Apple reveals iPad mini: 7.9" display, 7.2mm thin, starting at $329 - Page 2

It's all about the user experience. If this product is as enjoyable to use as a larger IPad, it begs the question, why even have the bigger iPad.

Even if the user experience is only marginally diminished due to the smaller screen, the advantages of a smaller form factor would cause this to become the model of choice for most consumers.

 

I think the timing of the iPad 4 is due to a nexus (pun) of competitive activity (MS and Google/Sammy) and availability of technology (the A6 class chip -- A6X).   When you are pushing the envelope in technology, you must wait for it to be available in quantity and economically viable.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see similarly lengthened or shortened product cycles in the future..

 

IMO, this sets Apple apart...  The announce things when they have them in production (not as untouchable prototypes)...  And they are not afraid to obsolete/replace their own products when it makes sense.

And I am still waiting for the 13" iPad. LOL,

^^this.

 

I love my "new iPad" retina display.  I love my iPhone 5 (and iPhone 4S before it) retina display.

 

Never ever in a trillion years will I go back to a non-retina display like the iPad 2.  It is so obviously inferior to me that frankly I'm embarassed by Apple today.  This is a serious downgrade.

 

Let's be honest.  Apple felt rushed to release the iPad mini to head off competition from the Google Nexus and Amazon Fire.  Today we witnessed Apple introducing a product that takes a step back so they can block the competition.

 

But they even screwed that up.  The resolution on the Nexus and Fire are higher than this POS.  *AND* they are charging at $100 more?  The gall.

 

If I owned AAPL today I would *sell sell sell*.

Or get neither- that's what I'm doing.  They priced it out of my range for what I'd use it for. Retina- I'd have paid the difference.

 

 

I agree with everything you said with 2 exceptions- its $129 more, not $100.  And I would not sell your Apple stock.  I don't like the price, I'm not going to buy one because it's priced to high- but these are still going to sell very well.

The iPad Mini will be perfect for my car. This will replace my car dashboard: Apps, Navigation, Games, Music, Radio, Videos.

A couple of points. Google's $199 offering 1) only comes with 8 GB, and a 1.2 MB front facing camera. Apple's device ships with 16 GB, and both a 1.2 GB front facing camera and a 5 GB rear camera.

 

Moreover, as was presented at the demonstration Apple's screen actually presents more real estate and is built using aluminum not cheap plastic. The extra $140 dollars seems worth it to me for the quality Apple is offering. 

 

A retina display would be nice, but Apple is offering a more cost conscious option and people didn't mind the iPad 2 that lacked the retina display. It also wants to sell more expensive full sized iPads. Moreover, somebody posted that Google's processor in the Nexus 7 trounces the A5. BS. Both chips came out the same year, in 2011. The A5 compares favorably with the Tegra 3. It is slightly slower, but not enough to matter. 

 

That would require that you had a "job job job" to have bought AAPL in the first place...

 

"Exact same resolution as the iPad 2. 1,024 x 768. So, no work for developers at all!"

 

When the new iPad showed up, devs worked overtime to make their experience look better on the retina display. They've stuffed a big pack of yummy things into their apps, having been updated for retina, since then...  

Now What? Should I call fragmentation?

 

You can approximate the Mini's virtual kb by using an iPad 1,2 or 3 in portrait.

Web traffic based on Apple PR does not equal fact or app use, but ok. My point still stands, frankly I think it's just a bad showing on 3rd parties. I would want my customers to have the best experience with me regardless of medium (as is the case with my current professional position) 

I would be more interested in keyboard in portrait on the mini.  The iPad is not fast or easy for me in either landscape or portrait

 

 

The Kindle HD lacks a rear camera, is made of cheap plastic, locks you into Amazon, uses a cheap processor, and offers half the battery life of the iPad (or the Nexus for that matter).

"same exact hardware"? The mini's display area is a lot larger and for many that user experience is the differentiator. 15" television "the same" as a 32? Nope.

$329 is a great price for the iPad Mini. I thought that it looked kind of cute, both the white and black models, and Apple is going to sell a shit load of them. 

 

Folks were expecting $249 for 8GB, $349 for 16GB and $449 for 32GB.  $329, $429, $529 for 16/32/64 is better pricing.  Not great but it's not bad either.

 

The iPad mini I was going to buy is $20 less than I expected.

Edited by nht - 10/23/12 at 12:37pm

I wouldn't worry about the Nexus 7 which getting cheaper with more storage as we speak. (There's also supposedly a Nexus 10 on the horizon with a 2560x1600 according the Verge but we'll see...) Nexus 7 made good fodder because it's intentionally cheap but it's also a distraction. Amazon is the real competition and the HD Kindles still look like a good value even after today's announcement. 

Steve was the master at changing his mind. I am reasonably certain he would have green-lighted the mini.

 

Nope.  The design is against 1024x768 points.  Apps don't need to change.  For retina devs added 2x art assets.

