The excitement and curiosity around
Apple and Apple products never ceases to amaze me. Latest in line is the
possibility of the launch of an iPad Mini. As per various news sources,
the iPad Mini will be a 7.86 inch tab with 1024 x 768 resolution (the same
that comes on the iPad 1 and 2) that could launch as early as Q3 and will come
at a price tag of $249 or $299.
While
there are sufficient sources to the fact that Apple is playing around with this
screen size, the possibility of such a launch is also being dismissed on
grounds of that fact the legend Steve Jobs was against having a screen size
smaller than the current iPad's; also it could be another one of those things
that they well may explore and may ultimately land up in their bin. But if the
iPad Mini actually materializes, it will be a gamer change for the tablet PC
market in Asia.
.jpg) |
| Courtesy: Fonearena |
For
now the India tablet PC data we have, from credible sources, is a bit
dated. As per Cybermedia
Research, Nov 2010 to march 2011 report, a total of 85000 units
were sold with Samsung taking the lead with 84.7% of the shipments, followed by
Olive with 8.2% and then Apple with 5.9%. A lot has changed since then. With a
slew of low cost tablets from manufacturers like Micromax, HCL, Beetel,
Reliance and so on, there is a lot of thrust from the supply side which will
definitely help build this category. Most of the low cast tabs in India today
are 7 inch. There are others like Samsung as well who have non-low cast tabs of
7 inch. Though the tablet market is still nascent in India, any credible data
that gets released now will show the maturity and fascination of India towards
this category.
The
iPad Mini will make a big impact here because of the value it offers to
customers of a price sensitive, but never-the-less Apple evangelized market.
The value is in terms of - (1) the Apple brand (2) the specs and (3) the price.
With a price of $249 or $299 .i.e. around INR 12500 or 15000, the product seems
too irresistible for Asian markets, especially India. The iPad 1
officially came to India around a year post global launch, the new iPad will
come to India around 2 months post global launch (to be launched in India on
April 27th); but the iPad Mini should be one product that should get launched
in Asian markets like India first, then followed by launch in markets of US and
others.
For
the competition's perspective, this possible launch could be a killer blow to
their sales. They would be dealing with a value proposition that they would
have only to exceed (not even match).
No comments:
Post a Comment