is too small for the users, as they will face difficulty in pointing a smaller target in the device. However, according to the rumors Apple’s ‘iPad Mini’ will be sized between iPad and iPod, though White has different views on it.
According to White, low cost iPad will be a big hit in countries like China and other developing countries. He also believes that the low cost device will also be a big hit in U.S and European market. White said that after a cheap iPad, a low cost Apple iPhone is also in the pipeline.
