21–30 of 358 posts
The resolution, they are putting retina displays in macbook pros but launch a tablet with non-retina display. Why?
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.
The resolution, they are putting retina displays in macbook pros but launch a tablet with non-retina display. Why?
Mainly, they are usually on the cutting edge of manufacturing technology for their parts. This year it is lamination, and there are only so many factories capable of doing this kind of lamination. I think doing the lamination for a retina display at this size would have restricted the manufacturing options and that capacity they'd rather put into the new iMac, Macbook Pros and retina iPad.
Secondly, cost. Retina is 4 times the pixels, and presumably significantly more expensive. A smaller display like this at the same resolution as the original iPad is going to be closer to retina than the original iPad.
Thirdly, it gives a nice upgrade for the future, to incentivize people to replace their device in a year or two. When the cost of the retina technology has dropped enough they can upgrade the mini to the same resolution as the iPad retina.
For new products, Apple tends to choose a mix of cutting edge and safe. The A5 is currently in volume production so it is a safe choice, where it was cutting edge last year, for instance.
Apple also has a food-chain. The newest processor goes to the newest product, and the secondary products (like the iPod touch and now iPad mini) which are in more price sensitive market positions (for instance the iPhone is subsidized by carriers but the iPod touch is not) tend to get the established one-generation-behind processors that are already cheaper to make. This way the A5 design lasts longer and the manufacturing capacity that is making it can keep making it.... while the A6 works on the lower feature size (requiring a more cutting edge fab).
For instance the A6 is, I believe 20 or 22 nonometeres, while the A5 was made on a 32 nanometer feature size.
The resolution, they are putting retina displays in macbook pros but launch a tablet with non-retina display. Why?
Meh, 164 PPI isn't bad, and this resolution allows them to run legacy iPad applications unscaled.
And yes, it is this resolution solely to support legacy applications, possibly to reduce costs. But i can only speculate on the latter.
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…
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.
I must say, I've consistently been impressed with Apple's copy writing.