301–310 of 358 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But do you think school should be relying on iOS/Android/Kindle? Should they use something new? I don't want governments to pay (even more?) bazillions to Apple or Samsung, but making their own will also come expensive. Ideas?
Fork Android?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
This is the type of low quality comment we should avoid on HN. Ignorant, prejudicial and irrelevant.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't you also have a phone? I can 1-click tether my Nexus 7 to my iPhone (which is always on me). In fact that is how I'm composing this reply. It doesn't seem necessary for every device to have its own cellular connection when they're so easy to network.
Not everyone has network service plans that are tether-friendly :(
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any discussion involving the terms "apple hater" or "apple fanboy" immediately disappears into a hole of stupidity. That said, Apple are inviting some of these comparisons. "More expensive", for example. The iPad Mini is more expensive than a Nexus 7, by a significant margin. Apple invited the comparison by comparing the two devices themselves on stage .
Google should be delighted. I've yet to find a "normal" who is aware that anyone else sells "iPads". And Amazon doesn't count, they sell "Kindles". No amount of competitive marketing seems to have brought the two product families into competition beyond "well I heard the iPad has books too but my friend loves her Kindle".
Other folks have smaller form factor devices, the Dell 'Streak' [1] being an early example of an Android based device that started out at 5" and 'grew' to 7". 5" was not very successful and mocked as being an unwieldy phone, the larger size was better.
Laptops got 'huge' the 17" one being the pinnacle, and then 'small' again with the most popular models being 13 - 16"
Other tablets came out in 6, 7, 9, 10, 11" sizes at various levels of acceptance or not.
The Kindle was the first e-reader with a solid market foot print, it was 'small'. E-readers of 7" are common.
So dialing all of that together you end up with a bunch of different designers trying different ideas and some of them are successful and some aren't. The same designers look at the successful products and try to extract what aspects of the design were critical, which weren't? How did people use them, how did people think of them, what did people want that they didn't get.
So this market is evolving.
So the folks at Apple see these things and try to capture as much of the market as they can. They saw folks buying a bunch of Kindle fires and Nexus 7's and hey, they could do that.
I'm completely conflicted because I like the idea of an A6x iPad but I really like to 30 pin connector on my 3rd Gen iPad.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm getting more and more embarrassed by it each time they release a new product. The new ipod touch is using the slogan "engineered for maximum funness". Yeah.
Do you represent Apple? Why would you be embarrassed by what they do?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
With respect to digital textbooks, as someone who had to haul many American sized (read: Oversized) textbooks from class to class, from school to home, every day for 6 years during Junior High and High School, carrying around 1 iPad would have relieved my spine of great gravitational burden. For this reason alone, I truly hope that digital textbooks become viable.
But do you think school should be relying on iOS/Android/Kindle? Should they use something new? I don't want governments to pay (even more?) bazillions to Apple or Samsung, but making their own will also come expensive. Ideas?
Districts probably aren't going to care, as they are looking for a cheaper way to stay current. I recognize the prices are not as good as they should be, but realize the logistics are removed from the situation. The monster of having to manage all those books goes away with a keypress, but lands them squarely on a treadmill with the publishers controlling the dial.
Open school books? Maybe teachers will collaborate and make their own material? There's a lot of room in there...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, I think they made a mistake here. Of course I have no idea what their margins are, but $299 looks a whole lot better than $329. Would $30 really make or break them? [edit: math (doh!)]
Have to also keep in mind the price of the mini vs full sized ipad... it's not just dropping $20 (well, $30) per mini sold... there's a lot of nuance in the pricing and consumer perception of the cost vs value of mini vs other products (including full sized iPad...)
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 have a Nexus 7 and an iPad. I find myself using the Nexus almost exclusively. This is probably because it's easier to carry around and if I'm going to carry something as big as the iPad I may as well just carry laptop.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And the best alternative to the iPad mini is well below the $300-$500 range: the N7 is in the $200-$250 range.
Yeah, I think they made a mistake here. Of course I have no idea what their margins are, but $299 looks a whole lot better than $329. Would $30 really make or break them? [edit: math (doh!)]