iPad mini unboxing: super slim, very light

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  • Reply 41 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    slurpy wrote: »
    I honestly think this could be the nicest looking product Apple has ever made. Once you get used to it, the large iPad seems like it has a ridiculosly large bezel. This thing is almost all screen. And the materials and back looks gorgeous. 

    sirozha wrote: »
    I spent about 15 minutes with an iPad Mini at the local Apple store last night. I can tell you this is an absolutely brilliant device. For most tasks that the iPad is used, such as light email, web browsing, YouTube, Netflix, iTunes for Movies or audio, and especially ebooks, iPad Mini is a better device than iPad. For those who try to use iPad as a laptop substitute, full-size iPad is probably a better choice. iPad Mini is so light and thin that you can easily hold it in one hand while reading or typing. So, you use it in a different way than you do the full-size iPad. I can see how the adoption of this device by retail sector as well as by healthcare sector will be rapid and enormous. You really have to play with it to understand that this device will open many doors that remained closed to the iPad. Also, iPad mini is a perfect fusion of an ereader and a high-end tablate. I really believe informed consumers on a budget will be choosing iPad Mini over Android tablets or Amazon Kindle Fire. As for the resolution, because of the smaller screen size than full-size iPad , the same resolution as on iPad 2 seems a lot sharper than on iPad 2. I could not discern pixels on the iPad Mini as I can on my iPad 2. So, iPad Mini is not a fail with the current resolution. The cameras on iPad Mini are much better than on iPad 2, so if you do FaceTime or Skype between two iPad Minis, video quality will be better on both ends than it is with iPad 2 or even iPad 3. The back camera is good enough and the size of iPad Mini is small enough that you can use it as a photo or video camera (unlike a full-size ipad). So, those who do not want a smart phone could opt for an iPad Mini and have similar camera handy. All of this in one device for $329 I presents a compelling reason to own an iPad Mini for those on a budget and late into the mobile computing era. I, for one, have ordered a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad Mini for my 2-year-old son because I believe it's an excellent educational tool. iPhone/iPod Touch is too small for that purpose, but a full-size iPad is too bulky for a toddler to handle. iPad Mini seems to be perfect for this as well as for so many other tasks. By the way, it would make an excellent GPS if you get one with cell data and GPS chip in it.

    I spent about 10 minutes with one today at the Apple Store. It is brilliant in the look and feel. The lack of a Retina display didn't bother me — although it would be nice to have providing it maintains a sensible weigh, thickness and duration of use window — unlike 7" 16:9 tablets which I find to be horrible for reading.

    I was surprised how much I liked the Music app on the iPad mini. It's the same as the 9.7" iPad but I have zero songs on mine as I would never use that for remote music, yet on the 7.9" iPad I can see myself using it that way. Putting it into words is odd as I can't quite figure out why the physical difference would change my usage so radically.

    I'm still undecided as a buyer as I do mainly use my iPad (3) for technical books, often with diagrams, but I am certainly intrigued, would recommend it to anyone wanting a universally good tablet that they wanted for more than just videos, and can see myself just buying one without a moment's notice (the pitfalls of living next to an Apple Store.


    PS: sirozha, Great detail but paragraphs will make your comments easier to read.
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  • Reply 42 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Slurpy View Post


    I honestly think this could be the nicest looking product Apple has ever made. Once you get used to it, the large iPad seems like it has a ridiculosly large bezel. This thing is almost all screen. And the materials and back looks gorgeous. 





    I kind of agree. For me, it is not so much a case of the bezel on the iPad being large. It's a case of, for many tasks, the iPad Mini seems large enough. You get used to the lower resolution display after a while.  One thing, however, shows that Steve Jobs wasn't wrong. There are certain cases when text enough is awkward because, the same text field (in terms of pixels) the iPad is just a bit small here. Selecting text requires a bit of trial and error. I find myself still not quite adjusted to it. This is perhaps what Jobs meant by needing sandpaper.


     


    Having said this, the moment I gripped the Mini in my left hand, I had an instant feeling that this was going to sell at least as well as the iPad. It just fits.

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  • Reply 43 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    There is lots of wasted space in the box. Most of the box's thickness is because they need room for the PSU's thickness but they don't fill that space with much of anything. I'd like the box to be elongated so the PSU and headphones are at the bottom edge of the box which would allow the box to be much thinner thus allowing for less overall volume being used for packaging. This would negatively affect the aesthetic of the box being the length and width of the product they are selling so I'll be surprised if they go that route.




    Wait a second. What do you mean by head phones? The iPad (or MIni) does not come with head phones.

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  • Reply 44 of 72
    cycomiko wrote: »
    One thing i noticed with mine. it only comes with a 5w charger. Apple should ditch that, 10W or above, all around.

    Buy a 10W charger if you need one, and stop whining.
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  • Reply 45 of 72


    Quote:



    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post





    Buy a 10W charger if you need one, and stop whining.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cycomiko View Post



    One thing i noticed with mine. it only comes with a 5w charger. Apple should ditch that, 10W or above, all around.


     


    I personally don't think it's a big deal. But you can whine all you want; it's a free country. Anyone who tells you to stop must have an empty life that they need to lash out at people to give themselves some meaning.

