The Cost of the iPad

Posted on 02/21/2011 by Mr. Pink

If you thought Apple was making a killing selling apps, you aren’t going to believe their profit margin on the iPad itself.

12 Responses

  1. Anonymoose says:
    02/21/2011 at 2:52 pm

    This isn’t really that surprising, Apple has long been accused and known for overpricing their products. I can only imagine what would happen if Apple pulled a Microsoft and decided to enter the console gamin market. Obviously to start off with, the controller would only have one button, but that’s a given.

  2. invisible999 says:
    02/21/2011 at 3:21 pm

    Overpricing…

    Apple…let’s see…a billion a year invested in R&D, 40,000 employees worldwide to pay every two weeks, material investment costs, packaging, marketing, infrastructure…Apple is sitting on $50 billion in cash and a market cap of $322 billion. Overpricing or simply great business acumen?

    Meanwhile Dell, the company famously known for cheap…er…”affordable” computers…is handing out pink slips, market cap of $32 billion, just shut down their Adamo high end line (their answer to Apple – only lasted 2 years)…can’t seem to make a successful transition into tablets, mp3 players, or phones…even though they are known as an affordable computer company.

    I have news for you…Apple is already moving into the console market…it’s called iPad, iPhone, AppleTV…a precursor of what to expect in the near future…the console is the tablet and the tablet is the console…AirPlay for playing on the TV…and you can take it with you. And you are right…only one button.

    • Anonymoose says:
      02/21/2011 at 4:58 pm

      The problem with the iPad as a console (besides its outrageous price) is that it has no killer apps and the controls are atrocious with any game that normally requires a d-pad or analog stick.

      Sorry, but Apple still has a long way to go before they’re considered serious contenders in the gaming market.

  3. Anon says:
    02/21/2011 at 5:45 pm

    Anonymoose your like the only person i see comment on this site all the time =D

    True enough on the ipad though, as great as some of the games can be and look on it (rage, Deadspace) these games are being limited by the controls, where it is just terrible to use, and frankly takes away from every part of the gameplay. it would be cool if you could blue tooth in one of your PS3 controllers or something to play these games, but then you would need something to hold the damn thing up with …. so bleh

  4. Fucking Douchebag says:
    02/21/2011 at 7:19 pm

    Cost per unit = direct materials + labor + overhead + selling expense. This graphic is rather misleading; it covers one 1 out of 4.

    • skullsplitter says:
      02/22/2011 at 2:30 am

      Exactly the way I see it, though the workers involved in China don’t get paid well enough or work safe enough, so the actual profit would be rather high.

      YET I do like that Apple, who was on the brink of bankruptcy around 2000, was saved by MS and now takes ever chunks of market that both serve.

      Shame they are too uptight about everything you do with a machine you bought and paid for (Milking publishers for ipod/pad subscriptions, wtf?).

      That being said, I’d love to have a MacBook Pro.

  5. Mr. Green says:
    02/21/2011 at 9:47 pm

    It’s not so much that the iPad has “shitty” games or no good controls, it’s that the public en masse can enjoy it and that will make up a majority of the gaming market shares. Look at the Wii. Most Wii games are family friendly, non-shooter types and they constantly kill in the gaming sales market. No, the iPad isn’t the next Xbox or PS3 competition as far as gaming and graphics goes but it is in the world of sales as a whole.

  6. The Named One says:
    02/22/2011 at 3:47 pm

    The overprice iPad could be Apple’s way of keeping It’s products as “luxury” goods. As there is a “status” symbol to own and use one.

    • etrnldrk says:
      02/22/2011 at 11:54 pm

      My status symbol is my brick oven in my back yard (that I spent less than $100 on). That and playing Windows games in Linux, that gets everyone who has never seen it. iPad = iPod Touch XL, or another piece of useless tech people will buy because “I’m the only one I know who has one” mentality.

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