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Just two years ago, Apple's late co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs mocked small-screen tablets as too little to compete with the larger iPad and too big to compete with smartphones. Jobs, who was famed for his ability to innovate and market new products, was rarely wrong. In this case, however, the visionary would have been forced to eat his words.
After the success of Amazon's small Kindle Fire tablet and Google's similarly sized Nexus 7 device, Apple recently introduced its own smaller tablet in the form of the iPad mini. And experts say Apple's new gadget could introduce tablets to a new and potentially very profitable audience — teenagers.
Apple has sold some 84 million iPads since the product's launch in 2010. In the second quarter of this year, they accounted for approximately 68 percent of all tablets sold worldwide, according to market research firm IDC. That makes the iPad the benchmark for what a tablet should be: a device with a 10-inch screen and a starting price of around NT$15,500.
But analysts and industry experts have long believed that there's room in the market for a computing device that fits in between the iPad and smartphones. This is particularly true as traditional tablets don't suit the lifestyles of children and teenagers. The iPad's price means many parents are unwilling to risk buying it as a gift for younger kids, and its bulky size makes it unsuitable for teenagers, many of whom spend much of their time traveling to and from school and private classes.
Five years ago, the idea of every teenager owning their own tablet would have been unthinkable. Now, with the recent releases of the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, the Google Nexus 7 and the Apple iPad mini — not to mention the growing popularity of Samsung's Galaxy tablets — mini tablets are set to become the new must-have device for kids and teenagers everywhere.
U.S. mom Abeni Ofunniyin said her daughter is begging for an iPad for Christmas this year. She probably won't get one, though. She's only 7. But her mother said she might find a new Kindle Fire HD under the Christmas tree.
The iPad and iPod each made the U.S. National Retail Federation's top toy list last year. It was the first year the iPad made the list, and it could well be beaten by the iPad mini this year. "There's only so many people who will spend US$500 (approximately NT$14,600) and above" for a tablet, said Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD Group, a market research firm. Smaller tablets, he said, are "useful to a much bigger audience, especially younger consumers."
GAMING ON THE GO
Portable video game devices, from the classic Game Boy to more recent offerings like the PSP, have long been popular with teenagers. Now, smaller-screen tablets are offering kids and teenagers the chance to play games, read books, review school notes, watch movies, chat with friends and surf the Internet — all on the same device.
Large-screen tablets, including the iPad and upcoming rivals that will run Windows 8, have been touted as PC replacements for business or creative tasks, such as writing documents, editing photos or entering data. By contrast, analysts see the smaller-screen tablets as geared more toward providing entertainment. "These tablets are what you consume media on," said Tom Mainelli, an analyst with IDC.
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