
The iPad Mini - llambda
http://daringfireball.net/2012/10/ipad_mini
======
cageface
_I prefer the Mini over the full-size iPad in every single regard other than
display resolution_

So now even Gruber admits that the 7" form factor is better for most use
cases. With the latest crop of Android 7" tablets providing a lot more bang
for the buck than the Mini I think pretty soon we're going to stop calling it
the "iPad" market.

~~~
danilocampos
> So now even Gruber admits that the 7" form factor is better for most use
> cases.

Except he doesn't. He says he prefers the iPad mini – as you quoted, there –
whose screen is about eight inches, not seven.

<http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/overview/>

The strike against the sub-10" tablets has been that their aspect ratios have
consistently been closer to 16:9, rather than the 4:3 of the iPad. In my usage
of the Nexus 7, I found that meant I could only comfortably use the device in
portrait – landscape was physically awkward and made all the software look
goofy. Which meant I eventually went back to the iPad. 90% of my tablet usage
seems to be landscape.

The thing the iPad mini gets right is maintaining the broader aspect ratio
while trimming down the size and weight of the iPad.

~~~
hollerith
>90% of my tablet usage seems to be landscape.

The narrower bezels, the ones on top and bottom when it is held in landscape,
make the mini hard to hold (or prop on your stomach when reclining) in
landscape.

~~~
danilocampos
Do you have access to a review unit?

I ask because I find that unlikely with a smart cover. I use one with my iPad
3 and, with the smart cover rolled up, propping it up requires little more
than my finger tips supporting the back edge.

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pedalpete
The reason the iPad2 continued to sell even after the introduction of the
iPad3 is because 1) most people can't tell the difference between retina and
non-retina displays

2) the battery life and recharge time were worse on the 3, leaving many people
(including myself) recommending that people by the 2.

~~~
jcoder
I find (1) hard to swallow.

~~~
rdl
I don't think "most", but I'd buy "many". But more so, a lot of people have
never seen a high-DPI retina display and don't know what they're missing.

I have an iPad 3; girlfriend still has an iPad 1. Whenever she shows me
something, it's painful, particularly text. Luckily she now gets the iPad 3
once my iPad 4 arrives...

~~~
seanmcdirmid
You can pry the retina screen from my cold dead hands. I've been using an iPad
2 for the last week as I'm preparing to give it away on my trip. My god, the
pixels cause my eyes to bleed! I never noticed before I had the iPad 3, but
somehow it just causes your resolution expectations to increase drastically.

~~~
nickbarnwell
This is not the experience I've had with a retina MBP at all. While the
increase in usable workspace is nice, I recently had to bring in it for
service and go back to using my 2011-vintage "normal" MBP for a week - the
only difference I noted was the lack of SSD. This is running the newer machine
at 1920x1200 (or 3840x2400, I suppose) and the old at 1680x1050. My day-to-day
work is all done in iTerm and VIM. Had I paid for the machine, I would've been
sorely disappointed I think.

~~~
rdl
I think part of it might be working distance, and that the desktop OS still
isn't really optimized for retina. The other problem I have with the rMBP is
that it's glossy; I'm sticking with my 2010 17" Matte for now, and the
slightly-less-glossy-than-Pro Air.

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jagira
Make first version of a device slightly inferior. Launch it without a key
feature. (Retina display, 3G) Generate a lot of buzz in press. Print money.

Six months later, add that missing feature and release v2 of the same device.
Print money.

~~~
r00fus
So the 1G iPad (which is a staple in our household) which didn't have any real
competitors for 2 years - missed a key feature?

I think not. It was an MVP, finely crafted and still works well to this day
for us.

Note when they did release a better iPad with a "missing" feature - camera -
it had software that created a full solution (FaceTime). If Apple had waited
until July (when the iPhone4 and iOS4 with FaceTime arrived), they would have
lost out on several valuable months of hype and market dominance.

~~~
wowfat
1g ipad did not have a camera and it was immediately replaced by 2g ipad for
me

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siglesias
While the Mini is unquestionably the device people want for doing what they
already do on the iPad, which seem to be reading and gaming, there's part of
me that regrets that we never saw the breakthrough multitouch apps that in my
mind can only be realized on the larger iPad: imagine a mathematics app that
accepts pen and ink input as well as a kind of sign language for massaging
algebraic expressions (something that I've been toying with) or a video
editing app that allows for fine scrubbing and instrument-like slicing and
dicing. Of course tasks like the latter are waiting for processors to catch
up. My point really is that I hope the market doesn't strangle the large-
screen tablet approach before they can reach their full potential, if such
potential indeed exists.

~~~
mark_l_watson
Good point, but I think that Apple might actually produce an iPad-whopper some
day, largely because of the laptop replacing types of applications that you
mentioned.

At least while at home, the sweet spot would be to have a mini and a whopper
(perhaps 14" screen, hopefully weight much less than 2 pounds). Having both,
perfectly synced, would be great, being able to grab the pad best for whatever
use.

Other manufacturers like Samsung might do this first. Samsung did such an
awesome job producing the Galaxy III S.

