In a note to clients — as reported by “AppleInsider” (www.appleinsider.com) — Sterne Agree analyst Shaw Wu thinks the rumored “iPad mini” (expected to be officially announced next week) — will be the “competition’s worst nightmare.”
He says those competitors are already struggling to compete against the US$399 iPad 2 and $499 iPad. Apple hitting an even lower price point will only expand its share of the tablet market, Wu says.
The analyst adds that the main question is whether Apple will “go for the kill” against competitors and accept lower margins to reach the $199 price point of its competitors, such as the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD. He
doesn’t feel Apple needs to hit the $199 price point and match Google and Amazon. Wu thinks Apple could sell its smaller iPad for around $350 and it would still be a success.