Piper Jaffray investment company has published the results of its own research on the preferences of more than 7.7 thousand American teenagers. According to its results, analysts found out that 40% of them have an iPhone (last year there were 34% of them, the year before that – 23%).
Moreover, 62% also see the iPhone as their future smartphone, while only 22% of respondents want an Android gadget. Tablets are also popular with the younger generation: 44% of respondents have a “tablet” (in 72% it is an iPad).
Let the sample be relatively small, but it perfectly demonstrates the high growth rates of the mobile industry, which, of course, reduces the potential market for Sony and Nintendo portable consoles.
Despite the fact that both companies are making compromises, trying to somehow compete with the young industry (Sony recently launched a multiplatform PlayStation Mobile app store, Nintendo releases cheap DLC), smartphones for users today are a more convenient gaming platform than specially sharpened for Vita and 3DS games.
And while not officially announced, the iPad mini will add another weight to the hour scales of mobile “smart” devices. Representatives of Piper Jaffray are confident that thanks to him, the teenage iOS user base will only increase.
“The iPad mini can be the last nail in the coffin of portable consoles,” Greg Harper, general manager of the Finnish company Supercell, also claims. Recall that his company’s games earn $ 500 thousand a day.
“A small iPad is a more attractive choice for teenagers. 43% of those who announced their intentions to purchase a tablet noted that the probability of buying it is much higher if Apple released a small iPad for $299,” Piper Jaffray analysts add.
Despite the fact that it is unpleasant for many fans of portable consoles to realize this, it is clear that a device that allows not only to play, but also to perform countless other tasks is much preferable for users to a narrowly focused game console.
In turn, we would also like to add that today the American media did not receive the invitation they expected to the presentation of the iPad mini. So, most likely, it will not take place next week (the fact is that Apple usually holds its events in the first half of the week and sends out invitations exactly a week before that). For many, this turned out to be a surprise.
We also doubt the $299 price tag for the iPad mini. The fact is that the price of the latest generation iPhone touch player starts from three hundred dollars. Putting a similar price on an essentially competitive product would be a strange decision on Apple’s part. Most likely, it will be higher. Perhaps the new tablet will occupy the price category that the iPad 2 currently occupies.