Linked List: October 25, 2012

Apple Reports Record-Breaking Fourth Quarter Results 

And, because they didn’t meet analyst expectations, it’s a “miss”. Of course.

Why Apple Doesn’t Care About Its Competition 

Felix Salmon:

Apple, famously, has the same pricing philosophy as Louis Vuitton: it sells premium products at premium prices, and it never discounts. That philosophy has made it an aspirational brand worldwide: you don’t see vendors in China selling fake Google Nexus 7s. Sometimes, as with the iPhone and iPad, the world beats a path to the company’s door in any case. Other times, as in the case of wireless routers or external displays, Apple’s products are so much more expensive than the competition that only the rich Apple faithful tend to buy them.

Smartest piece on the iPad Mini that I’ve seen all week. What the iPad Mini shows is that Apple holds tablets like the Nexus and Kindle Fire in disdain.

Slow Down 

Fraser Speirs:

As for the iPad 4, I’m not at all upset that Apple ‘obsoleted’ my 6-month-old iPad 3. You’re asking me would I rather the pace of innovation slowed down just so I could feel like the king of the hill for a bit longer? That’s crazy. If there’s one thing you’ll never hear me ask for, it would be that Apple slow down the rate at which iPads get better.