After receiving severe criticism for iPhone 5c – a smartphone that costs around Rs 42,000 in India – Apple on Tuesday offered iPad Air tablet that is 20 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter than the fourth generation iPad.
Both iPad Air and iPad mini, the second device announced today, will take on the global devices ambitions of Microsoft that wants to become a devices major with software presence.
The price of iPad Air is $499, while iPad mini costs $399. Nokia Lumia 2520 will be priced at $499.
Both iPad Air and Nokia Lumia 2520 will be compared by the mobile industry analysts and device users since they are priced in the same range.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is most likely to be remembered for iPad Air for its design innovation, said mobile industry analysts. The launch of Apple iPad Air and iPad mini, a cost effective tablet, is a strong indication that Apple will continue to compete with Amazon Kindle Fire and Samsung Electronics Note.
The device market is changing quickly. BlackBerry and HTC are struggling. Sony and LG are working hard to gain market share. Nokia will move to Microsoft shortly. Samsung is Apple’s main rival in the rapidly growing mobile and tablet market.
Nokia today unveiled its first tablet on Windows OS, reflecting the new owner’s market interests. Comparing with Apple’s announcement, Nokia, which conducted a press meet in Dubai, had more products and promises to offer.
The U.S.-based device major also surprised the industry by offering free Macintosh operating and work software to its users, challenging Microsoft supremacy in personal computing. Microsoft is currently in the process of transitioning to become a devices and software major.
Apple says the free offer including Mac OS and iWork software suite, which compete with Microsoft’s Excel, Word and other applications, will be available to all users of Apple MacBooks and Mac computers.
Meanwhile, priced at $399 for the 16GB model, Apple iPad mini with 7.9-inch Retina display features Apple-designed A7 chip, 64-bit desktop-class architecture, ultrafast wireless with faster built-in Wi-Fi and expanded LTE cellular connectivity, and the newly-designed iOS 7.
Today’s event focused on unveiling two iPads at different price points.
Telecom service providers such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless will sell both iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display on their network.
Though the company says it will sell both tablets in China, it did not reveal the name of the telecoms in Chinese market.
Last time, when Apple announced iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s in the U.S., it conducted a press event in China as well to launch its latest iPhones.
Also, emerging mobile market India is not part of its initial roll out list.
From November 1, iPad Air will be available in the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (Wi-Fi models only), Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
