Apple reveals iPad mini: 7.9" display, 7.2mm thin, starting at $329 - Page 5

 

 

You're going to look like a right tit come Xmas 

Jacqui from arstechnica.com said the iPad mini feels different than the regular iPad. Se said if felt "cheaper"' but I'm wondering if they figured out a way to make the aluminum more durable and scratch resistant and that's why it feels different?

So far every initial impression I've seen from the tech sites love these products, just not the price of the mini. I hope Apple didn't make a mistake by not eating the $30.

Someone shopping for the miniaturization of a touch is not shopping for a mini, and visa versa.
Miniaturization is its own premium.

 

Except no. The A5 and the A5X are the same processor. The A6 and A6X are the same processor. The difference is the GPU cores. You will never see an iPhone with an A5X or A6X. They just don't need them. 

I would prefer a 299 price point but the mini really is a good quality product. My expectation was the ipad 2 specs in a very light package and we got just that.

The device is perfect for its intended usage.

Edit: Actually the iPad mini does have better internals than the ipad2. It shares the A5 with it, but everything else has been upgrade (cameras, LTE,...)
Edited by herbapou - 10/23/12 at 5:11pm

If you had kept up with the news you would have heard that Steve was completely on board with iPad Mini. Do not confuse a few comments during a marketing session as policy or even somebodies vision. Frankly I'm not sure where all this garbage come from, most likely ignorant people stirring the pot.

I am really curious if they have done anything to address glare on the screen.  Find a solution for that and this will be an amazing reading device!

Do you read what you write? If there's a difference then they are not the same.

The one only ignorance here is the idea that ppi is the only important parameter when it comes to buying a new device.

Agreed on the cycle date. I have an iPad 3rd gen and I'm happy with it and also if the cycle date is moved to October... Or I given the iPad a minor upgrade now and come next year a major update for the iPad?

 

No, he looks like that right now.  Apple will sell every single one of these they can build between now and Xmas.

 

IMO this is more desirable than the iPad 2 they were still selling millions of them for $399 with zero advertising.

 

They won't be able to keep Minis on the shelf until 2013.

When Apple does their pricing right it always causes one agony deciding which model.  At $329 for mini, $399 for iPad 2, and $499 iPad Retina, I'd say they got it right.

 

It does cause me agony and in the end they up sell me.   I think the mini will be fine for a lot of people for which its fits their needs . However, I'm glad they also announced the 4th Gen iPad Retina with A6X; That is the one which meets my needs.

 

 I've tried 7" tablet before and they leave a lot to be desired for my use case (reading comic books, magazines, news papers). They are barely more useful then an iPhone with Retina.   As others have said before, "..people dont want tablets, they want iPads".  I'm not sure if I'd call the iPad mini an iPad.  Its a different use case.  One which does not fit my needs like the original iPad.  As tempting a the price is, it wont meet my needs and I'm going to get the original sized Retina 4th Gen iPad.  Damn those Apple marketing guys.. they always do this to me! 

I dont see an error in what he wrote.  He said the Core processor is the same.  The GPU is different.

 

You're just being an idiot and won't admit that you were wrong in the first place.  If the "A5X" was a different generation from the "A5" then they would have called it the "A6" (different generation get it?).  The very fact that they used the "x" means that it's a modified chip of the same generation.  

And are those GPU cores within the CPU? And are they not processors as well?

 

 

Yes, but you are asking Apple to play a game it can't win. A Dell versus HP race to the bottom type of game. We can all disagree about the magic price point, but for Apple to go lower in price, it has to give something up. As a business it makes money on the sale of the hardware. It isn't Amazon that locks users into an account scheme in hopes of making a profit on content. It isn't Google that collects your information, and uses that to target ads to you and also tries to make money on content sales. Google and Amazon can sell the device at break even. That is not Apple's business model. It offers a premium product. 

 

There are already people claiming Apple should have included the A6 processor and a Retina Display for LESS money than $329. These people aren't putting things in perspective. Currently, for $140 more Apple provides its customers with a metal enclosure (versus the Nexus 7's cheap plastic), 16GB of Ram (as opposed to the Nexus 7's 8 GBs of RAM), and 2 cameras including a 5 MB rear facing camera (as opposed to the Nexus 7's mere front facing camera).

 

Perhaps, to come closer to the Nexus 7 price you want Apple to  give up 8 GBs of Ram, the metal enclosure, and the 5GB rear facing camera. I, for one, will pay the extra money for a better quality and more usable product. 

 

You watch, Apple will announce a week or two after the product is offered blow out sales. Six months from now Apple can give the product an update. 

 

You said "generation" which means a specific thing.  In this case, a "5x" is still of the same generation as a "5."

 

 

I also don't get the complaints. The iPad Mini display is better than the first and second generation iPads. Engineering is about balance. Apple wanted to deliver a mini product at a reasonable cost. If it puts a retina display in, the price goes up substantially because it has to pay more for the display and put in a better processor to power it. 

 

People also forget Apple has to drive excitement and sales every quarter. Apple will update the product. 

 

 

Well I certainly respect your view, but I don't share it. Apple apparently thinks the same way I do. Aluminum is 1) more durable 2) weighs less, 3) prettier, 4) more environmentally friendly, 5) can be made thinner, and 6) helps preserve the resale value better. I for one don't use a case on my iPad. 

Yeah that 10% price difference will make all the difference! Come on, what planet are you people from.

I stand corrected but it's nonetheless 2 processors behind.

The fire HD is smaller and slower. A better comparison is the Fire HD 8.9" which is bigger with a similar processor and still $30 less.

dude, have you considered a career as a political spin writer? wow.. seriously? I guess there is no need to continue.

