Apple's iPad Mini mishap: scratching out the retina screen Apple will undoubtedly sell more than enough iPad Minis to keep its shareholders happy. Its fans might be less impressed with the diminutive tablet. Sure, the new, small slate looks smart, but Apple seems to have taken little account of the competitive landscape. It’s true, in most respects its 9.7in iPad is well ahead of the …
by sticking to their 4:3 aspect ratio they have removed one of the main reasons why people are going for the other 7" tablets. At what I assume in an inch or so wider it drastically reduces the ability to put it on a pocket and carry it with you. If its not portable you might as well go for the ipad 2 which has the same internals.
Yes there are alternative tablets that do the same thing, just like your girlfriend/wife/partner.
BUT
Some girlfriends/wives/partners look better and perform better.
The difference between boredom and satisfaction. I just like mine to look better and perform better, but hey I'm shallow.
It's nearly 10% bigger. Given that "fitting in pocket" is a binary state for a given tablet/pocket combination, and further given that the Nexus 7 just slips nicely into either a back jeans pocket or an inside jacket pocket with little width to spare, I think, as I predicted months ago, that the iPad Mini is too wide. Which rules it out for my uses.
GJC
The nexus 7 is a plasticly flimsy piece of shit that people have had all manner of problems with. The apps are crap, merely scaled up phone apps. Google's customer service is lousy too.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jul/22/nexus-7-glass-complaints-google
Bollocks. The Nexus 7 is a very decent bit of kit, and none of the apps I happen to be running - Kindle, Dropbox, WD2Go, Comixology, Dark Horse, Aldiko, WordWeb - are or feel scaled up. Any more than my iPad apps are scaled up iPhone apps
"Stop press: Whiny Guardian journos don't like thing that isn't Apple."
Correct, but it gets the required result .... see the comment in their coverage that Charles Arthur was provided with travel, accomodation and meals to attend to launch
"Correct, but it gets the required result .... see the comment in their coverage that Charles Arthur was provided with travel, accomodation and meals to attend to launch"
Good grief.
Not that I'll give them my click-through traffic, just to check for myself though!
We just got a Nexus 7 (16GB version) here in the office for testing and it is built down to a price. It feels cheap, the screen aspect ratio isn't good for browsing because in landscape mode there isn't enough height and in portrait mode it is too narrow to use. It feels flimsy and isn't all that quick. Everyone agrees it isn't an iPad killer, less so an iPad mini killer. I know I would feel quite ripped if I had one and then tried an iPad.
I took delivery of the Nexus 7 on release day and have used it extensively since, both at work and home. I have generally found it to be a very capable device, but there are a couple of areas where it's performance suffers in comparison to the iPad 2 (and, by inference, the iPad mini) :
- PDF Reader : Apparently IOS uses proprietary native code denied to Android devs. Consequently N7 PDF readers render considerably slower than their iPad equivalents. As I primarily use my device at work to access scanned documents, this is a big deal for me.
- Media Player : The clunky Android BBC iPlayer is just awful and the IOS version of media players such as Plex are more polished.
- Rear Camera : Obviously, the N7 doesn't have one. I wonder how much this contributes to the price differential.
Although I was intially underwhelmed by the iPad announcement, on reflection I think the iPad mini will offer a better user experience given my usage pattern. For that reason, I'll be putting in my ordering my Mini tomorrow!
Time to rerun the old April 1st article about Apple moving into clothing which at that time was based around the Apple Newton which also had the "too big for a pocket" reputation - so the spoof ad ran with the tag line "just like normal clothes, except bigger pockets"
No idea. The Nexus also is heavier, thicker, has a smaller screen and hardly any apps apart from scaled-up smartphone apps that make you use the menu and back buttons all the time while the screen is half empty.
And yes, I own a Nexus 7. It made me appreciate the form-factor just enough to lust after a similar sized tablet with decent apps quite a bit. I would agree though that the iPad mini is a bit on the expensive side. Still, I don't doubt a second that it will sell very well, and for good reasons.
The nexus 7 is also cheaper uses a standard USB charger and (and this seems to have been missed) Comes with built in GPS [you only get gps on the cellular version of the ipad mini] (not to mention you can cache google maps for offline and they work :) (sorry, couldn't resist)
As for apps, I've yet to find anything that doesn't do what I want (its not like the old days). I don't like facebook, but the app is just as slow on the nexus as on your IOS device. The twitter apps is equally crap, but fortunately there are plenty of other apps to tweet away. Dropbox, Amazon cloud player, firefox, chrome, kindle they are all there. There are loads of games and office apps. Yes, the store can still be a bit of a pain to find the apps, but overall In fact, I probably have more choice rather than less to choose from. I'm certainly not restricted to a single web browser or source for music because the ipolice say that's how it is.