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  • Reply 46 of 72
    harbinger wrote: »
    If you can whine all you want, it's a free country. Anyone who tells you to stop must have an empty life that they need to lash out at people to give themselves some meaning.

    Spoken like someone whose life must surely have a lot of meaning!
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  • Reply 47 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post





    Spoken like someone whose life must surely have a lot of meaning!




    Just feeling sorry for you. That's pretty meaningful.

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  • Reply 48 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Harbinger View Post




    Just feeling sorry for you. That's pretty meaningful.



    Ditto.


     


    Sounds like we're good!

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  • Reply 49 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    harbinger wrote: »

    Wait a second. What do you mean by head phones? The iPad (or MIni) does not come with head phones.

    I mean the Lightning cable as it's the only other wired component I could have possibly meant when I misspoke.
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  • Reply 50 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    I mean the Lightning cable as it's the only other wired component I could have possibly meant when I misspoke.




    Ok. You had me looking back in my box wondering if I had left the earbuds inside!

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  • Reply 51 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    harbinger wrote: »

    Ok. You had me looking back in my box wondering if I had left the earbuds inside!

    Another OT comment: I''m all for Apple not including a bunch of additional adapters with their products but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect EarPods in with the iPad mini, as well as EarPods with the mic with the iPods that accept voice commands.
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  • Reply 52 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Harbinger View Post




    Ok. You had me looking back in my box wondering if I had left the earbuds inside!





    Don't feel bad, I went digging as well lol.

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  • Reply 53 of 72
    adonissmuadonissmu Posts: 1,776member
    drblank wrote: »
    I think Apple's next step for screen is maybe not higher resolution per se, but more colors available to be shown.  I think that's the direction of the next generation screens. It may surface next year or the year after.
    i think so too. Once you get to retina quality display your eyes can no longer see the pixels so why bother so why not try to expand the color gammut.
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  • Reply 54 of 72
    adonissmuadonissmu Posts: 1,776member
    For those who've seen it and want retina - if apple had offered retina screen for $70 more, would that have been an easy decision?
    i definitely would've spent the extra bucks for a retina display screen. However on some level i think apps and websites need to be redone for mobile screens and that will solve the whole text issue in mobile browsers. Retina doesnt beat an app or website thats made to handle a particular size for a site. Im reading up on how i can make that happen now.
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  • Reply 55 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anfboymn View Post



    Non retina = piece of cheap shit


     


    Wow.  Have you actually bothered to use it and see?


     


    Have been using mine since Friday morning and can't put it down.  It is much easier to hold than the current iPad and much easier to see than the iPhone 5.  The screen is great.  Even watched a movie on it already.

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  • Reply 56 of 72

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post


     


    Wow.  Have you actually bothered to use it and see?


     


    Have been using mine since Friday morning and can't put it down.  It is much easier to hold than the current iPad and much easier to see than the iPhone 5.  The screen is great.  Even watched a movie on it already.





    Mostly agree. But those textboxes are a bit on the small side, don't you think? Maybe they can enlarge them for both iPad and iPad Mini.

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  • Reply 57 of 72


    BTW, vertical scrolling does not work on my ibooks. Is it working for others?

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  • Reply 58 of 72


    Originally Posted by Harbinger View Post

    BTW, vertical scrolling does not work on my ibooks. Is it working for others?


     


    When you switch to it, what happens?


     


    image

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  • Reply 59 of 72
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    There is lots of wasted space in the box. Most of the box's thickness is because they need room for the PSU's thickness but they don't fill that space with much of anything. I'd like the box to be elongated so the PSU and headphones are at the bottom edge of the box which would allow the box to be much thinner thus allowing for less overall volume being used for packaging. This would negatively affect the aesthetic of the box being the length and width of the product they are selling so I'll be surprised if they go that route.


    Personally I do not like the design of the packaging for iOS devices. The one thing I would change is I would rather have the device deeper into the box because it is too easy for it to slip out upon opening the box since it is sitting completely loose right at the very brim. I know they think it is a better presentation as the device is the first thing you see when opening the package but with my recent experience opening my iPhone 5, the device did slide right out of the box onto the granite countertop in the kitchen just as I was pulling the top off because it was rather snug, hence, I was struggling a bit and the box was not level. Fortunately the phone was undamaged but it could have been had it dropped further than the few inches that it did. I'd rather leave the drop test to the repair sites.

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  • Reply 60 of 72
    mstone wrote: »
    Personally I do not like the design of the packaging for iOS devices. The one thing I would change is I would rather have the device deeper into the box because it is too easy for it to slip out upon opening the box since it is sitting completely loose right at the very brim. I know they think it is a better presentation as the device is the first thing you see when opening the package but with my recent experience opening my iPhone 5, the device did slide right out of the box onto the granite countertop in the kitchen just as I was pulling the top off because it was rather snug, hence, I was struggling a bit and the box was not level. Fortunately the phone was undamaged but it could have been had it dropped further than the few inches that it did. I'd rather leave the drop test to the repair sites.

    Agree wholeheartedly. An exactly similar thing happened to me with my iPhone 5.
    :\
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