The iPad Mini is different than anything Apple has done before. For the first time Apple is not building a product to enchant brand new customers and further grow their brand. Instead they are filling a hole that they feel was threatening to pull their customers into other ecosystems. "Don't mind those other, more affordable playgrounds. Pay attention to how we mill the shit out of this block of aluminum just for you."
> "Don't mind those other, more affordable playgrounds. Pay attention to how we mill the shit out of this block of aluminum just for you."
Which is really how any fashionable product works. "Forget that Armani Exchange produces its goods in the exact same country using the same cheap labour as Kmart - we use nicer cuts of fabric and make nicer looking products." Design and materials subjectively increase value, so I can only see the mini selling like hotcakes.
The distinction I was trying to make is that they are building this product to satiate the needs of the already Apple-faithful, rather than trying to compete in the small tablet market. It's them realizing that small tablets are popular and saying "We have that too". The question is can they keep doing that with every new form-factor that comes out (wearable, Raspebbry Pi-style, embedded....)
