The Tablet Value Curve

Forbes released an article discussing the rumored upcoming announcement of Apple's new "iPad Mini". This can easily be identified as a response by Apple to one of Porter's 5 forces: Rivalry. With the success of Samsung's Galaxy Tab's smaller sized tablets, Apple has perceived a possible threat, and a possible piece of the pie that it's missing out on.

With this in mind, I decided to make my own value curve for the companies' tablet products based on Blue Ocean's strategy. Please note that my values are completely subjective and based on my own perception of the companies' tablet devices (I have used both).

Based on my analysis, Apple has received a better score in 7 of the 12 categories, and in many cases by a sizeable margin. However, if a consumer cares less about brand image, and is on a tighter budget, the Galaxy Tab is a great alternative, especially its smaller sized models. For this reason I believe Apple wishes to release smaller iPads at lower price points (rumored around $199).