I know the nexus 7 isn't for everybody, but somehow I don't think asus and google are going to be loosing sleep tonight.
Simple fact is, the only thing the nexus is good for is watching movies and for that you can get a cheeper better speced chinese noname tablet. As for having more than one browser, that's desperation showing but then you revealed yourself to be a troll by the claim that you are limited to a single source of music.
Thank you for your detailed and in-depth review. You've obviously spent a lot of time with an N7.
Although I think you might have missed a couple of things. In my comparatively short time with my N7 16g (couple of months) I have used it for the following:
Teamviewer/VNC/RDP remote control
FTP server for router firmware updates
FTP client
Email (both Gmail app, and other IMAP/POP based systems using K9)
Google calender
Catching up on the MotoGP via iPlayer (sideloaded flash whilst waiting for BBC to "sort their life out")
Much gamidge (okay, that's the missus - PvZ, All the angry birds, Bubble shoot, Draw Free, SongPop etc etc)
Beebroid BBC micro emulator - old scoolz! That's for me :-)
Radio when I'm in the bath via Absolute radio app
Showing semi-posted photographs to clients on the rather lovely screen (I do a sideline in photography)
It's been worth it's weight in gold when building PCs for referring to motherboard manuals when the original has been lost. No need to carry a laptop anymore.
Not to mention the old favourites of Skype (with video chat of course), facebook, twitter, and reading/writing drivel in the comments on El-Reg, with the swype keyboard.
Oh yes, I do have several browsers installed. Why? I've been known to do websites, so testing on other browsers is a good idea.
After all that, I've still got 10gig free, so I won't be rushing off to buy a 32gig when it comes out, although I might buy one for the missus.
Oh, and so far I haven't spent a penny on apps.
So you haven't used the N7 for much in the way of reading documents/magazines etc. then? How well do your photos fit on a wide screen format? Do you ever hold your N7 in portrait mode? Does it feel odd?
I'm no fan of Apple and I won't buy one of these because of the proprietary port and absence of an SD slot, not to mention the price, but they have got the right aspect ratio for the screen and I applaud them for sticking to it. Come on Samsung, give us an Android tablet with a 4:3 screen.
"The Nexus also is... thicker"
WTF? That's massively mooted by the Mini being wider. Over a cm wider means it takes more pocket space than something a couple of mm thicker. And it's pocket space that counts: If I'm just sitting at home with something on my lap, I'll but a full-size device.
"has a smaller screen"
At higher resolution.
"and hardly any apps apart from [millions of] scaled-up smartphone apps!
I'm still here! Also waiting, I hope for a 32GB model coming in next week with 16GB shuffling down to £170 - think that leaves the iPad mini as the preserve of those who like their tech to be "reassuringly expensive" with the only remaining issue is whether saving £30 by foregoing an extra 16GB its rational!
I've got a Nexus 7, but it's not ideal if you want to show friends your 4:3 aspect ratio photographs. Perhaps having a micro 4/3rds system camera makes me non-rational? Well, until I can afford an M9 it* will have to do. Of course, there are plenty of other useful things I can do with my Nexus, but the aspect ratio bugs me. 4:3 is nice for web pages too. Don't mention widescreen video on tablets - I'm not going to hold oneclose enough to fill my field of vision, so I stick to watching them with a projector.
*by it, I mean the camera. The Nexus 7 would make more sense with a Leica.
http://www.reghardware.com/2012/09/26/barnes_and_noble_nook_hd_plus_hands_on_review/
The Nook HD 7" has a higher resolution than the Nexus 7, plus a memory card slot. But I guess it's not being mentioned in comparison to Apple's newest "oooh shiny!" product because it's not on shelves yet (but is available for pre-order with early Nov release)?
Apple should've put a retina screen in the iPad mini, and cancelled the iPad 2. Then they'd have retina across all tablets and phones, plus the iPod Touch in a streamlined product range. That would've been very compelling.
This release smacks of committee based thinking. Not encouraging.
To have put a retina display on the iPad Mini they would have to have made it at least half an inch thick to house the battery .... and it would have got very hot.
Battery technology will need to improve before they can up the resolution on this device.
