Surprise! $250 iPad Mini would be a hit, says online deals site

By Jeffrey Van Camp May 4, 2012

What happens when an online deals site surveys a group of people about a theoretical Apple product at a crazy new low price? As it turns out, everyone wants one! Imagine that. Today, PriceGrabber, an online shopping/deals site, released the results of just such a survey. The site asked 2,603 US online shoppers whether they’d want a 7-inch iPad Mini (a rumored product) if it were released later this year for $250-$300. Fifty two percent of people said, sure, that sounds great. Are we surprised?

A smaller version of the iPad has been circling the rumor mills for more than a year, but we still have no firm evidence to support that it’s happening. Most of these rumors point toward an 8-inch model, not 7-inch, and I haven’t seen many rumors indicating Apple would price it at $250. For all we know, it could be $600. That is, again, if it exists at all.

But, let’s pretend it is conveniently 7 inches and $250. Here’s what some random shoppers thought about it on the spot for a survey:

52 percent said they’d consider purchasing it
48 percent said they would not purchase it
22 percent currently own a tablet.
68 percent of these tablet owners have an iPad and 10 percent have a Kindle Fire.
64 percent said the lower price was the reason they’d buy
54 percent said it was the smaller size
20 percent said they love Apple products and always buy them no matter what

Of those who wanted an iPad Mini, below are the features they want most:

84% indicated reduced price
65% indicated at least 3G connectivity
60% indicated reduced size
60% indicated ultra thin body
43% indicated retina display
37% indicated full Siri integration
31% unique and new design
30% indicated that it be launched with iOS 6

So what have we learned? It looks like there’s definitely a market for an Apple branded smaller tablet among tech savvy, cost conscious consumers, but they seem to want it at a cheap price. Convenient results for a survey done by PriceGrabber.com.

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Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

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