The iPad mini sounds like it’s going to be a great tablet, but the question is will consumers care? A new survey conducted by deal aggregation site TechBargains.com suggests that the answer on the whole is “No.” TechBargains conducted an online survey of 1,332 users in August and found that only 18% planned to buy the iPad mini while 50% said they were uninterested. For comparison, 45% of readers in the survey said they planned to buy the iPhone 5 when it came out, so it’s not as though the sample group is comprised of anti-Apple (AAPL) readers. TechBargains speculates that interest in the smaller tablet is so low because Apple fans already feel satisfied with the iPhone and the original iPad models, and don’t see the need for a 7.85-inch tablet. The company’s full press release is posted below.
ONLY 18% OF CONSUMERS ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING THE iPAD MINI
Original iPad Owners Are Most Likely To Purchase The iPad Mini While Kindle Fire Owners Are Least Likely According To A TechBargains.com Survey
San Francisco, CA – October 10, 2012 – TechBargains.com, a leading deal aggregation website for electronic products, released additional results from its iPhone/iPad Mini Predictions survey revealing only 18% of the surveyed consumers plan to purchase the iPad Mini. 50% of those surveyed are not interested in buying the iPad Mini and 32% are undecided. This is compared to 45% of respondents from the same survey who planned to purchase the new iPhone. Of those who plan to purchase the iPad Mini, 14% indicated a plan to wait in line the day it is released, one in five will buy it online as soon as it is available and 66% don’t have a set time frame for purchase. The data also reveals original iPad owners are the most likely to pay for the new iPad Mini with 27% of them planning to purchase the tablet. Current Kindle Fire owners and those who don’t currently own a tablet are least likely to plan a purchase. 16% of Kindle Fire owners surveyed and 16% of respondents who don’t own a tablet said they plan to purchase the iPad Mini.
“Given Apple’s recent success it would be easy to assume that all new Apple products will be wildly popular. Our survey results indicate that theory is no longer the case,” said Yung Trang, president and editor-in-chief of TechBargains.com. “According to our survey respondents, the so called iPad Mini will not be highly coveted because consumers are questioning the necessity of a smaller iPad, especially if they own an iPad or an iPhone.”
When polled on the most desirable features for the new iPad Mini, 78% want a USB Port, 77% desire a Retina Screen, 75% hope for a memory card slot and 74% would like better speakers than the current iPad. The survey revealed that about one in four consumers believe the starting price of the iPad Mini will be $299 and nearly one in five believes it will start at $399. When asked about the display, 55% of consumers believe it will be a 7 inch tablet. Additionally, 68% of consumers believe it will be called the iPad Mini, in line with the current rumors.
The survey was conducted on TechBargains.com in August and had 1,332 respondents. An infographic illustrating the popularity of the new iPhone announced on September 12th can be found here.
About TechBargains
TechBargains is a deal aggregation website that combines intelligent curation with real-time price-value discovery algorithms. TechBargains uses this technology to highlight the best deals and coupon codes on the internet each day. TechBargains is a division of Exponential Interactive (www.exponential.com), a global provider of advertising intelligence and digital media solutions to brand advertisers headquartered in Emeryville, California that offers solutions in 26 countries worldwide. For more information visit http://www.techbargains.com.
