I would guess we will pay whatever price they set it at if we really want it. I have not had a lot of luck telling them how much I will pay for anything. They want $499 and I say $399, I don't get to buy it.

Originally Posted by dvdcatalyst

Yes and no.

It depends on the way the device is marketed.

The Google Nexus 7 comes with $25 market credit in order to get people to buy content for it (and continue to buy)

the Kindle Fire works ok as a device, but works best with an Amazon Prime subscription.

More and more, companies are moving towards the console strategy, sell the device at a loss and make up for it by the sales of content.
A PS3 or an XBOX 360 don't make money unless 3-4 games are purchased for each console.

I'm not randomly applying biz strategies to Apple; I'm going by its track record. If it's smart, it will build a good product that differentiates itself, rather than compete on price alone, which is a race to the bottom, which is again not like Apple.

Originally Posted by Kaykaykay

I'm not randomly applying biz strategies to Apple; I'm going by its track record. If it's smart, it will build a good product that differentiates itself, rather than compete on price alone, which is a race to the bottom, which is again not like Apple.

Understandable, but to find something that fits in between the iPad 2 and the iPod Touch in terms of size and price is a bit tricky, and since Steve always has been against a 7" iPad, it seems to me that they are just following suit with the rest of the market, rather than being a market leader in this case. And with competitors in this area being the Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Galaxy Tab and the Nexus 7, they will need to focus on more than just being "Apple" alone. The iPad managed to get a lot of people to "think different" about Apple, and move away from other brands and devices, but with an established 7" field, they will have to bring it.

Originally Posted by dvdcatalyst

Understandable, but to find something that fits in between the iPad 2 and the iPod Touch in terms of size and price is a bit tricky, and since Steve always has been against a 7" iPad, it seems to me that they are just following suit with the rest of the market, rather than being a market leader in this case. And with competitors in this area being the Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Galaxy Tab and the Nexus 7, they will need to focus on more than just being "Apple" alone. The iPad managed to get a lot of people to "think different" about Apple, and move away from other brands and devices, but with an established 7" field, they will have to bring it.

I don't pretend to know Steve Jobs, but I've read that he told Apple leaders that they should run the company the best they can, with the info they have available, not to try to cling to what he said before he died. Even when he was alive, he changed his mind when he saw fit, and there's plenty of evidence of that.

Originally Posted by dvdcatalyst

Easy, by looking at what it would have to compete with.

Or by looking at where the product might fit in their line-up. Apple has always had clearly defined price-points for their products; iPods start at $49 for the entry-level Shuffle, $129 - $149 for the Nano, $199 - $399 for the iTouch. iPads run from $399 - $699 for the WiFi, $529 - $829 for cellular; MacBooks start at $999 for the 11" Air, and so on. Got some money? Apple has a product for you - and an upgrade for just a little bit more...

But the Nexus 7 starts to make the iPod Touch look a little pricey, at least in the US where Google has a more competitive range of products in the Play store. The iPod Touch line hasn't had any attention for a couple of years, and sales have slowly but surely been dwindling; perhaps we'll see the whole iPod line cut back - Nanos to $99 and $129, and a single 8Gb entry-level iTouch at $149 woud leave space for a larger iDevice priced anywhere between $199 - $399 before it starts overlapping with the iPad, and that's the sort of price range I'd expect to be looking at. 32Gb for around $300 would have me sold.

Whether the new shiny is a larger iPod Touch or a smaller iPad, we'll just have to wait and see - maybe they'll shock us all and announce both in September

Originally Posted by dvdcatalyst

...since Steve always has been against a 7" iPad...

If you're referring to that "they should come with sandpaper for their fingertips" line, it's worth remembering the context that was said in; a) Jobs was on stage at the original iPad launch in early 2010 showing off the original 9.7" iPad, so he's hardly going to stand there and big-up 7" devices, and b) remember the 7" devices he was talking about from early 2010 i.e. the hastily-pushed-out-in-response-to-the-iPad-rumours no-brand keyboard-less netbooks running Android 1.6 are a far cry from e.g. the Nexus 7.

Also - and I can't overstate this - the only 7" tablet competition is in the US; there's a great piece over at The Next Web about this by Matthew Panzarino here - seriously, anyone who thinks that there's an 'established' 7" tablet field should read this and gain a little global perspective.

HTH Pete

For many with less than 20/20 vision the The smaller iphone screen is hard work, but the bigger ipad screen is often to big and awkward.

With screens available now being so thin, what about a fold out from say a 4" to 8" or 5" to 10".

That would be innovation, the idea has been partly trailed in game boys, so should i apply for a job in place of Mr Job's?

Originally Posted by dvdcatalyst

More and more, companies are moving towards the console strategy, sell the device at a loss and make up for it by the sales of content. A PS3 or an XBOX 360 don't make money unless 3-4 games are purchased for each console.

Console hardware is sold at a loss when released, but due to improved manufacturing (cheaper and smaller) over time, they can make money off them later.

I say grow the iPod Touch into a bigger device and charge a little bit more for it. I can see myself paying no more than $300 for a 16GB 7-8 inch device from apple. If they can hit that price I will bite.

What I'm willing to pay is flexible, depending on specs. For an iPad with wifi only or less than 64GB, cost wouldn't matter -- I wouldn't want one.