In case you live under a rock and didn’t hear, Apple announced a slew of new and updated products earlier today in San Jose. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller took the stage to introduce new MacBook Pros, a Mac Mini and a monitor so light and thin that it looks emaciated compared to its competitors. But perhaps the most anticipated announcement made from the Apple execs today was the unveiling of the iPad Mini.
According to Schiller, the iPad Mini is exactly the same as the older, larger iPad (same pixel count and all the software created for the iPad works on the iPad Mini). The difference? You can hold the iPad mini (which has a 7.9 inch screen compared to the original iPad’s 9.7 inch screen) with one hand.
While customers are likely pleased that there is no difference in computing power between the iPad and the iPad Mini, customers–and investors–seem displeased with the lack of difference in price between the two tablets. The Wi-Fi only version of the iPad Mini retails for $329 while the Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 currently retails for $399. (Say what?) Towards the end of this morning’s announcement, Cook said that the iPad Mini will make the iPad “more accessible to more people.” We assume that he was referring to the “most accessible” price point of the iPad Mini versus the regular iPad; and unfortunately, Mr. Cook, one tablet that costs over $300 is still just as inaccessible as the next tablet that costs over $300.
But that’s just our humble opinion. Take our poll and tell us what you think about the iPad Mini.
