I originally heard $200 - $240 for an 8GB SKU. That SKU was dumped. I think "they can" is absolutely right. It seems like the original thinking was Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 would do better than they did, and that price pressure never materialized.
The Nexus 7 comparison to me seemed like Apple explaining why they deserved $80 more for the iPad mini: Bigger screen, better apps. It was an odd segment, and arguably they didn't need to make that case, but they chose to.
What was also interesting was the lack of a big iBooks push.
I think Apple will have a tough time selling that same bit to education folks. Tablets in K12 are obviously a huge priority for them, but they had a serious opportunity to take a lot of the android traction away with the mini, but I think a lot of schools will be a bit intimidated by the price (not to mention the investment in new cables and carts because of the lightning connector)
I beg to differ. A large number of schools, cities and states are investing considerable amounts of money in iPad programs purchasing 10 to 1,400 iPads (see source) for students at $399-$499 per iPad (some purchase iPad 1s/2s for the discount).
Not only does the iPad mini make more sense for schools to buy for students in terms of weight, screen size, ease of holding and liability, but at $329, the mini is $70-$170 less expensive than what these schools are paying currently per iPad. Apple is going to mop up on the education market with the mini.
Beyond education, consumers will happily pay $20-$80 more for an "iPad" (mini) over "one of those Google tablets" because iOS is easier to use and/or familiar to them. Time to buy (more) $AAPL :)
Thanks for your feedback! Team Branch
