
The iPad Air - _pius
http://daringfireball.net/2013/10/the_ipad_air
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jrockway
The iPad community is starting to give the amateur cyclist "weight weenies" a
run for their money when it comes to inane banter about the weight of an
object.

Here's an experiment. Divide 100 people into 4 groups: one group gets to
compare the weight of a 1 pound block of lead and a 1.4 pound block of lead,
the second gets 1.4 pounds and 1 pound, the third 1 and 1, the fourth 1.4 and
1.4.

See if anyone can actually tell which one weighs more.

~~~
bradleyland
When you're holding something the way you hold an iPad -- or at least the way
I do -- the weight of the device is amplified through leverage.

I tend to grip my iPad the way I do a book; near the bottom. The fulcrum point
of support is at my wrist, which is always far from the center of gravity of
the iPad. Gripping it from the bottom makes it worse, as the total weight of
the iPad is suspended above my wrist. I constantly find myself swapping
between gripping where I _want_ to grip (near the bottom) and some other
position that requires less effort. Even then, human anatomy dictates that the
fulcrum point is always well outside the bounds of the device.

I've owned an iPad 1 (680g) and an iPad 3 (650g). Even the seemingly tiny
reduction in weight was noticeable when holding the iPad near the bottom. I've
held an iPad Mini, and the difference is night and day.

The iPad Air weighs 181g less than the iPad 3, but only 138g more than the
iPad Mini. That means the iPad Air is closer in weight to the Mini than it is
the outgoing iPad. If you don't think that's an appreciable weight difference
that you'll feel every time you use an iPad, then you've got some serious
gorilla-strength arms.

~~~
jrockway
I use a Nexus 10 and the weight is fine for a JFK-SFO flight. (It's 1.3
pounds.) Sure, you shift it around a few times, just like you adjust your legs
or get up to use the bathroom.

Lighter is better, but I don't think it warrants so much discussion.

