Skip to main content

Finally a date....

Not that kinda of "date" silly, this is a tech blog. We finally have a rumored date for the much anticipated iPad Mini, and that date is October 23rd. Honestly, I'm more excited about this than the iPhone 5 or a new MacBook refresh. After playing with some 7 inch tablets, and having an eReader, I've come to find some really good value in that particular tablet size. The key is going to be price. If the rumors are true, the iPad Mini will NOT have a retina display. I'm really hoping it doesn't, because honestly, I want a value Apple device, not a top of the line tech device. I was sorely disappointed with the iPod Touch refresh, and it's sky-high price point because of it's retina display.

I think the key for Apple with this device is to target the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire and Nook HD. That means that they can't go above $250 for the base level model. No one is going to fault them for asking for a $50 premium over their competitors for the "Apple premium", but any more than that, and they're going to substantially cut themselves out of the market.

So here's hoping. October 23rd will be an interesting one to watch!

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The beat goes on

Yesterday Apple revealed their long awaited entry into the streaming music field. They were able to do this quickly because of the acquisition of Beats last year, and the systems and intellectual property that came with that purchase. Considering that the music reveal was pretty much the only big news out of a pretty benign developer keynote, I'll take a few moments to talk about what I think about it. Apple was perhaps the defining company in the music revolution of the past 20 years. With the introduction of the iPod that revolutionized portable music, to the creation of the iTunes store and the eventual death of DRM, Apple has been at the forefront of digital music. This leadership comes with high expectations to continue to lead, and so many people have long questioned Apple not getting into the streaming music business quicker. For the past few years new companies have come forth to lead the change in the streaming music evolution. From Pandora and its ability to create un

The NEW Microsoft

Today Microsoft held their Build conference keynote. As with Apple and Google, developer conference keynotes have become a mainstay of announcements for the general public beyond developers. At first it seemed that Microsoft would be bucking that trend today as the first portions of their keynote were very, very developer centric. However, a lot changed when they started talking about Windows 10. Microsoft is betting the future on building a platform that applications will build off of. Much like Apple and Google, they seem to be discovering that the real money isn't in the operating system itself, but in helping bring applications to consumers through validated app stores. In Microsoft's case it's also seeking to converge all of their platforms into a single unified platform. They once again reiterated today that Windows 10 will run on all of the devices that are out there, from phones to tablets to PC's to XBox game consoles. This means that applications can be writ

CES 2015 quick notes

One of the fun technology events every year is the Consumer Electronic Show. I've never had the opportunity to attend this in person, but maybe now that I have family in Vegas I should try and make it out some year. CES is a huge event that highlights some of the cool and crazy stuff that all the big consumer electronics companies are working on, and attempting to bring to market. Since I've been laid up sick for the past day and a half, I've been catching up on the news feeds of all the stuff that's currently coming out. Although CES isn't strictly laptop and computer focused, computer companies still play a major role. This year, I'm seeing a lot of emphasis on thin and light computing devices. ASUS and Lenovo  have both released some exceptionally light weight laptops, and hybrid tablets, that give the MacBook Air line a run for it's money. Additionally, HP is building off the success of it's Stream line of Chromebook competitors with an HP Stream