Apple have always 'scaled up' their products. They know they can do an iPad Mini Retina, and that will come out next year. And repeat sell to the people who buy this model. They did the same with the iPhone; Provide a substandard product at the start and then add the features that you could get from other products AND make money while doing so because last years user wants to be this years user.
The only reason why they won't do a retina version is because again... it's new teritory for Apple. If it doesnt sell as well, they can ditch it without too much expensive spared. Hardly substandard when the rest of the 7" market is only marignally better with the drawbacks of having Android installed, being generally larger and made of plastic.
By the way, only fanbois upgrade every year without justification. And they are in the minority big time now they're a consumer company.
I'm actually suprised it even got the lightning connector, except that makes apple money.
Lets be clear.
A retina A6X 16/32/64GB Mini, about £30-40 more expensive than a kindle or Nexus is what everyone expected/wanted.
So wait for the Ipad Mini 3.
Which given the update to the Ipad (Retina) should be along in about 6 months time...
The screen resolution for the iPad mini was always going to be a no-win for Apple. Either
- The iPad 2 resolution just isn't enough to justify the Apple premium,
- The iPad 3 retina resolution would be overkill.
- Any other resolution would make more work for app developers and make non-updated apps look bad.
How quickly Apple has gone from taking cutting-edge technology and packaging it into a snazzy, if overpriced, "magical and revolutionary" device to trailing in the wake of the competition. iPhone 5 and now iPad Mini are devices that make Apple feel like Nokia did just before its collapse. I guess it just goes to show that monopolies really are uncompetitive - the vertical monopoly that is the famous walled garden has allowed Apple to make tonnes of dosh without having to plan for the future. Apple spend very little on R&D considering their huge revenue and that is now beginning to show. The question for the shareholders is whether or not the more-money-than-sense legions of brand enthusiasts will stick to the all-important Apple label now that it looks old and tired.
From a personal point of view, the whole Apple cycle has been fascinating. Very rarely do we get to see a big company expand so massively and then implode (I'm predicting that before the end of the decade Apple shares will be worth 1/10th what they are now) in such a small amount of time. Perhaps a new phrase will be spawned: "Apple Bubble"?
One can only hope....
I was so sick of the Apple fanaticism back in the day right before Jobs took over again. I thought for sure that they were done for. Then they turned everything around handily and are "Teh most biggest company evar". It would be nice to see those smug smiles disappear again. :)
Your predicting that something will happen up to 8 years out, why not make it the century and really cover your arse. I'm going to predict that since you don't understand what a monopoly is, your going to be spend most of the rest of this decade wondering why no one will but Macdonals will hire you.
Well, you're obviously a moron who has no concept of how to value stocks, but rather just an idiot fanboy who hates Apple and thinks "worth a lot, thus must be a bubble". Apple trades at the market multiple, below what Google trades for and well under 1/10th of the valuation of Amazon. Amazon is quite likely to be worth a 1/10 of what they are today in 2020, but not Apple.
In fact it is impossible for Apple to worth that little, if they announced tomorrow they were closing up shop and laying off all their employees, closing their stores and no more iProducts would be produced the price would only drop to 1/5th of the current price, as that's how much cash they have on the books. It would take a hell of a lot longer than eight years to drop down to 1/10th of the current price, even if every product they produced for the rest of the decade was such a total flop they make Zune look like a massive hit.
However, given that their sales are still growing, the stock price is far more likely to go back up and make new highs. Where will it be in 2020? Who knows, the tech industry moves fast, it's not like oil companies that basically print money because people will still need oil in 2020 and most likely for several decades after.
I don't believe Apple ever used cutting-edge technology, really. I think their success was in making people believe they did, and now that the shine has come off of that myth, it'll be interesting to see how they react.
I don't criticise them for not being on the cutting edge, by the way. It's a dangerous and sometimes nasty place to be, no matter how much I personally love fiddling with technology that is right out there.
GJC
Quote: I don't believe Apple ever used cutting-edge technology, really. I think their success was in making people believe they did, and now that the shine has come off of that myth, it'll be interesting to see how they react.
I think differently. The secret of Apple's success was they they presented a user experience second to none for the vast majority of their customers. The fact that they're still streets ahead in terms of user satisfaction is testament to that fact and satisfied customers lead to recommendation and repeat purchase. I'd also accept that other businesses do it *but haven't in the past done it as well as Apple*
I see the soft underbelly being consistency, time was apple launches were more or less flawless (even at the expense of functionality that perhaps should have been there) but Apple are now dropping the ball on basics. Over the last 2 years, We've seen wifi issues, 3G issues, Antennagate, heat issues and screen issues (and probably more I've forgotten). Each on their own doesn't mean a lot, but they all impact user experience and taken together they form a pattern and they keep happening.
