Better start saving your money for the Holidays because the technologically intense competition in the gadget market is about to become very interesting. The specs are still the primary consideration of consumers, but with the economic uncertainties hounding the market regularly, prices and pricing strategies will be a very critical factor starting November.
The pricing strategy of Apple’s iPads indicates the company is more focused on competing against Microsoft’s tablets and not against the cheaper competition offered by Google, Amazon and others.
It was clear during the iPad Air launched that the Apple CEO Tim Cook’s new target for all his zingers is Microsoft.
"They are confused," Cook said of the competition he did not name. "They chased after netbooks. Now they are trying to make PCs into tablets and tablets into PCs. Who knows what they will do next?"
Unnamed but not unknown – the reference to Microsoft's Surface tablets, which prominently feature Office software and keyboards, was clear. Apple even scheduled the keynote for the same day the second-generation Surface tablets went on sale, obliterating any free press Microsoft might get.
Microsoft will probably not take this challenge sitting down. Currently, its Surface Pro 2 costs a lot more than an iPad, starting at US$ 900. It is pitched as a laptop replacement that can also provide the entertainment apps of a tablet. But with Apple's boastful call for an all-out war, that price is expected to go down during the Holidays.
Apple introduced an upgraded iPad, called the iPad Air, but kept prices exactly the same, starting at US$ 499. Amazon's similar large-screened Kindle Fire HDX starts at US$ 379.
And a new iPad mini with a better screen starts at US$ 399, up from the previous model’s US$ 329 price point. Amazon sells its smaller tablet at US$ 229, as does Google. Sure, Apple kept around the previous model mini but, at US$ 299, it's still priced well above the competition.
So in tablets, Apple is competing on features and usability, not price – just like Microsoft.
Apple’s new iPads also overwhelmed coverage of Nokia’s press conference earlier this week, in which it unveiled its first Windows tablet, the Lumia 2520.
Apple already has about a 170 million iPad head start on Microsoft and Nokia. Now Tim Cook is trying to drive the final stake in.
The pricing strategy of Apple’s iPads indicates the company is more focused on competing against Microsoft’s tablets and not against the cheaper competition offered by Google, Amazon and others.
It was clear during the iPad Air launched that the Apple CEO Tim Cook’s new target for all his zingers is Microsoft.
"They are confused," Cook said of the competition he did not name. "They chased after netbooks. Now they are trying to make PCs into tablets and tablets into PCs. Who knows what they will do next?"
Unnamed but not unknown – the reference to Microsoft's Surface tablets, which prominently feature Office software and keyboards, was clear. Apple even scheduled the keynote for the same day the second-generation Surface tablets went on sale, obliterating any free press Microsoft might get.
Microsoft will probably not take this challenge sitting down. Currently, its Surface Pro 2 costs a lot more than an iPad, starting at US$ 900. It is pitched as a laptop replacement that can also provide the entertainment apps of a tablet. But with Apple's boastful call for an all-out war, that price is expected to go down during the Holidays.
Apple introduced an upgraded iPad, called the iPad Air, but kept prices exactly the same, starting at US$ 499. Amazon's similar large-screened Kindle Fire HDX starts at US$ 379.
And a new iPad mini with a better screen starts at US$ 399, up from the previous model’s US$ 329 price point. Amazon sells its smaller tablet at US$ 229, as does Google. Sure, Apple kept around the previous model mini but, at US$ 299, it's still priced well above the competition.
So in tablets, Apple is competing on features and usability, not price – just like Microsoft.
Apple’s new iPads also overwhelmed coverage of Nokia’s press conference earlier this week, in which it unveiled its first Windows tablet, the Lumia 2520.
Apple already has about a 170 million iPad head start on Microsoft and Nokia. Now Tim Cook is trying to drive the final stake in.
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