The ppi is approximately 125% that of the iPad 2 and twice what a regular desktop computer is. I spend all day working on a Cinema screen with no complaints about resolution and I do have a rMBP and an iPad 3 so I have something to compare it to. iPad mini without a retina is not a deal breaker for me at all. Sure it would have been better if it had one but it doesn't. They would have had to put in an A6 to do retina and that perhaps would have made it too expensive for the entry price they were trying to hit and it would have made it thicker and heavier with a bigger battery.

The display has the same total PIXELS as the 2 but not the same resolution, area matters..

No question about that, just as excellent as on the iPad.

J.

 

If you have ever used a Kindle Fire HD, you would realize that is nothing like an iPad.  It is extremely laggy, touch input is imprecise and the home screen and lock screens are basically an Amazon store.  The app ecosystem is also far inferior.

 

iPad comparison chart: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/compare

 

I see no reason to buy the iPad 2 now. It's completely outspeced by the mini in everything but size.

 

I have to believe Phil's emphasis on apps was meant to ward off the comparison to other tablets based on screen resolution. Sure, other screens have more pixels, but what can you put IN the pixels? I'm not knowledgeable enough on Android tablets to know how good or bad the tablet apps really are.

 

And the market did not like the price. AAPL dropped $10 when the mini price was revealed.

 

- Jasen.

Exactly. Doesn't anybody remember how they complained about the 8gb hd and how it was just about the price point? Well, they didn't and the price reflects that. I'd say it is right on target. Sign me up for two right off the bat. I also want, no... NEED, one of those 27" iMac's, and boy do I fancy one of those lovely 13" MBP's. Damn! Xmas has gone way over budget already!

I forgot that we could use Siri Dictation, too.

I can't wait to see one in person. I'm hoping when you see it and use it the price tag will be justified. Unfortunately Amazon and Google have set in people's minds that smaller tablets shouldn't cost more than $299 (or $199).

 

Yup. A 10% discount is possible on Apple-brand products.

Time will tell*. 

 

 

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* - http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/userexperience/conceptual/mobilehig/IconsImages/IconsImages.html

Tips for Creating Great Artwork for the Retina Display

If you merely scale up your existing artwork, you miss out on the opportunity to provide the beautiful, captivating images users expect.

Instead, you should rework your existing image resources to create large, higher quality versions that are:

...

More detailed. For example, in the high-resolution versions of the Safari and Notes icons, you can see details such as the accurate contours of the continents behind the compass and the torn paper left by the previous note.

...

Add detail and depth. Don’t hesitate to draw very small elements, because the high-resolution version of your artwork allows much more room for fine details. For example, a 1-pixel dot in your original image becomes a 4-pixel dot (that is, 2 x 2 pixels) in the larger version.

Edited by ivan.rnn01 - 10/23/12 at 1:32pm

 

I'm going to repost your quote when APPL is trading for $1000. Just because.

 

Hence Apple stores.

It can't be understated how wrong it is that the mini will ship with a 1024x768 display. Apple created the Retina ideal, they marketed it, they made it something people expect in their devices. Now Apple's closest competitor is absolutely blowing them away on the all important PPI measure. Forget that the iPad mini can't touch the Nexus 7, in a week Google's 10 inch Nexus tablet is going to embarrass the actually-"Retina" iPad as well. The last figure I read was 2560x1600 and >300 PPI. What makes me sad is that consumers won't the glaring omission in the iPad mini, because of the cache Apple built for itself and because most people are generally ignorant.

I don't get Wall Street. There were never any reliable leaks that this thing would be as cheap as Amazon and Nexus. Heck, some were speculating $329 for 8GB.I wish they could have hit the $299 price point but they were never going to compete at the bottom end.

What time is the pre-order on the 26th, is it midnight EST or PST time?

 

You could temporarily convert to Judaism for Hanukkah, then revert to Christianity for Christmas, when thats over adopt Kwanzaa. That way you can get all three presents for yourself. Problem solved.

I am happy with the updated Mac Mini, but I am on the fence regarding the iPad Mini. I like the size and don't really care about the lack of retina display, but I wish they would have simply stated that it doesn't have a retina display instead of playing up that it "has the same resolution as the iPad 2!!!" REALLY? I really hate hyperbole and obsfucation of the truth.  Grrrr. Also, an A5 Processor? The iPad Mini is really obsolete before it hits the streets (based on how fast Apple drops support for hardware in iOS).

 

I really think Apple should have made the iPad Mini and low end iPad equal to the "old" iPad 3. Oh well, off to pick up a new Mac Mini next month. 

 

And yet the $499 iPad outsells the rest of the $199 crap, or the Android 2.3 junk selling at $89 at the dollar stores.

Also, Wall Street was having a down day -250 points on the Dow, Apple down 6 before the event started.

 

Belief in an organized religion is not a requirement to be a consumer. Problem solved.

I would love to have seen retina but I guess having apps work without any changes required was a big deal. And throwing retina in there probably would have required it to be heavier and thicker.