Apple seem to have succumbed to their own hype and *clearly* testing isn't as good as it was. Pound to a penny we see some basic issue issue emerge around the iPad mini probably either wireless or battery related. it will be fixed but only after it's pissed off thousands of people...
And before someone suggests I'm a droid fanboy, I use more or less exclusively Apple kit because i generally include my time in the value equation. If Apple start to add hurdles to me being able to "buy and go" and making me take time to fix basics then I'm much more likely to look elsewhere.
Bottom line is premium prices demand a premium experience and that's feeling less like it's there....
@Watashi
> How quickly Apple has gone from taking cutting-edge technology and packaging it into a snazzy, if overpriced, "magical and revolutionary" device to trailing in the wake of the competition. iPhone 5 and now iPad Mini are devices that make Apple feel like Nokia did just before its collapse.
What a load of poppy cock. Apple and Nokia are like apples and oranges in comparison. Apple have control over their OSes and seem to be clearly defining what they should be doing in the next gen device. Only ever if that happened would Apple crumble again. But I think Apple have gone well past that point. Too much cash to implode and as long millions buy their update products on launch, that's the indication of their continued success.
Apple is more than magic and revolutionary. It's passion and quality. If the rest of the PC industry had this, we wouldnt be in a Microsoft monopoly and have better hardware that lasts longer. Companies that do software and hardware always come out tops because there's an art that goes on between the two groups. This helps vision a direction for the company rather than spreading out resources like a spider web. I'd put more money on a huge Android flaw coming to the surface and exploiting every Android device out there to force Google to pull support to their mobile OS adventure. There's more chance of that happening to be honest.
By the way, there can't be at least 200 million iPhone/iPad Apple enthusiast fanbois out there. Just 200 million that continue to enjoy the products. We're not still in the 1980s/90s fanboi period. It's way beyond that. Catchup!
One of the minor weaknesses of the Nexus 7 is the lack of a rear-facing camera (no QR code reader, though I suppose that's less of an issue with a wifi-only device). The ipad Mini has the camera, and dual-band wifi (the Nexus 7 only has 2.4 GHz wifi), but the screen resolution, GPS and USB support all favour the Nexus 7.
It'll be interesting to see if there's anything more than a pricedrop/memory upgrade when the new Nexus7's come out.
No hes a buthurt Apple fanboy that's spend loads of money on content and THEN worked out he has been railroaded into Everything Apple, and despite there being better/cheaper devices out there, he now has to make the choice to throw all his content away if he wants one of them.
"The Toyoya Corolla is the best selling car of all time, but I wouldn't be seen dead with one...!"
Really? I'd bite an arm off for another AE86 Corolla. One of the best cars I've ever driven.
Sales aren't always a sign of a good product, but there might be a gem *somewhere* in the line-up, if you look closely.
"Tried a GT86? A very worthy modern successor."
Not yet, but I already know that I want one. Bad. It ticks every box.
For the first time in ten years, I actually want a car that's new. Shame I'm dirt broke, and can't even afford to keep my 200sx running. :(
The name "Corolla" has been sold on a car more than any other model, but beyond the badge I don't think the range have anything else in common! They've even changed from rear to front wheel drive!
The VW Beetle is probably a better example of a single model.... Right up until they stuck a Beetle shaped body on a Golf a few years back.
It depends on what you want out of a car. Toyota has a reputation for reliability. Frankly, all most people really want out of a car is a transportation appliance that doesn't give them trouble. A Corolla delivers that admirably.
Mind you, I'm more of a Honda type myself, but I can see why Toyotas sell like they do.
The device is primarily for Apple's bottom line, reader enjoyment second. The mission ofnthe device is to stanch the hemhorraging of users not coming to Apple, and to appease those considering using their iPads less -- or even defecting.
I once saw on MUNI for weeks after the first iPad hit the streets a fellow commuter using the iPad lovingly. Visually, it looked heqvy. Tyen that same user weeks later was using a Kindle, IISC? maybe the iPad was stolen and too expensive to replace, or the owner had another reason to not display nor carry it anymore. I dunno. Just an observation. Ohhh, it is possible the user was not an owner and instead was a product evaluator, but, considering how carefully it was handled, i suspect owner.
