Apple, Facing Competition, Introduces a Smaller iPad

Apple facing competition is a territory that they have not been in a while, so it is interesting to see their reaction to the other players in the market. Apple just recently released an iPad mini which is similar to the other tablets that are currently in the market. People that buy the competing products, buy them because they are smaller than the iPad. One of the negatives of the iPad is that it is actually too big to just carry around normally compared to other tablets. "Apple’s iPad Mini, which it unveiled at a press event here on Tuesday, weighs about two-thirds of a pound and has a screen that measures 7.9 inches diagonally, making its surface area significantly smaller than that of the 9.7-inch iPad. Philip W. Schiller, Apple’s vice president for marketing, said the smaller, lighter tablet would be a good fit for people who want something more portable than the 1.44-pound iPad" If Apple has an idea for a product than in most cases they will knock it out of the park and create a product that is far more advanced than the others in the market. Other companies in the market really want to try to offer something that Apple does not offer, so having a smaller device was something they could use to impress their possible customers over whatever Apple offered. These days people will buy whatever Apple has, I would admit that I am one of those people. Fact is they just produce products that are far and beyond better than the others in the industry.  "The company is selling the lowest price Mini for $330, about $130 more than similar-size tablets from competitors." This is an example of Apple just using their brand recognition to price their product higher than the similar products in the market. Again this is an example of something that only Apple could do because of their brand image. "But with all the action in the tablet market lately, smaller models have become impossible to ignore. Google, Apple’s fiercest competitor, recently released its 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet for $200. Amazon recently introduced seven new Kindles, including a 7-inch tablet for $160 and an 8.9-inch tablet for $300. Barnes & Noble’s Nook tablet, which starts at $200, has also sold well. Combined, the three companies have sold about 15 million of these smaller, cheaper tablets, according to estimates by Forrester Research." These products are not very well-known to people in the market, and they are products that are having a difficult time competing with Apple and their iPad. Apple will always be the main players in the industry, they continue to try to come out with innovative products to grab the attention of their target markets. "Apple still dominates the tablet market; it announced that it had sold 100 million iPads to date. But it might have sold 15 million more if it had put a smaller, cheaper version on the market earlier, said Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester analyst." Selling 100 million iPads is amazing to begin with but noticing what their problem is is crucial to the company as a whole. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/technology/apple-facing-competition-introduces-a-smaller-ipad.html?ref=technology&_r=0