I think this product is an exception to that rule. The reason is that there is no tablet market. It doesn't exist. Apple is doing what they hardly ever do here

I think this product is an exception to that rule. The reason is that there is no tablet market. It doesn't exist. Apple is doing what they hardly ever do here; they're selling the iPad at low margins (which will get higher with time) in order to take this market, giving competitors little chance to undersell them with their inevitable knockoffs. They usually don't do this. Usually they care more about margins and profit than about market share. But they're in a golden position right now; they have more cash than they know what to do with, they're making loads of money while their competitors are struggling.