Two interesting news..

Finally iPad mini.. and price for Microsoft Surface  Tablet. As usual, it will be some kind of surprise on Apple side.. Nobody is expecting just a simple small mini version of iPad. There are rumors that it will have not only iPad mini will have Cellular Data but will also have cellular voice capability. It is easier to do that.. no biggie.. it will be competitor to Samsung Galaxy Note.. kind of.. Knowing Apple, if they can get some other interesting Voice + Data Plan to make it affordable.. so instead of iPad mini as purely Cell phone, it can be an extra cell phone possible with pay as you go/use.. I think it is easily doable considering Apple's clout. Hope something useful comes out.. not just min/micro version..

As far as Microsoft Surface is concerned.. looks like Microsoft is positioning it to enterprise customers with enterprise discounts which usually can be any where from 40-60%. Or some real fool/idiot is sitting in their pricing who is thinking that people will pay same price as iPad just because we are adding physical keyboard in cover of surface tablet. or... I am too dumb to understand great Microsoft strategy.. but whatever I know.. in my view this price will make surface DOA (dead on arrival). Even if it 10 times better than iPad.. perception is that iPad is gold standard and you can only raise price later on if your product was successful. Lot of people have tried it out.. Motorola I know tried with docking station kind of nonsense.. but nobody even remember Motorola's tablet's name..

TECHNOLOGY GIANTS THINK SMALL

Apple expected to lift curtain on iPad Mini

Oct. 23 event is set for San Jose’s California Theatre

By Jeremy C. Owens

jowens@mercurynews.com 

SAN JOSE — Apple sent out a media invite Tuesday to an event on Oct. 23, expected to be the introduction of a longrumored smaller iPad to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7. The invite, brightly colored with the top of an Apple logo, simply says “We’ve got a little more to show you” and invites media members to an event at the historic California Theatre in downtown San Jose. Apple last introduced a new product at the theater in 2005, when late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs showed off the company’s first video iPod and the debut of television shows on iTunes; the iPod U2 Special Edition was also introduced there in 2004.

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APPLE

Above is the e-mailed invitation sent to journalists Tuesday, advising them of Apple’s Oct. 23 event presumably to introduce the new iPad Mini.

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A smaller and less expensive iPad would be a logical step by the Cupertino company to thwart sales of similar tablets by Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Rumors have focused on a screen size of about 7.85 inches diagonally for the so-called iPad Mini, notably smaller than the standard iPad’s 9.7-inch screen. Smaller devices are easier to carry in a purse or suit pocket and cost about $200, far more affordable than the latest version of the iPad, which starts at $499. An “iPad Mini” would allow Apple to protect its retail flank, experts have said, effectively corralling off that lower price point from its rivals. 

Analyst Shaw Wu with Sterne Agee told Bloomberg News last week that while “these competitors have a tough enough time competing against the 10-inch iPad,” a smaller, less expensive iPad Mini “will make the competition even tougher. It tells you how hard it is to beat Apple. These other companies have to either lose money or break even on these products.” 

Several news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and Reuters, have reported this month that Apple has already begun production of the device. Other reports have said that Apple will also introduce a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, smaller than the current 15-inch model. 

Jobs famously denounced a smaller iPad model as late as 2010, when he said “One naturally thinks that a 7-inch screen would offer 70 percent of the benefits of a 10inch screen. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. … The reason we won’t make a 7-inch tablet isn’t because we don’t want to hit a lower price point, it’s because we think the screen is too small to express the software.” 

However, business needs seem to have trumped the thinking of Jobs. 

“Even though we all remember Steve Jobs saying you’d have to file down your fingers to use a 7-inch tablet, it sounds like it’s finally going to happen,” Needham analyst Charles Wolf told this newspaper earlier this month. “But while it’s been proven there’s a market for a smaller iPad, I think it’s the lower price point that Apple’s concerned with.” 

Apple stock, struggling since the launch of the iPhone 5 led to concerns of production delays, shot up Tuesday, gaining 2.4 percent to close at $649.79. Before Tuesday’s gains, Apple — the most valuable U.S. company in terms of market capitalization — had fallen 9.4 percent on Wall Street since the launch of its newest smartphone on Sept. 21. Staff writer Pat May contributed to this report. Contact Jeremy C. Owens at 408-920-5876; follow him at Twitter.com/mercbizbreak. 

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Enterprise version pricing? with 60 or 70% discount?

Microsoft Surface to start at $499 — same as iPad

By Salvador Rodriguez

Los Angeles Times

The long-awaited pricing of Microsoft’s Surface tablet has finally been revealed — four months after the product was first announced. Microsoft said Tuesday it was taking pre-orders for its tablet, which starts at $499 for the 32 GB model that runs Windows RT, a lighter version of Windows 8 built for tablets. Prices go up to $599 for a 32 GB model that includes a cover with a built-in keyboard, and up to $699 for a 64 GB version with the keyboard cover, according to the pricing page. Additionally, covers can be purchased separately starting at $119.99 for a touch keyboard cover, $129.99 for a type cover. The type cover includes real keys and is built for quicker typing, while the touch cover comes in five color options. 

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DAMIAN DOVARGANES/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Microsoft’s Surface tablet is 9.3 millimeters thick.

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The Redmond, Wash., company announced the pricing of the Surface on the same day that Apple sent invitations to an Oct. 23 event where it is widely expected to announce an iPad Mini tablet. 

When Microsoft revealed the Surface, the company promised it would sell the tablet at competitive prices, and the tech giant has delivered. By comparison, the 9.7-inch Apple iPad also starts at $499, albeit for a 16 GB model. A 32 GB model costs $599, and that’s without a cover or keyboard. 