The question now is when? 6 months from now, a year from now? I'd love to buy a iPad mini but not if a updated version is coming out in 6 months. See the dilemma Apple caused today? It could potentially cost them to lose sales.

you get what you pay for.  The price is quite fair for what you get. Its not a steal against full sized iPad by any means. Which is a good thing. Its positioned well against the full sized iPad and causes people some pause.   I get the same feeling when its time to buy a Mac.  So their pricing strategy makes sense. 

Edited by snova - 10/23/12 at 5:17pm

Ah years and years of spin doctoring practice with my girlfriends lol.

At this point I think they are totally banking on holiday sales and I'm guessing they will sell all 10 million they ordered. Once the word of mouth effect kicks in, it will start to really gain momentum. Even if there is an early refresh the market will absorb all of the original iPad mini hand me downs and resales just like it did with the original iPad. Six months, one year, it makes no difference.

Not in my case and I guarantee I'm not alone.

For $329 it has to be an A6. Not asking a lot here. No retina display is fine. But, throwing in A5 kills the deal. Not because the dual A5 is slow but we have moved into A6 era.
Edited by Smartcat - 10/23/12 at 5:33pm

You snooze you lose. (or luz, looz, not sure) as someone was complaining earlier that people don't know how to spell. If you don't pre-order you will likely be standing in line.

Different but the same generation. Both are Cortex A9 based with a 543 based GPU.

The A6s are "A15 class" also with a 543 based GPU and the next gen.

The clue for any rational person is the x in the Ax denotes a generation.

The A4 is two generations old.

Jaqui at Ars said you can thumb type in portrait on the mini about as well as on the iPhone.

No one has commented that it is harder to hold so I'm guessing its not an issue.

Still happy with my Nexus 7. Significantly higher ppi screen and it fits in my jacket pocket. And a whopping 25% cheaper, not including the Play Store credit.

How ironic that Apple is now pushing screen size over ppi.

Best part of this announcement? iPad 3 price cuts. I bought two 32GB iPads.

Cult of Mac has an interesting blog post on the iPad. Basically questioning what the pitch was. And I have to agree I was very baffled at the way Schiller was pitching this product. One minute talking about how you can easily use it with one hand the next minute talking about how it's so much better than smaller tablets because of the larger real estate. And why spend so much time comparing it to the Nexus 7 when it's a lot more expensive? Clearly Apple views it as a superior device hence the higher price point. But where was the compelling pitch to justify the price? In the Verge's review of the device they say it makes the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire feel like toys. Why didn't Schiller spend more time talking up the build quality of the device? Yeah he threw out a reference to aluminum vs plastic but he didn't spend much time on it. The bigget pitch he made was its great for web browsing. Where was the focus on education or textbooks? How about some textbook or other amazing app demos? I think this could be a very compelling device I just didn't get the pitch. In fact I'm seeing on the web and twitter a lot of people saying the star of the show today was the new iMac, not the iPad mini. I'm not sure that was what Apple intended.

 

Good post. I wasn't expecting a Retina display, and if it had one then extra graphics cores would have been needed to drive four times the number of pixels. This warms the iPad 3 - not intolerably so, but it has been noted, and has increased power draw. With the mini using a smaller enclosure and a smaller battery to keep weight down, there would have been compromises here.

 

I was hoping for an A6 though.

 

Price is OK for Wifi models, but I expect the price premium for 3G/4G on Android devices may make Apple's extra $129 look embarrassing.

 

 

Nope. That's not a generation the A6X the same architecture and speed for general tasks as the A6. The X is for extra graphic cores needed for a large Retina display.

Yeah, that was one interesting and meaningful stat Tim Cook didn't state:  Apple now has more SKU's than ever before - or least since Jobs returned and slashed the number to rebuild the company from scratch.  And in fact this is probably the first time I can't identify and price the entire hardware line without looking it up. And it's arguable that the simplicity - and "graspibility" of their line-up has been part of their marketing success when the competition still cluelessly releases their XD7800HDpx's and whatnots....

So the question is, will this be about the max (until they release some whole new device class), or can we expect to see a gradually but continually growing number of products coming with an Apple logo? Or conversely, if they cut their costs on retina notebook screens, no 'tweener less expensive MBpros?

PS: The whining about the "early" upgrade of the iPad to gen 4 is related - I like to see the newest stuff released as soon as possible, but there was some comfort in knowing you wouldn't be obsoleted in less than a year in most of their products.  

Bottom line: Success across the whole line and fast-as-feasible new tech execution are variables that can introduce their own challenges for the company and its customers.  But there are far worse problems to have.  Just ask RIM or Nokia.....

 

But for those discomfited, I imagine Gazelle is delighted at all of today's iOS related announcements.   I.e., if you have a "new iPad" and sell it (on your own for more or painlessly through a service like theirs), you can stay current for a fraction of the price of the specc'd up successor device.  

More like Amazon as Iceland and Apple as Europe...  ...Greenland always looks bigger than it is  on flat (Mercator projection?) maps...

Go back to your basement, silly man. (Clearly, that's where you must live -- in your mom's house -- if you can't afford $30 for the incredible quality that Apple offers relative to the pathetic lay of the land that passes for 'competition.')

Edited by anantksundaram - 10/23/12 at 6:26pm

 

If you want or need to buy something, you can only buy what's available now (what's in the wagon) in salesman-speak... you decide what best does the job and go with that decision..

 

If Apple catered to someone like you who dithers rather than decides -- they'd never sell anything!

Edited by Dick Applebaum - 10/23/12 at 6:44pm

 

 

That makes no sense at all as the A6 is overkill for the device...

 

Put another way... are you willing to pay $379 for a 16 GB mini with an A6?