Look at the iPad mini. People are willing to pay for something of quality that they know will give them a lot in return. It’s no longer a case where it’s a race to the bottom to create the cheapest and most easily-produced product. People are realizing that you frequently get what you pay for. – Eric Kuhn, The Wall Street Journal
“That’s an excellent excerpt from an excellent article that reveals where so many otherwise excellent people miss with errant emotional reactions to Apple over the last several weeks,” Rocco Pendola writes for TheStreet. “If these folks credit Google with any perceived weakness at Apple, they’re really far gone.”
MacDailyNews Take: Sounds familiar:
Mac users… know that you get what you pay for and we’re glad to pay it in order to not have to be subjected to Windows. — SteveJack, MacDailyNews, October 3, 2002
Pendola writes, “When you pick up an iPad mini, it just feels right. Down to the last detail. In your hand, I don’t know how to explain it, it’s like dashing kisses along a beautiful woman’s collarbone on the way to intimate, absolutely perfect ecstasy. The Kindle Fire [is] more like going in to kiss your grandmother and awkwardly bumping heads because you were going for the cheek and she was going for the lips. It’s all good. You love her. She’s even nice to have around, but it’s just different you know.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Newsflash: Apple sells premium products at premium prices to premium customers – October 23, 2012
VentureBeat reviews Apple’s iPad mini: The best iPad ever and the best tablet on the market – November 16, 2012
InfoWorld reviews Apple’s iPad mini: Far superior; outclasses Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 – November 6, 2012
Thurrott reviews Apple iPod touch and iPad mini: ‘demonstrably better than the competition; incredibly desirable tech devices’ – November 6, 2012
Ars Technica reviews Apple’s iPad mini: You’ll find yourself reaching for it over a full-sized iPad with Retina display – November 6, 2012
24 hours with Apple’s iPad mini: This is the real iPad – November 6, 2012
Why I just dumped my iPad 3 for iPad mini – November 5, 2012
DisplayMate: Apple’s iPad mini offers ‘just a very capable display’ – November 5, 2012
Apple’s iPad mini and ultra-mobile computing – November 5, 2012
Demand for Apple’s new iPad mini is huge – November 5, 2012
The Register reviews Apple’s iPad mini: ‘The tablet even Apple anti-fans won’t be able to leave alone’ – November 5, 2012
Apple sells three million iPads in three days; double previous first weekend sales – November 5, 2012
The Independent reviews Apple’s iPad mini: High-end gadget is worth the price – October 31, 2012
CNET reviews Apple’s iPad mini: The new standard for little-tablet design – October 31, 2012
NYT’s Pogue reviews Apple’s iPad mini: ‘All the iPad goodness in a more manageable size; it’s awesome’ – October 31, 2012
USA Today’s Baig reviews Apple’s iPad mini: ‘A splendid choice; terrific for reading, watching movies and playing games’ – October 31, 2012
Mossberg reviews Apple’s iPad mini: ‘An impressive feat; the perfect solution’ – October 31, 2012
Weird…slightly troubling analogy.
Weird…slightly retarded comment.
Most people aren’t into slipping the tongue to their granny ya’ deviant.
No kidding. It’s almost always better to leave your grandmother out of it!!
Slightly? I think Rocco needs some counseling.
iYuck
$199 was the no-brainier thermonuclear war price. At $329, it gave you pause, and made you take time to consider your options at that point. It really made you think about the quality and the ecosystem you were buying into. I have to say, as much as I railed against the price, in the long run Apple won. Two 32gig iPad Mini’s found their way under my tree yesterday, and I have two very happy kids on my hands.
Whats really great is that in 6 months, they will still be two very happy kids…
Just a thought.
So instead of $329, you went for $429 X 2, and that didn’t give you pause as you so eloquently stated? Amazing. Keep the kiddies happy.
whoa, Rocco Pendola pendecho: grannies are freat & wise & youd’d think Apple is wiser, more mature than all competitors, whilst being the freshest, sexiest as well. so, weak, rushed, lazy anaology. but sure, iPad feels like a sexier kiss…
sorry, autotyping errors above:
whoa, Rocco Pendola pendecho: grannies are great & wise & you’d think Apple is wiser, more mature than all competitors, whilst being the freshest, sexiest as well. so, weak, rushed, lazy analogy. but sure, iPad feels like a sexier kiss…
Redundantly redundant if you ask me.
Rocco gets Apple.
We Apple users do, especially if we’re Switchers.
I would argue that there is no price difference.
We pay the right price for Apple products (actually I believe that for what Apple gives me, Apple’s prices are low).
Other companies make products that cannot match Apple’s quality, in all senses of the word. Those companies price their products accordingly.
An informed consumer cannot say, “Why would I buy Apple’s XXY at $500, when I can buy Nokia’s XXZ at $400?
Even if the specs are similar, the informed consumer knows that the comparison is so much more than that, and that there really is no comparison at all.
It ends up that the price for the Apple product is correct. And whatever the price for the non-Apple product, if people are willing to pay it, is correct.
We (usually) get what we pay for.
And yes, lots of cheapskates don’t know that. Yet.
Yeah, sure. Now, all you have to do is convince Wall Street that expensive is better than cheap, otherwise it doesn’t mean squat. I’m not sure most consumers can tell the difference between good and not so good or even care about the slight difference. If they only have a certain amount of money to spend and don’t want to wait, they’re going with the cheaper product. I think that’s why Wall Street keeps harping about the commoditization of all things Apple. Wall Street certainly doesn’t value good customer service, either.
Apple seems to be doing all the things that Wall Street doesn’t care about. Apple having an elite brand carries no weight at all. I’m beginning to think that a company building a better product than rivals is actually a drawback. I’ll continue to buy Apple products because they’ve always lasted me a long time and have been relatively trouble-free. That’s what I’m looking for. I’ll take that over something that’s more cutting edge or faster any day of the week.
No not becasue it’s expensive, but becasue it’s obvious that the products is better. I headed on over to YouTube to read receives from people who got tablets for Christmas, and to see the reactions of kids who received an iPad mini for Christmas to those who received a let’s say a kindle fire or whatever, the reactions are night and day. Kids receiving iPad minis were literally crying with joy. People respond to quality products.
Links??
People do not aspire to be second best.
They do if they’re in third place.
Worth paying more to avoid the Android OS misfire as well.
Played with an iPad Mini on Saturday. Want.
Cheap tablets are what you give when you are cheap or buy for yourself when you are not worth it. Many folks would not want to be caught giving a cheap gift unless they want to say that they really don’t care that much about you in which case they wouldn’t pony up the $200 for a cheap device either.
So, this is a story about a story about a story?
If you have to worry about the premium price of Apples offerings, maybe you should just stick with fail droid and winblows.
iPad mini is not selling well. It’s just faking to show that it’s doing well….
collarbone?
Ok that a strange bone fetish…