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iPad mini [MERGED] The iPad Mini looks beautiful until you turn it on.

MacDawg

MacDawg

Moderator emeritus
Mar 20, 2004
19,823
4,503
"Between the Hedges"
To each his/her own
I just went by my Apple Store at lunch (I work in the same building)
I played with the mini and found it to be pretty dad gum awesome

I am one of those that really can't tell much difference if any between the displays
Guess I am cursed (blessed?) with poor eyesight or a "don't really care gene"

I understand some get violently ill when they see anything other than retina
Meh, I am not one of them, so it doesn't bother me at all

The design, the build quality, the thinness and lightness... all are very tempting
I have an iPhone 5 and an iPad 3, so I don't need one and really wasn't considering it
But having held it and used it, I can see where I might find a use for it :)

My advice is just try it yourself
If it bothers you, don't get one
If it doesn't, then you have a great device
 
urkel

urkel

macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2008
2,795
917
maccompatible said:
THE REASON IT ISN'T RETINA:
Click to expand...
I think people understand WHY retina isn't on the iPad Mini and the complaints seem to be more about how noticeable Retina's absence is. Just because we understand "WHY" doesnt mean its easy to overlook. :D

Personally, my bigger gripes are with the lack of RAM and the A5. There's no excuse for those to be excluded on a product of this class/quality.
 
M

maccompatible

macrumors 6502
Mar 26, 2012
265
3
seajewel said:
Obviously I was wrong that Apple would put in an in-between resolution, but it might happen next year.
Click to expand...

You may be right. Apple may have gone with the 1024x768 so as not to disrupt the app ecosystem while testing the demand for an iPad mini, if it's high, then developers won't care to update. If it's low, then who cares if it stays at 1024x768? It will probably be a high demand, and you're probably right about the display.

MAYBE iOS 7 will include different spring board features to accompany the different uses of the 3 different screen sizes they have, in addition to having support for the new iPad mini resolution. I can dream. :)
 
E

eric18

macrumors member
Jul 27, 2011
71
0
Los Angeles, CA
Maybe my wallpaper looks really good, or maybe I need to see an optometrist, but I honestly don't see what the problem with the screen is. Sure, it's not retina but I feel like it's somewhere in between iPad 2 and iPad 3. Either way, I'm happy with it.
 
S

seajewel

macrumors 6502
Aug 31, 2010
385
76
maccompatible said:
You may be right. Apple may have gone with the 1024x768 so as not to disrupt the app ecosystem while testing the demand for an iPad mini, if it's high, then developers won't care to update. If it's low, then who cares if it stays at 1024x768? It will probably be a high demand, and you're probably right about the display.

MAYBE iOS 7 will include different spring board features to accompany the different uses of the 3 different screen sizes they have, in addition to having support for the new iPad mini resolution. I can dream. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah that's a good point! It is nice to have apps working out of the box, and then once it's an established product, have it go with some other in between resolution. I just hope so, as I really want a beautiful screen for reading on the Mini. it is the perfect size for doing everything but reading full-sized PDFs for me.
 
M

maccompatible

macrumors 6502
Mar 26, 2012
265
3
seajewel said:
I bet you could find posters who have posted very inconsistent statements about retina when each product (iPad 3 and mini) were released.
Click to expand...

Oh, most certainly. That'd be a piece of cake to find. People are wishy washy and think that technology companies are in some sort of physical battle... I think it's more of a race that includes natural selection. The most successful product lives on and the less successful ones must change or die.

Like I and seajewel said previously, Apple may have just put the 1024x768 on it to not disrupt the app ecosystem while testing the popularity of the iPad mini, and the next gen iPad mini may have another resolution (between iPad 2/3) offering higher pixel density without being ridiculously expensive/superfluous (326 ppi on a 7.9" screen.

----------
seajewel said:
It is nice to have apps working out of the box, and then once it's an established product, have it go with some other in between resolution.
Click to expand...

I'm looking forward to the days of resolution independence and the software adapting to offer the same interface elements automatically scaled to fit the display to a real world size instead of pixel size. If apple wants to take another huge leap, they'll do this.
 
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seajewel

macrumors 6502
Aug 31, 2010
385
76
maccompatible said:
Oh, most certainly. That'd be a piece of cake to find. People are wishy washy and think that technology companies are in some sort of physical battle... I think it's more of a race that includes natural selection. The most successful product lives on and the less successful ones must change or die.

