Apple confident about iPad Mini despite low margins
Six months after its launch, the iPad mini is a drain on Apple’s profits, but the company is willing to endure the financial strain as long as it can sell more iPads, analysts said.
The low-priced iPad mini was one of the reasons Apple reported a drop in profits for its second quarter of 2013 on Tuesday. Apple’s profit was $9.5 billion, down from $11.6 billion from the same quarter last year, while revenue was $43.6 billion, up from $39.19 billion.
The iPad mini has been aggressively priced at $329 and is becoming a larger part of iPad shipments. But the profits on the iPad mini were “significantly below the corporate average,” said Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer of Apple, during an earnings call Tuesday.
“We are willing to make short-term trade-offs ... where we see long-term potential,” Oppenheimer said.
Overall iPad sales increased, totaling 19.5 million units during the quarter, up 65 percent from the previous year’s quarter. Apple sold significantly more iPad Minis in the quarter ending on March 30 compared to the previous quarter when the tablet started shipping. First-time iPad buyers have made up a large portion of iPad mini purchases, said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
iPad mini vs. iPad mini 2: What Does Apple Have In Store? - iTechPost
Display
Like the iPad mini, the iPad mini 2 is conjectured to sport a 7.9-inch screen. However, the iPad mini has an LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology, whereas the second-gen tablet will have a Retina display. However, one of the grouses consumers had was with the iPad mini's resolution. It seems Apple has taken consumer feedback into consideration and the iPad mini 2 is rumored to come with 2048 x 1536 pixels resolution, an improvement on the iPad mini's 1024 x 768 pixels.
Pixel density-wise, the iPad mini will pale in comparison, with its 163 ppi versus iPad mini 2's 324 ppi.
Form Factor
The iPad mini has 7.87 x 5.30 x 0.28 inch dimensions and the iPad mini 2 is expected to be around the same size. Apple could possibly reduce the thickness and weight of the iPad mini 2, but that would all boil down to the battery size it opts for.
Storage
The iPad mini is available in 16/32/64GB internal storage options and the iPad mini 2 is likely to follow suit. Rumors also suggest that Apple could introduce a 128GB version as well. However, iFans' dreams of having an expandable memory option seem unrealistic.
And speaking of the iPad, ThinkPad hardware features not found on minimalist designs like the iPad include a full-size USB port, full-size SD card slot, and mini-HDMI for connecting to external displays. ThinkPad Tablet comes with ready-to-go office
Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20096377-64/lenovo-thinkpad-tablet-arrives-as-hp-departs/
unveiling the first iPhone at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco on Jan. 9, 2007. Andres Schobel holds up two iPads. Schobel was one of the first customers to buy an iPad on the first day sales, April 3, 2010.
Source: http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/A+cultural+icon/A10009
RT @: RT to win an 
@ on twitter I am coz I bought an iPad mini! Hoping to get iPhone repaired tomorrow or I 'll have to buy a new one! Xx
Doubt - Cn I buy kindle instead of iPad mini in india for email , browse and movie , reading ?
@ why do i have to go out and buy an ipad mini to use your app when i have a fully working Android powered Nexus 7???