Hacker News

points by sbdaman 3 days ago | 0 comments

Not in a snarky way but who is the target market for this?

from previous [1] threads on the iPad Mini, at least aircraft pilots are a target audience

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19421163

Can definitely attest to this. When I was doing my PPL I had an iPad that had a built-in cellular modem loaded with ForeFlight for GPS positioning mounted to the inside of the cessna's window.

[–] cullenking 3 days ago

And with a 1-nit minimum brightness, iPad mini is even more suitable for dim environments, from users reading in bed at night to pilots checking their electronic flight bag in the cockpit.

As per other comments, my guess is somewhere between 1% and 5% of ipad mini sales are to pilots. It's gotta be significant or they wouldn't drop a line that in their main copy!

[–] dkdbejwi383 3 days ago

I've been hoping for a water and dust resistant tablet for use in the pottery studio for a while (for photographing work in progress, cataloguing glaze ingredients, taking notes, etc), as it's a wet and dirty environment, but the price kills all interest.

[–] criddell 3 days ago

They only sell around six million minis per year, so it's not a large market (for Apple).

[–] tshaddox 3 days ago

I predict it’ll be less than 6 million a year at these ludicrous prices.

[–] SenHeng 2 days ago

Nurses and elderly homes are a large market for minis in Japan. You get up to date patient data without the bulkiness of a regular iPad or the minimal screen of an iPhone. It also surprisingly fits in the pockets of nurse uniforms.

It’s an Apple device so tech support is minimal.

[–] QuiEgo 3 days ago

I like using my 6th gen as an erader. With the right color settings the screen doesn’t fatigue me, and it’s nice to be able to read from any source (kindle, Apple Books, Libby, a pdf, etc).

[–] poszlem 3 days ago

I can give you at least one group that loves them. Taxi/uber drivers who use them as bigger displays for their maps and apps.

[–] adolph 3 days ago

People waiting for >v1 Duo? Same processor, 1" larger screen, lower cost but you still carry a phone.