How Will Amazon, Barnes & Noble Survive the iPad Mini?

redletterdave writes "For about a year, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble were almost completely alone in the 7-inch tablet market. It was nice while it lasted. The past few months have seen Google and Microsoft unveil their 7-inch tablet offerings — the Nexus 7 and Microsoft Surface, respectively — and it looks like Apple is about ready to get into the mini tablet game, too. If Apple releases its first 'iPad Mini' next month, what can Amazon and Barnes & Noble do to keep the Cupertino colossus at bay, as well as the other new competitors in the 7-inch tablet game?"

It had to be said...

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I'll be embarassed to go pick up an iPad for the wife. "Umm, do you need mini or maxi?"

Re:Who cares?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, that sounds totally believable. Apple has a long history after all of undercutting the competition and selling their devices cheaper than the competition.

Bwahahahahahahahaha....

Obvious ...

[jc42]

Wait; Apple doesn't have a 7-inch tablet yet? The strategy of the others is obvious: They sue Apple for infringing their "innovative" format. If they can find a friendly judge, they can block sales of Apple's gadget of the same size for a year or two, and by then people will be galloping off after the latest hot thing (maybe a 7.5-inch tablet?), and it won't matter. If Amazon, B&N and a few others pool their resources, they should be able to drag this out for a few years, even against Apple.

Of course, Apple might countersue for infringing on their patent on their process of patenting things that are only minimally different from what others have had for years. But that's a different /. story ...

An iPad Mini won't survive in the market

[Lime Green Bowler]

Many reasons to list, but the most salient are: Apple will price it too high. Fanboys will buy it- but ultimately Apple will grasp and miss any kind of foothold as they lose out to the tidal wave in incoming inexpensive Android tablets. It will still be locked into the iTunes store. That exclusivity isn't worth the price of the DRM, sorry. Android tablets will continue increasing in features while the iPad plods behind. Apple doesn't move as fast as technology. Maybe I should have called it an iPlod.

I'm looking at a Taiwanese 7-inch tablet now that does everything I need for $65. This is just like the IBM PC clones that kicked down a huge section of the pricing wall and made entering the market more enticing to new buyers. Apple's days are numbered.

In the UK, it's almost all vapourware

[rklrkl]

Another US-centric story I see. Here in the UK, the story reads to me as "unreleased Kindle Fire and unreleased Nook Color vs. rumoured unreleased iPad Mini and unreleased MS Surface and - shock horror - released Nexus 7". In other words, a pretty useless story for non-US citizens - please try harder next time. Oh, and yes, I have a Nexus 7 because that *has* been released outside the US and is therefore the default 7" tablet winner in my books.