The French business-oriented TV station BFM Business this morning observed that the mini is simultaneously priced:
* Too high to compete well with its rivals in the about-7-inches arena
* Too low to avoid competing well with the larger iPads.
i.e. a pricing cockup of Biblical proportions.
Given the speed they replaced the ipad it will probably only be a few months before they come out with a retina replacement.
Actually I wonder if the problem with adding a retina display is scaling? I believe on the ipad the resolution is roughly twice that of the original ipad in each direction so scaling is simple. However with the ipad mini you would probably only be able to get a 1.5 times increase in resolution in each direction so how do you scale? I would expect in that case for text to look wonky at least.
It's a huge mistake to underestimate or dismiss the 'cheap Chinese knock-offs' in comparisons with either the Nexus or this new iPad Mini.
There are a huge number of not-very-tech-savvy people about who crave a small tablet device but can't or won't pay even £160 or so for one. They just cannot justify the cost for something which even the technical semi-literate recognise as having limited practical use.
I actually have just such a cheap Chinese knockoff. It has a display resolution the same as this new iPad Mini. It has only 8GB internal, but a micro SD slot means it was very cheap and very easy to add another 16GB to that. It has HDMI, WiFi and USB and runs the latest Android release with full access to Google Play. It cost under £60 including shipping from a UK seller. When I've used it to show e.g. photographs to clients, they are (a) completely unaware that it's such a cheap device and (b) most often sufficiently impressed when told the price to immediately ask where they can buy one.
That's real people looking at actual physical devices, in their own hands and seeing a use for them. Not fanboys of various sorts having a pissing contest.
Screen 7", 600x1024 , IPS with contrast over 1000:1
RAM 1GB, CPU dual core 1Ghz ARM A9, GPU PowerVR SGX540
WiFi a/b/g/n both 2.4 and 5Ghz
sensors include accelerometer, magnetometer and (full) GPS
front camera 3Mpx , back 5Mpx
runs both flash (AIR) and Android applications, as well as native code compiled from C or C++ sources on gcc, with support for many open source C and C++ projects. Operating system is Posix compatible.
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version with storage capacity 64GB has price tag £129 and it's "loser" RIM PlayBook
Compared to new iPad mini, this 2 years old tablet does not look bad at all. I'm starting to feel bad about Apple fans.
I've spent a reasonable chunk of change on apple ios apps, possibly slightly more than I did on Symbian ones, and Windows CE ones before. I kind of like the fact that I get more out of my apps, since some of them were bought, oo about 6 years ago.
However, having got a Nexus 7, as I wanted to try something a little more portable, I think it's a great bit of kit I've started to look at the Google and Amazon app stores. With the N7, the kids use it at home, so I don't have to fight over my ipad. However as more and more things move digital, it would make sense to get some English and Maths apps, and other educational apps (for 9-15 year olds) that would improve their maths, English, perhaps some physics, chemistr,y biology etc. However whilst there are loads on the Ipad/Iphone, there seems to be none on the android/amazon stores. So I could get the kids a couple of NExus's, or a couple of Amazon Kindle Fires, but unless all I want is them playing angry birds, it might have to be an ipad mini as the apps aren't there.
However being as I'm buying two of them, I'm looking at and lets compare apples with apples
2 x Ipad min 32gb 8gb is 269 so 16 is 369, 32gb is 469...whoops hang on, that's the same price as 2 Amazon Kindle FIre HD's. Which I know doesn't have NFC..(who cares) and doesn't have GPS..would be nice, but kids don't care.
So do I pay twice the price for 2 ipad minis, or just hope that someone realises that the Android app store needs improving and more educational apps...
I think the bottom line here is that apple knows the iSheep out there are going to buy stuff no matter what, good for them, make that money and produce a product that definitely could have been better. What I hate to see are the people who defend apple no matter what because they are too blind to see in front of their own face the truth.
Microsoft Surface FTW!!!
Apples usual business model model/trick of underspeccing/overcharging (so in 12months time they can have a carnival/behave like they have done something groundbreaking on the ipad mini 2 launch "now with retina display (like it should have had in the first placd) is more obvious than usual when releasing a shrunken version of a product but then not inclduing the one thing they constantly bang on about these days. Retina display. It was noticable that this fact wasnt mentioned once by Apple. Also they ust have plain just forgotten to mention the resolution doesnt match to the Nexus 7 when doing all there comparisons to make the mini look a better product. Which it isnt by a long shot.
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