~~~
hollerith
Toshiba has announced and distributed to reviewers an Android tablet with a
13.3-inch screen, the Excite 13. Weight is 2.2 lb, price is $649.

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jpxxx
It just now clicked for me why the Big iPad got a refresh for Christmas:
because -Christmas-. With this quick and dirty product bump, customers don't
have to feel like they're choosing between the Farty Old Big One or the Sexy
New Small One. They get to compare fresh Apples to fresh Apples and no tech
enthusiast is going to tell them to "wait for the new one".

This November refresh covers all of the Western holiday buying, all of the
Chinese New Year holiday buying, and minimizes the inevitable disappointment
and sales sag that comes with the typical iPad refresh in April.

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nivloc
I'm surprised at the swooning over the form factor, not just from Gruber but
the rest of the press, including big-fingered die-hards like Darymple.

We've been deploying tablets in the field since the Panasonic days. iPad
replaced them, but not before we tried every alternative as they've arrived.
When IPad hit we went 100% web-based.

(bit of background: after getting on the tablet train, we buy anything
requested, support it 100%, and let users decide what works. ≈93% iPad, 7%
trying out Nexus 7 today, 5 requests for Nexus 10 FWIW)

Playbook, Xoom, TouchPad, Nexus 7 and more were duds. Big complaint was "too
small", browser performance (and bugs) came next. Build quality was so bad
pretty much all were far more expensive than IPads anyway. I've got 3 dead
Nexus 7s on my desk and it seems like they just came out.

If they've built a "perfect size" tablet with a good browser and pro-sumer
build quality, well, 20% lower acquisition cost would make me happy. But happy
folks in the field is better, and that's where we stand to see a shift.

Edit: Surprised everyone is so ready to ditch the 10" for 8"

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mladenkovacevic
I mentioned this somewhere else. You know who's going to buy an iPad Mini?
Somebody who already has an iPad. Apple is trying to keep existing customers
in their ecosystem. This product doesn't make sense for anyone else. Average
Joe Consumer who's never seen apps on the iPad doesn't care about apps, or
having his gadgets sharp enough to chop onions. But he does care about price.
The Nexus 7 or Fire HD is a no-brainer for him. I hate to shill my blog here
(truth be told I don't even know if it can handle more than 2 users at a time)
but I wrote a little more about it here
[http://blog.fullfrontalmarketing.com/en/2012/10/25/ipad-
mini...](http://blog.fullfrontalmarketing.com/en/2012/10/25/ipad-mini-event/)

~~~
calebhc
I don't own an iPad and I just bought a mini. It's my first tablet device.

~~~
mladenkovacevic
Didn't mean for anyone to take me too literally. What's I'm trying to say is I
think you are in the minority. Perhaps 80% of the Mini's buyers will be
previous iPad or iPhone owners. (whereas with the iPad or iPhone maybe 50-60%
are brand new customers)

Or maybe I am just completely out of touch with the US consumer and their
purchasing priorities (I am from Canada)

~~~
ap3
I think the market for the mini is huge, specially around the holidays. Not
everyone will pay the premium, but Apple doesn't need to get all of them.

As you said if it's only previous iPad or iPhone users there are a lot of
those.

What about people with small hands ? Maybe you hand your kid a $329 device
that fits his hands instead of a $500 that's too big ?

Getting and ipod touch for your kid ? Bump him up to a tablet ( if he doesn't
take it to school everyday )

People that like the kindle form factor will also be tempted.

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stretchwithme
"Font sizes on some websites can be a little small" Really? Like tiny fonted
daring fireball? :-)

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marcos4
The reason why I've bought an iPad2 instead of an iPad 3 is that I could get
for less than 500$ a useful device (especially for educational purposes) with
a cover + care pack.

Actually, you should make the same experiment as a shrink did with the
iPhone5. That is, take an iPad2 show it around you and say it's the new iPad.
Most people would believe you…

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dakrisht
This guy again. Jesus. I wonder how big the bags of money Cupertino sends him
are...

~~~
ghshephard
Gruber, Dalyrymple, Pogue, Ed Baig, Walt Mossberg, Topolsky, Sielger.

It's a tradition after a new Apple product launch for these guys to have a
review.

You know that Gruber/Siegler are going to love it, and will write their
respective love sonnets to the new device. They are solid writers (Siegler, in
particular, has gotten better in the last five years) - so Apple fans
appreciate their articles. Topolsky will be pretty analytical and provide one
of the more detailed of the reviews that aren't an Anandtech class "we will
tell you everything" review. Pogue will have an Apple Bias, with a bit of
balance - but carries some semblance of honest tech journalism. Mossberg will
be grumpy if something pisses him off about the device, but, in my experience,
is probably the more balanced of the review. He has enough Mojo that he isn't
concerned in the slightest about losing access to Apple. Dalrymple can be
counted on 100% of the time to say a new Apple Device is perfect - his reviews
don't get a lot of traction with me for some reason.