Like I said previously, Apple may have just put the 1024x768 on it to not disrupt the app ecosystem while testing the popularity of the iPad mini, and the next gen iPad mini may have another resolution (between iPad 2/3) offering higher pixel density without being ridiculously expensive/superfluous (326 ppi on a 7.9" screen.

----------



I'm looking forward to the days of resolution independence and the software adapting to offer the same interface elements automatically scaled to fit the display to a real world size instead of pixel size. If apple wants to take another huge leap, they'll do this.
Click to expand...

Haha no that's what *I* said! ;)
 
F

fsumom

macrumors regular
Nov 1, 2010
239
62
The screen is unusable? It amazes me how spoiled people are. It's perfectly fine. My only issue is that mine has a small scratch on the back but I'll just deal as I'm sure it'll suffer more in the hands of my 6 year old :D.
 
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seajewel

macrumors 6502
Aug 31, 2010
385
76
fsumom said:
The screen is unusable? It amazes how spoiled people are. It's perfectly fine. My only issue is that mine has a small scratch on the back but I'll just deal as I'm sure it'll suffer more in the hands of my 6 year old :D.
Click to expand...

Maybe it is unusable for his purposes. If I bought it purely to read pdfs and such for work I would probably not find it great either. To each his own and it's good to hear of other's opinions.
 
MrXiro

MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
Nikos said:
The iPad Mini is a beautiful and elegant piece of hardware, but the screen renders it unusable to me. We've pretty much known for months that it would carry the same resolution as the iPad 2, but coming from a 3rd generation iPad and iPhone 5, I can't help but cringe when I look at the iPad Mini's display. It might actually look worse than the iPad 2, from what I remember, for some reason. It almost looks like it's not at its native resolution.

If you have become accustomed to looking at retina displays and have any concern about about the iPad Mini's display, I urge you to check it out in store before purchasing. When the iPad Mini does finally get a retina display, it will be perfect. I'm not bashing the product. It really is beautiful, until you start to use it. :eek:
Click to expand...

Writing this post on the on the mini now... Looks great, feels great I am very happy with this. Can I see pixels? Yes. Does everything still look great? Yes!

And my last 4 devices in this order; iPod Touch 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3rd gen LTE. The 163ppi is a non-issue. I wish I never got the 3rd gen to be honest, too heavy and it stutters briefly when I bring up the controls on video playback, we should be at the age where video playback is as smooth as mp3 playback. In retrospect it was a stop gap/beta product that should have been allowed to mature before it was released. The iPad 4th gen is the complete product.

I am selling my iPad 3 and keeping the Mini.
 
M

mac jones

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2006
3,257
2
What we need is a 'retina screen, eye test chart ' here, so people can avoid disappointment.

A series of screens decreasing in resolution. You view them until you proclaim one 'unusable'.
 
P

Powrie

macrumors 6502
Sep 14, 2012
271
1
I stick to what ive been saying,

The iPad mini 1st gen is for kids.

Wait to get the 2nd gen if you want an Ereader sized tablet because it will have Retina.
 
mKTank

mKTank

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2010
1,537
3
Baw I don't like x lemme go whinge about it on the forums


/MacRumors summarized
 
Hoo Doo Dude

Hoo Doo Dude

macrumors regular
Sep 16, 2010
199
240
Unusable? I'll show you unusable ...

060729ibmpc25th%20101.jpg
 
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peeaanuut

macrumors 65816
Sep 10, 2007
1,048
1
Southern California
you sonsofbitches and your new fandangled devices. Some of us still suffer on an iPad1 16gb wi-fi ya know. Have some sympathy for us low end tech sufferers and enjoy your new purchase. ;)
 
M

mantan

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2009
1,743
1,041
DFW
I checked it out over lunch and agree with the general reviews made.

It's a very nice little device, build/size feel great. The screen is a compromise. Whether or not it's a dealbreaker is up to each invididual...but I can't believe people are saying 'they don't notice it.'

It's as noticable as it is on an iPad 2. But there are millions of people still buying the iPad 2 who don't give a rip about the resolution.

For $329 I'll wait for the next iteration. But i'll likely get one for my teenage daughter for Christmas.
 
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