Four words for why you are wrong: iTunes ecosystem, Halo Effect

That is the problem with sales bozo’s, vision is usually limited to the either the current or next sale. You see margin on an individual transaction level. Step back.

Apple wants consumer CC captures, it can market those (installed base) numbers to it’s advantage with developers, accessory makers, component suppliers. Once you buy one Apple product you buy more. Once it is simple and painless to use the one click store, you use it more.

Apple is now generating many more transactions per card holder, selling to a greater variety of income levels and making you work harder for your jack. WIn Win for them.. What you see as cannibalism, they see as growth.

BTW, Steve streamlined the product line because it was a confusing mess, todays lineup is no such thing. (well other than the lack of xserve, and the molasses like update speed of the mac pro line)

“how much sales did the original iPad eat into Mac sales?”
answer: a lot

“When you’re broadening and widening the product range, you float all boats.”

The first thing Steve Jobs did when he came back to Apple was to streamline the product line, to get the company back to profitability.

I work in Apple retail/corporate sales. I see the cannibalization effect daily. It cuts into profit big time. I dread the thought of an iPad mini. It will take just a long to sell one yet result in half the profit margin (compared to an iPad). The iPads are already non profitable compared to a laptop and a MacBook Air is less profitable than a MacBook Pro (plus you can’t add memory or upgrade the hard drive in an AIr).

BLN you’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re wrong. Again I see the cannibalization effect daily. I’ve got the experience to prove it. You don’t.

iPad will be a carnivore when it comes to Android tablets.

See Youtube of Fishman and his SUV installs. So COOL.

So I don’t think that the iPad market has reached its limit yet. As new iterations come out people and corporations will find more and more uses for each of the sizes.

“If you don’t canabilize your own sales, someone else will.” – Steve Jobs

Oh, Competition, yummy!

By any metric the iPad is selling (and making big profits) in a way that puts every other consumer product (not made by Apple) to shame. If you know of a more successful/profitable product in the market today (not made by Apple), chime in.

If Apple loses a few % points on the iPad due to self inflicted cannibalism, it will still be a monstrously successful/profitable product. So again; So what?

The iPad mini will be a huge success and stuff even more currency into Apple’s war-chest.

The only losers in the launch of a iPad mini will be the folks that make competing small tablets.

Contrary to what anyone says about Apple being at a disadvantage, Apple is sitting in the driver’s seat when it comes to tablets. Rather than individual tablet specs, Apple has command of the component supply chain and can afford to make the biggest deals thanks to a huge cash reserve. Apple is taking less of a risk introducing the iPad Mini than Microsoft is with the ZunePad. Windows tablets have always seen low volume sales. Who’s to say the ZunePad won’t be any different?

I don’t see Apple’s product line-up being too large as it is. Wall Street is always complaining about how Apple derives too much revenue from the iPhone alone, so I’d think it would be advantageous for Apple to spread the revenue responsibility over several products. I’m hoping the iPad Mini will reach schools and small businesses that aren’t already using iPads and that is certainly a sound possibility.

Your point about other companies sales is a very good one.

We should also note that they are still expecting Apple’s overall tablet sales to increase.

It’s like if America attacked and took over Canada. Even though there were 3 million casualties, America gained 28 million in population, a whole pile of resources and a claim to the title of biggest country in the world.

When you’re broadening and widening the product range, you float all boats. Fear of cannibalization is a Microsoftian trait because the opposite is true – if you fear to cannibalize your own sales, then you end up trying to defend your turf by churning out products that are an incremental iteration of the previous generation, much like Microsoft has tried to defend its lead in Windows and Office leading to lacklustre incremental upgrades or service packs.

The adage that if you don’t eat into your own sales somebody else will holds true in this case. Apple is broadening the appeal of the iPad by extending its line to a more portable format, which will be a resounding success. Cannibalization be damned.