Here Comes The E-Reader Killer!! (Or is it?)

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With the launch of the iPad Mini on November 2nd, the e-reader market added another intense competitor. With the Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire HD and now the iPad Mini all in the mix, it would become really competitive as all vive to become ‘king’ of the e-reader market. The oligopolistic nature of the e-reader market makes differentiation extremely important. Though the iPad Mini looks extremely tempting, I believe it would not live up to all the hype surrounding it. I believe Apple is targeting a wrong market through the release of the iPad Mini. The iPad has had tremendous success since its launch in 2010 with sales exceeding 84 million.

Apple should instead focus on further differentiating its existing iPad rather than diversifying into another already highly competitive market. This could potentially increase potential risks that are faced by Apple. Since there are already existing e-readers that are well established in the market, Apple is essentially playing catch up with its iPad Mini. This was evident as pre-orders for the iPad Mini were well below expectations of analysts. From the article, “Granted, analysts had expected that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad Mini sales would be lower on opening day.” The stock prices of Apple also reflect the bullish outlook being faced by the iPad Mini.

Thus I believe the iPad Mini would not be the e-reader killer that could potentially ‘kill’ off all other e-readers that are in the market. Instead, I lean more towards the fact that the iPad Mini would be overpowered by Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire HD that are lower priced and offer similar e-reading experience. Now, the world look upon the performance of Apple as the holiday seasons arrive.

Ending on a lighter note, I chanced upon this cool rap video regarding Steve Jobs.

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Apple Inc (AAPL) Dips on Disappointing iPad Mini Sales By RENEE ANN BUTLER