The Surface features a 10.6-inch display with a 1,366-by-768 resolution. The tablet features two 720p HD cameras. The body is 9.3 millimeters thick and comes with a kickstand. The Surface also features two microphones and includes ports for microSD cards, USB and HD video out. 

The Surface will go on sale alongside Windows 8 on Oct. 26. 

Besides unveiling prices, Microsoft also uploaded its first commercial for the tablet to YouTube on Monday night. 

iPad mini? Really?

I am big fan of iPad mainly because of it's form factor, display, graphics rendering and excellent user interface. This smaller iPad, may be needed to compete with Google Nexus 7 and Aamzon Fire tablets.. As per this article it is similar to iPod and iPod mini concept. To be honest, I never liked iPod mini as well. May be it is my own form factor which makes me like only bigger form factors ;-) I do love my iPhone and have never able to use my 7 inch tablet over it..

I hope that this new iPad mini turns out to be better experience than other minis out there. I would have preferred that Apple continue with their older versions at cheaper prices to cater for lower end market. That would give them broader spectrum in terms of price range but won't give them form factor spread. This form factor IS unique differentiation for iPad any how.. I don't know, why they want to loose it.. May be, I should do MBA so I can understand their strategy..

However, I very strongly feel that it won't have good impact on Apple in long term. It may in turn start eating their own market instead of growing it overall. Moreover, impact of content on smaller screen size will further diminish their iTunes/Cloud eco-system value. In short term it will definitely help them and I do expect some share boost if analysts haven't already factored iPad mini in..

What I remember from older days that Jobs was totally against smaller form factors.. I am still supportive of his idea of iPad's form factor. I still believe that new management is focused on Stock price and that is the reason for all the new product line introductions instead of focusing on details and quality of the products. It is too early to see the direct impact of shift in change.. I hope that this doesn't happen as I really love Apple for the value they create out of their products is amazing and quality is usually much better than similarly configured devices.

SHIFT IN STRATEGY

Apple eyes smaller, lower-price iPad

With 7.85-inch screen, mini device would be designed to block competitors

By John Boudreau

jboudreau@mercurynews.com 

Apple may be on the verge of rewriting its iPad strategy by rolling out a smaller and less expensive model this fall, a move analysts say could further distance it from competitors already struggling to play catch-up.

A chorus of news organizations and analysts believe Apple is building an iPad mini — its display screen could be 7.85 inches instead of the current 9.7 inches — resembling the strategy it deployed for the iPod, in which the company offered digital media players with varying features and prices, including the low-end $49 iPod shuffle.

That move blocked lower-end competitors from grabbing market share from Apple, said Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin. “It shows Apple is not afraid to segment its products,” he said.

While no one knows for sure what Apple’s next moves are until they announce them, industry experts increasingly believe a smaller iPad is in the offing.

Investors on Thursday appeared happy with increasing speculation that Apple is preparing to sell a smaller iPad. Shares of Apple closed up nearly 2 percent to $609.94.

Apple is not going to stand still as more tablet competitors try to encircle it, said Bajarin, noting Google’s new move into the market with its Nexus 7, a 7-inch device that starts at $200. Microsoft is planning to roll out a series of tablets called Surface.

Rumors about the development of a 7-inch iPad have been around for years. The market, though, may be right for one now, experts say. The late Steve Jobs dispar­aged a smaller-screen tablet in a 2010 conference call with analysts, saying it is too big to compete with an iPhone but too small to provide a good user experience. But technology and markets change, analysts say. 

Brian White, an analyst with Topeka Capital Markets, said there are a number of reasons why Apple would add a smaller iPad to its product offerings, including increasing its ability to tap deeper into developing markets such as China and taking a step to realizing Jobs’ vision of transforming the multibillion-dollar textbook industry by providing cheaper devices for K-12 students. 

“As you drop the price point and size, you are opening up consumers you weren’t addressing before,” he said. His firm’s research indicates a market exists for smaller iPads that sell for $250 to $300. 

White also believes a number of current iPad owners would be willing to buy the smaller model. Women, for instance, would like to be able to slip a slimmer iPad into purses while men could carry a smaller model inside sport coats, he said. 

“There will be some who want both” iPad models, White said. Although Jobs once inveighed against a smaller iPad, the Apple co-founder was known for changing his opinions, White said. And, he added, Jobs instructed CEO Tim Cook to run the company as he sees fit. And that could be shifting Apple’s iPad strategy. An iPad mini could cannibalize 10 to 20 percent of sales of the more expensive model, White said. But a cheaper iPad would also bring new customers to the Apple ecosystem, which frequently results in future sales of its other devices, observed Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. “This would be a competitor’s worst nightmare,” he said. “They already are having a hard time competing with the current iPad.” Apple’s latest model starts at $499; its older version is offered at $399. A less expensive iPad would take away the price advantage of competitors, Wu said. Last year, Apple had 62 percent of the tablet market, according to IHS iSuppli. Overall, the tablet market is expected to soar this year to 124 million units, up 90 percent from 65 million in 2011, the market research company projects. 

Apple’s ability to stay ahead of competitors allows the company to sell high volumes of new products. This enables the company to aggressively price its products while maintaining large profit margins, Wu said. He estimates the company’s profit margin on the new Retina display iPad is a bit under 40 percent, whereas the profit margin on the older model is about 40 percent. Competitors, on the other hand, have profit margins that range from 20 to 25 percent on their tablets, Wu said. 

Apple plows its large profits back into research and innovation in a way other consumer electronics companies can’t, he said. “That’s what makes Apple so dangerous,” Wu said. 

Bajarin said Apple learned the importance of creating a dominant computing platform — from Macintosh computers to iPhones — after Microsoft’s Windows franchise took over the global PC market decades ago. 

“They are dedicated to doing that, and this is part of that strategy,” he said of a smaller iPad. 

Contact John Boudreau at 408-278-3496.