Will Apple Respond to Amazon's Tablet Competition?

This is a discussion thread for the "Will Apple Respond to Amazon's Tablet Competition?" story posted on the front page.

Is it a threat? Yes.
Will they response? Maybe.

i have been on the fence in regards to selling my ipad 2. lately, i have been wanting a smaller device in a tablet/slate format. the rise of 7' devices once again is upon us. i say this because one of the first netbooks that came out was an asus eee pc 701 (which i own and still use; its more of a toy/hobby/modding machine) and because of how small it was, including the screen (7'), was a huge hit. afterwards, manufacturers starting moving to larger screen sizes and 7' devices died.

until now. i can understand why 7' devices may be a user preference. being only 7', it can easily be thrown into a womans purse, or a packsack, without worry. i was interested into the nexus 7 and finally was able to handle one last week. i was impressed by the form factor, but i havent used android really, so that would be a learning curve i could easily deal with. price is also a factor to consider. because these devices are smaller than the traditional tablet size, they are cheaper and more appealing to the general consumer who may want a simple tablet.

i am going to wait and see if the ipad mini rumor is true and see what comes of it. i am interested in the capabilities and hoping it is not a dummied-down version of the ipad in any way. ad supported maybe via iAds? just a mindless guess...i only say i would want to wait to see if this rumor is true because i am used to iOS. but again, android could be good for me maybe?

Just try another OS man, android or windows 8, they're all fun, don't stick with one brand your whole life.

Windows 8 will make an EXCELLENT tablet operating system. Well above anything Apple can pull out with iOS in terms of functionality.

An iPad for $500 sells more than a tablet of another brand for $300. Honestly. Everyone at my dad's company are getting them for their work...

You act like the world cares. Oh my dad is switching to a mac. Oh my dads's company is getting ipads . My family prefers macs. All my friends switched to iphones. How many more times are you going to post it?

oh, i am not opposed to that whatsoever. i am just implying that for my uses and how accustomed i am to iOS i'd like to see what comes of the ipad mini if it is true. however the price would have to be good too. if nothing comes of it, i have no objections into using an android-based tablet, be it the nexus 7 or the new kindle fire(s). change is good.

definitely not an apple ass-kisser like some people if that's what you were thinking heh.

Just pointing out, that if there was something better, then why is my dad's company buying iPads...food for thought...and they are getting 64Gb iPad3's with 4g. My dad works on planes and training, so it will help with his job of training pilots and mechanics.