As iPad mini pre-orders start, sales fell 18%

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) admits iPad sales fell by almost 18% quarter-on-quarter. That may explain why its profits were less than expected. Nevertheless, iPad mini pre-orders "sold out" of the initial release (whatever that means), as pundits predict the pricey pomaceousnessss will prevail.

In IT Blogwatch, bloggers discuss the 7- or 8-inch BYOD market.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.

 
Oh, Cecilia Kang, you're breaking my heart:

Apple tapped the brakes...it sold fewer iPads in [its Q4] than...expected.
...
Apple is under more competitive pressure than ever. ... Tim Cook panned...rival offerings in a call with analysts and investors. ... “I suppose you can design a car that can fly and that floats, but I don’t think it would do all those things very well.” ... But its sales of 14 million iPads were...down from 17 million in [Q3].  MORE

 
James Niccolai has more on those Q4 numbers:

...its profits fell short of what analysts had been expecting. ... $8.67 per share...below the analyst forecast of $8.75.
...
[In Q1] it expects revenue of about $52 billion and earnings per share of $11.75...below the current analyst forecast.  MORE

 
And Casey Newton calls the iPad mini "a big threat in a little package":

Android-derived brands like the Kindle Fire and the Nook will thrive...but devices based on a more pure version of Android will struggle. ...low-end tablets are expected to eventually pose a real challenge to Apple's premium hardware...while ceding superiority in...graphics performance, app availability, and camera quality, for example.
...
[The] iPad Mini will dominate the midrange tablet space. The Nexus 7 has sold about 3 million units...the third-generation iPad sold that in its first weekend.  MORE

 
But why should enterprise IT people care? Jonny Evans tells us:

I recall back when...many argued the [iPad] would never become an adequate replacement for a PC. Now, with each iteration, these tablets become more capable and...continue to evolve toward their inevitable future. ... At some point in the not too distant future, the things your iPad can’t do will instead be sent to server-based software services to do for you.
...
In the ’70’s mainframe computers were the best things you could find. ... When later on the first PCs appeared, the cognoscenti argued that PCs weren’t computers. ... The future of the post-PC era isn’t going to be defined by...technology pundits.  MORE

 
Still, $330? When the Nexus 7 is just $200? Jason Snell knows why:

On the analyst call, Apple CFO says iPad mini has substantially lower product margins than Apple's margins as a whole.  MORE

 
Meanwhile, Senior Warlord explains his theory:

but [Apple's] real target is education. ...selling them at a discount to dominate the future of textbooks.  MORE

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's also the main author of Computerworld's The Long View and IT Blogwatch -- for which he has won ASBPE and Neal awards. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, Richi also publishes a full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.