Apple CEO Tim Cook comments on Amazon Kindle Fire and pre-paid Apple iPhone
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During the holiday shopping season, there was talk that the Amazon Kindle Fire was outselling the Apple iPad 2 by moving 1 million units a week. Some data suggest that 6 million units were sold by the beginning of this year while 15.43 million Apple iPads were sold in the fourth quarter of last year.
Cook also addressed talk about a pre-paid version of the Apple iPhone. The Apple CEO said that while certain countries like China and Brazil are important for the company, Apple will not sell cheap versions of its products. The executive was equating cheap with a pre-paid version of Cupertino's touchscreen smartphone. And while Apple had revenue of $13 billion in China last year, the executive brought up the fact that the company got China Unicom to switch from its traditional pre-paid service to offering a post-paid plan together with the iPhone. And while he was amazed by the number of the carrier's customers that converted from re-paid to post-paid just for the Apple iPhone, Cook says that this would not necessarily happen in other pre-paid markets.
As for the smartphone market in general, the CEO said that while the 37 million Apple iPhone units sold by the manufacturer in Q4 seemed like a lot, it was dwarfed by the 500 million smartphones sold last year, a figure he sees doubling by 2015. Cook said, "This is a jaw-dropping industry. It has tremendous opportunity to it."
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29 Comments
1. itiswhatitis posted on 14 Feb 2012, 19:12 12 5
They might 'hate' it? How about who bought ipad, dont you think they MIGHT 'hate' it?
Just becuase kindle fire is cheap doesnt mean its bad!
24. ghost__uwi posted on 15 Feb 2012, 15:28 0 1
actually i love the ipad. Been loving it for the last 7 months.
2. JGuinan007 posted on 14 Feb 2012, 19:20 10 6
Ipad, KIndle fire all they are to me is portable webbrowser and ebook do I pay $199 or $499 I'll take it for $199
9. Lucas777 posted on 14 Feb 2012, 20:46 7 8
thats to u.. to others might want all the apps the ipad gives, and the bigger screen. i sincerely hope apple sticks with its quality products though and doesnt start making cheap tablets and cheap phones…
25. ghost__uwi posted on 15 Feb 2012, 15:28 0 0
agreed. I want quality. Some ppl just want a tablet. Too each there own.
3. MobileCaseReview posted on 14 Feb 2012, 19:22 10 0
When you run a billion dollar company, you always put your product first. It's your product. I'm sure the share holders of amazon are saying the exact opposite. i.e. - You'll never see Michael Jordan talk about Adidas shoes or let other shoes compare when he talks about his brand. It is what it is. Other than that, on the consumer end, it's just preference and opinion.
4. dreammixer posted on 14 Feb 2012, 19:28 4 0
Exactly you can't expect him to talk up the Kindle like its great seeing he runs Apple
6. Paden posted on 14 Feb 2012, 19:56 8 1
Exactly. Cook isn't going to speak positively about competitors at a conference. The fact that he talked about it at all says something about the Kindle Fire making waves in the tablet market.
"THE KINDLE FIRE IS WAAAY BETTER FOR THE PRICE." - Tim Cook
Could you imagine?!
5. solidsnakeduds013 posted on 14 Feb 2012, 19:45 1 7
To me the kindle fire is more of a child's tablet. It's cheap which is the only plus it has but when its compared with the ipad the kindle is boring. I also think Tim is right. Spending that amount on a tablet in cash is a good feeling but after the first day or 2 its a let down for its features and hardware
7. Exofuji posted on 14 Feb 2012, 20:12 5 2
Uhm iLAWLERSKATES? What *Besides the obvious physical differences, and os* does the ipad offer that the Kindle Fire doesn't? What is it that the Kindle Fire can't do that the ipad can? Can you justify the price difference in a way that make legitmate sense?
*Reality: The price difference is clearly only legitimized through perceived brand superiority.
/End
10. Lucas777 posted on 14 Feb 2012, 20:47 1 0
u kind of ruled out all opposition through everything a tablet has "besides the obvious physical differences, and os"… what exactly is left? the box?
15. CRICKETownz posted on 14 Feb 2012, 21:45 0 0
lol im glad to see i'm not the only one who noticed that statement.
17. Exofuji posted on 14 Feb 2012, 22:51 0 0
Exactly. $200
18. Lucas777 posted on 14 Feb 2012, 23:29 2 2
so ur saying there are absolutely no physical or os differences between an ipad and a kindle fire? i guess we just found a knew definition for ignorant/blind
21. Exofuji posted on 15 Feb 2012, 02:48 0 1
I have not once said that they are exactly the same, I asked a question and gave my personal answer. Clearly the point of my original post was that the differences between the two do not warrant the differences in price. Your statement is of no value to anyone.
28. Lucas777 posted on 15 Feb 2012, 17:14 0 0
are u kidding me… u said "Besides the obvious physical differences, and os"… there is nothing left to a tablet so u obviously dont think those have any merit in a tablet, as i do not see anything more than the box… the thing is by not allowing such differences, there ARE NO DIFFERENCES… a tablet is OS and HARDWARE… oh and ur statement is of no value as well..
23. LoneShaolin posted on 15 Feb 2012, 13:36 0 0
Jesus Lucas, it's spelled NEW. Not knew. Maybe you typed that out on your iPad?
27. Lucas777 posted on 15 Feb 2012, 17:11 0 1
jesus grammar nazi… did that spelling really offend you that much?
16. jimjam posted on 14 Feb 2012, 21:47 2 0
Skype, voip, microphone, bigger storage options, 3g option etc ... to name but a few.
