Not everyone was raised on Apple computers. It is too simplistic to make that assumption. Not everybody wants to spend that kind of $$$ on a computer. Some are happy with a Toshiba or a Dell and don't need all the thrills of an Apple. However the monkeys at the Toronto zoo are now hooked on the touchscreen and it has become their new crackberry. Time will tell.

For context: Toronto Zoo orangutans go ape for iPad

"They use them to play memory and painting games, even to Skype with other orangutans. But watching videos is their favourite."

Current rumor has Apple doing a 2 stage Fall launch. The iPhone first. Once sales are hitting nicely, launch the new small iPad a month later to vault into the Christmas buying frenzy. That should keep the hype flowing & the cash registers singing well into the New Year. The stock might follow. Might being the key word.

Ian

Forget the iPhone5 launch - If Microsoft actually releases that POS Windows 8 there is no telling what could happen to Apples stock. Yes, Im a long time Windows, ESX and Hyper-V person.

I'd love to buy in.... But unless one of you guys is going to float me a few bills, I'd only be able to grab a share or two...

I grabbed some RIMM a month or so ago. My bet is it is going to go up and if it goes down, well, I purchased near the bottom!
I like the underdog aspect as nobody seems to think they can pull it off.

That takes guts!

I might buy a couple RIM Jan '14 call options if I think its going up but with so much downside, I wouldn't put my money into buying their stock

7-inch iPad will put Apple in some very unfamiliar territory in the tablet market — it’s an area currently dominated by Android-based devices. However, Apple’s entry into that segment will also present some seemingly insurmountable challenges to those same companies.

When Apple first released the iPad, it was the only player in that market, so it stands to reason that it completely dominated the tablet scene. Some companies tried to compete with Apple, but quickly realized their foothold was just too strong.

What the competition did to combat that was move to a smaller form factor, a place where Apple didn’t make a product. That made a lot of sense, and it worked. The other tablet-makers quickly gained their own foothold in the market.

With a 7-inch iPad, Apple will, for the first time, take on its competition on their turf. This will be a real test for Apple and the iPad brand, but one I’m convinced they will easily win.

This isn’t the first time Apple has taken on its competitors using this strategy. I’ve mentioned before that in the MP3 player market, Apple released an iPod and then came back later to release new iPods of varying sizes. Essentially what they did was keep squeezing its competitors out of the markets it entered.

I see the exact same thing happening to the tablet market. Apple released the iPad and dominated that market. Once its dominance was complete and its competitors had moved on, it will release a product in that segment as well.

Apple is not entering the 7-inch tablet market to take a few market share points away from the incumbents, it wants to totally control that space with the iPad.

Let’s face it, the iPad is a huge brand, so consumers recognize and identify with it. But there’s more to the story than that. Apple also has the infrastructure of iTunes and iCloud on its side.

The ability for Apple to offer its customers music, television shows, movies and educational content, synced across all devices and computers is unique and powerful.

Here’s how I see the tablet market playing out after a 7-inch iPad release:

Apple will continue to dominate the 10-inch market that it does now.
Apple will take a massive chunk of the 7-inch market
Amazon will continue on as it has been. Not much change
The rest of the market will see diminished share of the tablet market
The problem for Apple’s competitors is that there is no where else to go. If they go down much more in size, the tablet becomes a smartphone. If they go up beyond the size of the current iPad, it becomes too big to be useful.

Apple is in a position to decimate its competitors. All it needs to do is release the 7-inch iPad.

RIM is dead.... They didn't keep up with the changing smartphone market, and they made a sloppy, and ill attempt at the tablet market. All the corporate exchange systems are going iPhone and Android....

RIM may have cash reserves, but thats it... And cash will disappear quickly as they keep losing market share...

Unless they RADICALLY change their product offering, and do it very well, they are dead...

^ this. RIM is dead. Nokia (the world leader in mobile phones) is also circling the drain. They resisted flip phones, then missed the boat on smart phones, stubbornly stuck Symbian OS, then grudgingly moved to WinOS. Their success is totally dependent on how WinOS performs on the mobile market.

Apple has the advantage in owing the hardware corner which makes developing apps much easier. With HTML5, GWT, jQuery, etc... hopefully hardware and OS won't matter anymore. Time will tell.

The only chance that RIM has, is to partner with Google on a phone which is both Blackberry and Android. Take the Torch phone, have a Blackberry "skin" on top and some of the Blackberry functionality, but it is running on top of ICS or JB.

Otherwise totally dead.

Someone needs to make a RIM Downfall parody.

How high, well as the result of the verdict last night the aftermarket trade price went up 11.73 pts. I can live with that.

Very nice logic.

MiniPad and MaxiPad?

The 7" iPad will sell well because it will have a lower price point.

I am an ex IT guy. Never touch Apples. I see it going to effectively 2000 after a split. Their margins are amazing. Their customers are lemmings. And there are plenty of them.

I'm not a gambling man, but I like the odds of you doubling or tripling (or better) your money WAY better than AAPL :). Pendulums swing back an forth, and all it will take is a widespread Internet outage (like occurred 'bout 8-9 years ago) when Crackberrys were the ONLY thing working, or a buyout by a "big boy" and you will be fine. Of course, the odds of RIMM approaching zero are way better too :(. I've done nicely with both over the years...don't bet it if'n you can't afford to lose it (all)...

Most large companies and government entities are or have dumped RIM and are no longer supporting it, they won't go back.

AAPL now at 676 - all time high.

Oh, I don't disagree with either of ya...RIMM has been "beaten down" like a "moderate position" in PARF, and AAPL is as sky high as GWB right after 9/11...that's all I'm sayin' :). All it takes is a "buyout pop", and I still like the odds of RIMM hitting 14 before AAPL reaches 1350....but I'm not holding either. I hope everyone on this thread makes a bundle on both.