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iPad mini

apple.com

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Re: iPad mini

#71

Post by samstokes »

akavi wrote: post #33
AlexMuir wrote: post #19

How underwhelming. At 7.9 inches, it’s perfectly sized to deliver an experience every bit as big as iPad What does that even mean? Either it's perfectly sized, and the iPad is the wrong size. Or it's not. There can surely only be one perfect size to deliver an iPad experience??? Either it's 10" or it's 7.9". I think Apple's marketing has always been the same - it's just that for a while they were ahead of the curve a…

I say this with absolutely no judgement regarding the value of the iPad Mini, but I'm struck by the similarity between this criticism and the criticism leveled against the original iPad ("it's just a giant iPod Touch!").

He's not criticising the product, he's criticising the marketing.

Re: iPad mini

#72

Post by lukifer »

akavi wrote: post #33
AlexMuir wrote: post #19

How underwhelming. At 7.9 inches, it’s perfectly sized to deliver an experience every bit as big as iPad What does that even mean? Either it's perfectly sized, and the iPad is the wrong size. Or it's not. There can surely only be one perfect size to deliver an iPad experience??? Either it's 10" or it's 7.9". I think Apple's marketing has always been the same - it's just that for a while they were ahead of the curve a…

I say this with absolutely no judgement regarding the value of the iPad Mini, but I'm struck by the similarity between this criticism and the criticism leveled against the original iPad ("it's just a giant iPod Touch!").

In fairness, that specific marketing line is more than a little silly: it can't be both smaller than an iPad and as big at the same time; both devices can't be the "perfect" size when they are different.

Like all tech companies, Apple needs to be able to do subtle iterations and improvements, and their marketing teams are left to try to add an "r" to every evolution.

Re: iPad mini

#73

Post by larsberg »

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #29
nirvana wrote: post #13

I've been looking forward to this product since the rumors started. I've owned iPads and iPhones and iPod touches. The iPhone (original and 4S) were both great devices but too small. I could carry them everywhere, but the reading and browsing experience was cramped, by necessity of the small screen. The iPad (original and Retina) are big, and lovely for reading and browsing, but too big to hold with one hand. This re…

I totally agree. I really like my iPad for a lot of things, but it has been disappointing for pleasure reading of books because it is just too heavy. Given that my primary use case will be reading, I now have to decide between a Kindle Paperwhite or the iPad Mini, with the one additional input that my kids would love to have another iPad in the house.

Get the Paperwhite. It's wonderful to read on, in any light. I've had a Kindle Keyboard, Kindle DX, iPad, Nexus 7, and Kindle Fire (original and HD), and the Paperwhite is far and away the best device. It also fixes a ton of the refresh-related issues with the recent Touch generation.

The only downside is PDF viewing, which you should still leave to device with more serious CPU and some auto-crop and fancy scrolling support (e.g., by quarter-pages).

Re: iPad mini

#75

Post by msbarnett »

akavi wrote: post #33
AlexMuir wrote: post #19

How underwhelming. At 7.9 inches, it’s perfectly sized to deliver an experience every bit as big as iPad What does that even mean? Either it's perfectly sized, and the iPad is the wrong size. Or it's not. There can surely only be one perfect size to deliver an iPad experience??? Either it's 10" or it's 7.9". I think Apple's marketing has always been the same - it's just that for a while they were ahead of the curve a…

I say this with absolutely no judgement regarding the value of the iPad Mini, but I'm struck by the similarity between this criticism and the criticism leveled against the original iPad ("it's just a giant iPod Touch!").

To crib from Andrew Plotkin, there are only two reviews of Apple products:

"Nothing new, no one will buy it"

and

"It's too radical, no one will buy it"

Re: iPad mini

#76

Post by dllthomas »

rryan wrote: post #17

One of the best parts about my Nexus 7 is that it fits perfectly in my back pocket (and even front-jeans pockets but that's much less comfortable). Having a tablet on my person (i.e. not having to reach inside a backpack to get it out) has been a great convenience. The increase in width from the 7.9" screen is surely going to mean that this won't which is a pity.

I've been meaning to get a Nexus 7 precisely because it fits comfortably in the inside breast pocket of my jackets. It doesn't sound like the iPad mini would do the same.

Re: iPad mini

#77

Post by ConstantineXVI »

randallu wrote: post #68
ConstantineXVI wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The GPUs required to run it would currently take up way more space and (figuratively) melt straight through the mini's smaller battery; not to mention price.

If you went to 28nm (current TSMC size, used by Qualcomm and NVidia for a few quarters already) from 45nm (size of A5X) then maybe not.

Apple just went through a die shrink to 32nm (starting with the 3rd-gen aTV and refreshed iPad 2), not doubting we'll see Apple go another stop smaller but not for a totally new product like this.

Re: iPad mini

#78

Post by kellishaver »

metadept wrote: post #23

With their announcement speech so full of contradictions, it seems like they're struggling to differentiate the Mini from the cheaper Nexus 7. The major appeal is its small size, but in comparison to the Nexus 7 they emphasize how much larger it is (albeit lower total resolution). Seems to be a clear case of presenting weaknesses as strengths, which will, unfortunately, probably succeed with many existing Apple custo…

I thought this was weird, too. The reason I bought a Nexus 7 was because of the 7in screen. Saying "It's a smaller iPad, but bigger!" just wasn't doing it for me. Maybe it was an attempt to sell people on the higher price tag.

Re: iPad mini

#79

Post by podperson »

AlexMuir wrote: post #19

How underwhelming. At 7.9 inches, it’s perfectly sized to deliver an experience every bit as big as iPad What does that even mean? Either it's perfectly sized, and the iPad is the wrong size. Or it's not. There can surely only be one perfect size to deliver an iPad experience??? Either it's 10" or it's 7.9". I think Apple's marketing has always been the same - it's just that for a while they were ahead of the curve a…

It's the same size an a Kindle Fire / Nexus 7, but lighter, with better battery life, a bigger display, better battery life, and a faster processor. Oh, and it's an iOS device so you can actually use it for something other than bragging about how cheap it was and propping up wobbly tables.

Re: iPad mini

#80

Post by mdonahoe »

quux wrote: post #57

Steve Jobs must be rolling in his grave ;) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFAjfUT8wZI

Steve changes his kind so much he'd probably claim it was his idea! :)

Like Bezos said recently, successful people change their mind, especially when confronted with great evidence like the Nexus 7.

Judging by the photos of the prototype iPad, I wonder if they ever made a prototype this size before deciding on the original iPad specs.

Anyway, I'm glad they didn't make it retina.

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