“Steve Jobs never hid his hatred for Google’s Android platform. Shortly before his death, Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson of his wish to see the mobile platform annihilated,” Adrian Kingsley-Hughes writes for ZDNet. “‘I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank [at the time, this bank balance has swelled massively since Jobs uttered these words], to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.'”
“Last week Apple scored a massive blow against Android in the form of a billion dollars in damages against handset and tablet maker Samsung. While there little doubt that this will now go to appeal, it’s certainly going to make Android handset makers lose some sleep,” Kingsley-Hughes writes. “But a win for Apple in the courts only takes the company so far. The best way for the Cupertino juggernaut to ‘go thermonuclear’ on Android is to obliterate its sales. The iPhone has the handset market well stitched up, and the iPad has all but wiped out high-end Android tablet sales. All that’s left is the newly emerged budget tablet market… Enter the iPad Mini.”
Kingsley-Hughes writes, “ZDNet‘s James Kendrick suggested that Apple could rock the world with an iPad Mini, which he dubbed the iBook. I have to say that if Apple does it right — and if past history is anything to go buy, it will — then this could be bigger than both the iPad and the iPhone, and it could be just the thermonuclear device that the company needs to win the war against Android.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Don’t look at the flash!
This is a clear case of ‘smaller really is better.’ Never thought I’d say it but here it is.
Is the mini a bigger substitute for the Touch? Why have a mini if you have an iPad and an iPod?
A 7.85″ iPad mini sits between a 9.7″ iPad and a 4″ (putative) iPod touch. Easily concealed in a jacket pocket, yet large enough to read books, manuals, maps, web pages on and not so small as to make squinting a problem.
An iPod touch fulfils a portable music player niche that’s pocketable and cheaper, relatively speaking, than its bigger cousins. But not so convenient for reading books, watching movies and serving as an in-dash moving map reader.
I think you mean “diminutive” not “putative”. (“Small” and not “reputed”.)
This would be a case of Apple expanding their product line to occupy every niche, and denying those market segments to others.
As for the “mini” vs. an iPhone or touch, earlier this year I read a report about a study done at one of the Major airlines. While 10″ iPads were great in the cockpit, they found that 10″ was not the optimal size for other jobs – flight attendants, mechanics, flight line, etc. This is likely true in other industries. Also, if Apple has an offering in every size, the companies save with common management tools, and if needed, common software development platform.
Except in bed.
…and the fallout may last for generations.
Hard to say. There is a big percentage of the population that likes to buy cheap knock-off crap.
How long will cheap knock-off crap be around when every maker is losing money on every sale?
Also, smartphone Android is not going away. So it will not be destroyed.
Don’t be so sure…
The players will keep changing. Each thinking that they’ll be able to produce the knock-off product that can take Apple down. Most of these smaller companies don’t actually sit down and get a big picture of Apple. Ridiculously huge amounts of cash, abundant supplies of the best components, hundreds of retail stores, millions of credit card holders, brand loyalty, etc.
Seriously, who in their right mind wants to go up against a behemoth like that and expect to be successful. With that huge economies of scale that Apple has I honestly don’t believe that any competitor short of Samsung or Microsoft can continue to take heavy losses and stay in business very long. Apple’s cash reserve alone is many times larger than what most consumer tech companies are worth. That guy building tablets and smartphones in his garage or workshop in China stands no chance at all. He’ll be able to produce cheap garbage and nothing more.
There is a big percentage of the population that hates original thinking. Them thinkers is left wing liberal elite east coast communist fascist unAmericans!
wtf am I reading?
I think you’re missing the action on our northern borders where Canada and its commufacist right to left wing conspiracy is poised to do something (or just go fishing). And what’s up with this Canadian football?
Huh? THe only thing I understand from your post is that you are missing all the action on your north border 🙂
(reason? Its by invite only)
OK, no more of our bacon for you! One year!
As for Canadian football – our balls are bigger!
Just look at two markets… Kids who have glommed onto their parents iPads – a less expensive, smaller iPad would be hot. And, automotive usage. A LOT of auto enthusiasts would love to be able to install a tablet into their cars – either in-dash or on a mount of some kind. The current iPad is just a bit too large.
This could be huge, except for Ford.
We need to make Steve dream a reality .
It can be said Android or Google hastened Steve demise .
RIP Android
This will kill Android mini tablets.
Windows 8 tablets will self destruct. Microsoft will keep pissing money away trying to get them viable.
Apple’s done extensive user-testing on touch interfaces over many years, and we really understand this stuff. There are clear limits of how close you can physically place elements on a touch screen before users cannot reliably tap, flick, or pinch them. This is one of the key reasons we think the 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps.
So 7.85″ Apple tablets will just have almost great apps.
Yep, we’ll never put video on the iPod.
Every time I read this statement from Jobs, I think “what about the iPhone?” Works great.
Apparently size doesn’t matter there. I’m missing something – what?
Agreed. A mini would be larger than the iPhone and iPod Touch. No sandpaper required.
“and if past history is anything to go buy..”
jeez, who proofs this guy’s copy? Stevie Wonder?
I wouln’t go and buy past history, even if it was anything.
I have said from the beginning that the ipad mini would sell tons and even outsell the orgininal.
People are never going to look at the iPad the same. It’s going to look and feel unnecessarily big and clunky after you get your hands on an iPad mini. It truly is the next big step in the evolution of tablets.
I’ll probably never buy another iPad. Nothing but iPad minis from here on out for R2. The slightly larger screen of the iPad offers me no additional benefit that makes the extra weight and thickness worth my while.
What war? These are all battles for market share and the iPad mini will certainly do well but at what cost? Remember that a big part of the Apple business model has been controlling the amount of devices available at any one time. Android is pushing the 7″ on Apple and sure Apple will play ball, but what effect will that decision have on the iPad?
USA aside, Apple is not that big of a player on the World stage hence Android will always be a force to reckon with but once again, no War will ever be won but battles will be.
What!!! a sane reply! I need to do a permissions repair, run Onyx a couple of times just to be sure and then open this blog-page again. This can’t be happening.
Cheech, someone is actually right on the internet. Whoda thunk!
😉
@Pat – GREAT comment. IMHO…
I’d love to see a iPad mini! (Writing from my Nexus 7) The size factor would be awesome!
No doubt I’d buy a mini iPad or how about iPocket? I love my iPad 3 but would love a smaller device under certain occasions. The more the merrier Apple devices I can own the better! The naysayers on this will be eating crow soon when it is introduced and becomes a bigger success than even Apple anticipates.
I said it’d be called iBook weeks ago!!