back to article iPad Mini maquette spied on web

What's claimed to be an engineering mock-up of the upcoming 'iPad Mini' has appeared on the web. Pictures of the maquette show a smaller, thinner iPad with a two grille stamps on the bottom edge for speakers and a slim docking connector that some observers are saying is the new, 19-pin port Apple is said to be working on. …

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  1. Greg J Preece

    Why are Apple so bloody fond of the 4:3 aspect ratio? Given the iPad's status as a glorified picture frame, and that one of the only things people ever do with them is watch videos, why the chuff aren't they 16:9 or similar?

    Here, watch a movie on your shiny new retina device. Don't mind the massive letterboxing. After all, you spent a ton of money on a high DPI screen so you could not use half of it, right?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Because it is the best ratio for use of a device that can be used in portrait or landscape. The on-screen keyboard would be more cramped in portrait mode with a widescreen ratio screen.

      It's a tablet computer not a dedicated media player.

      1. Greg J Preece

        "It's a tablet computer not a dedicated media player."

        Uh huh. And yet its primary uses seem to revolve around being a media player. Honestly can't say I've seen anyone do anything more advanced than writing an e-mail on one.

        1. mark1978

          Don't assume just because you use it as a media player that this is what everyone else wants to do. I use it for practically everything else but.

    2. Anonymous Coward 15

      Tablets are used for lots of things besides movies. IMHO 4:3 is better for browsing or reading a book.

    3. stucs201

      "Given the iPad's status as a glorified picture frame"

      So you're saying you'd prefer an aspect ratio which matched a typical digital camera? Most digital compact cameras are 4:3...

      1. BobaFett

        Aspect ratios

        I really don't think 4:3 aspect ratio is such a bad choice when you compare it to standard paper and photo sizes. Perhaps a good compromise would be to move to 3:2, but I'm not convinced.

        US Letter = 1.294 (11 x 8.5 in)

        4:3 = 1.333

        A4 paper = 1.414 (297 x 210mm)

        Digital SLR = 3:2 = 1.5

        16:10 = 1.6

        16:9 = 1.778

      2. Chet Mannly

        "So you're saying you'd prefer an aspect ratio which matched a typical digital camera? Most digital compact cameras are 4:3..."

        Bit of a fail there fanboi - cameras are 3:2...

        1. ThomH

          Most reasonably expensive cameras are usually 3:2 because 35mm film was (a 35mm frame slightly confusingly being 36mm by 24mm). Conversely, point and shoots tend to be 4:3 and really really expensive cameras tend to ape medium format film so they produce square pictures (in homage to 120/220-style film's 60mm x 60mm).

          I agree with the posters above; black borders around some video consumption is not enough of a reason to significantly deviate from standard paper sizes in an approximately paper-sized device that often shows paper-style content, whether actual 'print' material or just the web.

    4. jubtastic1

      Movies?

      So I guess your ideal tablet would be 2.35:1 then.

      If you intend on doing more than watching TV, a 4:3 aspect ratio is one of the iPad's best features, as everything other than TV is designed for it.

    5. Chet Mannly

      "why the chuff aren't they 16:9"

      Because Samsung might sue Apple for copying their design then

      Hahaha

  2. thesykes

    Purely a coincidence that this appears just as the Nexus 7 is about to ship?

    1. Steve Evans

      Somehow I doubt Apple will be selling this at $200 though!

  3. Julian Taylor
    Alert

    It's all too much ...

    Excessive Synchronisation Disorder

    This is where you have been inundated with iProduct. No matter that iCloud can handle anything and everything you throw at it ... can YOU handle remembering which movie is on which iPad/iPod/iPhone/iPad Mini or which photostream has not updated on which device.

    An App that lists all the devices you have linked up to iCloud and the synchronisation state/backup state of each would be nice

  4. Velv
    Flame

    Is it just me, or does this device look just like the Nexus and the Kindle. Have Apple stolen the look from Nexus and Kindle. Is there not a 7" Samsung also out there - have Apple stolen the look from that too?

    Judge Birss is going to have a field day with Apple if they attempt to appeal the iPad/Galaxy decision...

    (and I'm not trolling, just making fun of the fanbois. I like my iPad, but I agree with the judge, its just one of a family of similar looking devices).

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Speaker grill

    that hole between the grills might be a bass port.

    It's hard to tell from the photos but it appears to be offset from the centre of the device, unlike other iDevice docks.

  6. mevets
    Coat

    Product research....

    I would be surprised if Apple hadn’t built just about every conceivable size of slab (and phone, for that matter) to see what the trade-offs are.

    It is one thing to think that 7 inches isn’t enough, but it is far better to try as many sizes as you can to see what the best fit is.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: Product research....

      "It is one thing to think that 7 inches isn’t enough, but it is far better to try as many sizes as you can to see what the best fit is."

      Tthat's exactly what I said to Pippa Middleton, but the judge still gave me a restraining order.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wow...

    Its a piece of fucking wood with some indentations drilled into it. Real amazing there huh? Worth millions.

    I also have a bridge for sale if anyone's interested.

    1. Steve Evans

      Re: Wow...

      I'm interested, but only if you throw in a free goat.

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