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iPad mini

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Re: iPad mini

#151
1. Apple releases new product

2. Critics yawn, criticize etc.

3. AAPL goes down

4. Many speculate as to what Jobs would or would not have done, joke about rolling in grave, call for Tim Cook to be fired etc.

5. Apple makes a mint's worth of money, AAPL hits new high.

It's been happening for 5 years. It's not just unsurprising, it's predictable.

Re: iPad mini

#152
It's interesting that they also released an iPad 4 but hardly anyone is talking about that. I presume that this is to address the complaints some people had about the iPad 3 performing less well because of the additional overhead from the retina display?

Re: iPad mini

#153
post #22

It looks good. The 7.9" screen size may hit the sweet spot for smaller form factor tablets, my rooted Nook Tablet feels just a wee bit small at 7". I'm not an Apple fan but I'll be surprised if Apple doesn't sell these things by the truck load.

I'm really disappointed by the screen's resolution though. I don't even think I'm the only one. Cuz the (current) iPad has a 264 dpi screen, whereas the Mini has a 162 dpi screen.

Few years ago Apple decided that it will be easier to create pixel perfect apps with simple, fixed layouts. With all screen elements positions hard coded. Yes, GPU accelerated animations are still the best. However fixed layout apps mean that they can only double resolution, divide by 2, etc.

The result is iPhone 5 with additional row of icons. And iPad Mini with disappointing ppi. This is classic technical debt.

Re: iPad mini

#154

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…

Agreed that the copy is cloying, but surely you realize that the point is that some people prefer a smaller device? When I showed my wife this link, she immediately requested one for Christmas. This was surprising, as she had never before shown the slightest interest in an Apple offering. Then she said that this was going to sell like hotcakes, because at this size, it's not too big to fit in a lady's purse.

What did she say when you showed her the Nexus 7 a few months ago?

(I'm only asking this because you wrote "... never before shown the slightest interest in an Apple offering.")

Re: iPad mini

#155
post #54
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!").

This is what apple haters say about every Apple product. They said the iPhone would be a total flop and never sell the 10 million units Steve Jobs said they hoped to sell-- because it didn't have a hardware keyboard. They said it about the iPod too- claiming that having less capacity than the creative nomad and no built in radio made it "lame" (CmdrTaco famously said this.) They said it about the iMac as well, callin…

It's possible to criticize Apple without hating them. And "underwhelming" is not a synonym for "terrible".

Re: iPad mini

#156
My reaction: I imagine Google/Amazon/B&N must be very happy with this. I am sure Apple will sell a boatload and possibly even own a clear majority of the space, but Apple just threw a huge wave of interest into a market where they are being very clearly undercut on price and not offering that much differentation.

Re: iPad mini

#157

Why does it cost more than the Kindle Fire HD but has way worse specs? Apple have shot themselves in the foot with this launch. I'm so disappointed in the iPad Mini.

Apple competes on user experience. Not price, and certainly not specs.

They're the Nintendo of the personal device market. Ignoring everyone else and doing their own thing since XXXX.

Re: iPad mini

#159
I'm surprised competitors haven't attacked the $129 3G upcharge more directly. That seems like about $100 of profit right there.

Re: iPad mini

#160
post #127
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did very much cherry-pick apps that run poorly on the N7. The equivalent would be demoing the N7 against an iPad running iOS apps that only have an upscaled iPhone variant.

Obviously there are cases in which the opposite is true and the interface on Android is better, but not many. In my experience, Android apps on tablets are horrible. Apple has the upper hand here in controlling the hardware, and releasing the iPad mini with the same resolution as the iPad 2 was a really smart move. Instant compatibility with all existing apps.

Hardware control has basically nothing to do with it. Far fewer people have been motivated to create two (phone/tablet) versions of Android apps than iOS apps. Its almost certainly a volume issue.
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