Between the wonderfully hyperbolic keynote and the excruciatingly negative postings, I was left scratching my head, debating whether to buy or to skip. There is a Best Buy on the way to work, so on Friday morning I made the detour and stood in line for 45 minutes.
I know all about the competition, their specs and prices. So the decision to pay more had to be justified in some way, which I did as follows:
1. With a mini I would be able to reuse 100+ iPad apps that I already own. Granted, many are free and others are low cost, which means it's not quite the same as switching between Nikon and Canon when you have a big investment in lenses. But reusability of existing 100+ apps meant preserving the whole user experience and bringing it down to a smaller and more portable device. Many of these apps are beautifully designed and I'm not sure the Android or Windows equivalents are as good.
2. Specs are perfectly acceptable. The screen is the only detractor, but the mini's individual pixels are smaller than the iPad 2's, and they are squeezed into a smaller area. It's not Retina quality, but the screen is quite acceptable. Without having to push 4 times as many pixels, the iPad mini can extend battery life and render/scroll the screen more quickly. The A5 is no slouch. And built on a 32-nm process, it is more power-efficient than when it debuted.
3. Build quality and industrial design are important. Many people think these are non-value-added factors. They cannot bring themselves to put a price tag on build quality and/or industrial design. My own purchasing habits over many years show a reverence for both design and build because they bring additional satisfaction-of-ownership.
So what do I think of the iPad mini after 3 days?
a. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I am. When Steve Jobs introduced the original iPad, many just saw it as an iPhone with a big screen...until they actually used it. The iPad mini is like that too. The reduced size, weight, and thickness are almost subliminally appealing.
b. Every now and then I try to imagine what a Retina display on the mini would look like. The mini already has higher PPI than iPad 2 and smaller individual pixels, but of course Retina would give it a palpable boost. But if that means bigger battery, thicker chassis, beefed-up processor, and increased weight, then no thanks. Recall that iPad 3 gained a bit of thickness and weight for these reasons.
Am I keeping it? Yes, absolutely.
Is it more expensive than competitors on specs alone? Yes.
Is it more expensive than competitors on specs + build + design? Not in my opinion.
The mini isn't cheap, but it's a product I'm happy with.
I know all about the competition, their specs and prices. So the decision to pay more had to be justified in some way, which I did as follows:
1. With a mini I would be able to reuse 100+ iPad apps that I already own. Granted, many are free and others are low cost, which means it's not quite the same as switching between Nikon and Canon when you have a big investment in lenses. But reusability of existing 100+ apps meant preserving the whole user experience and bringing it down to a smaller and more portable device. Many of these apps are beautifully designed and I'm not sure the Android or Windows equivalents are as good.
2. Specs are perfectly acceptable. The screen is the only detractor, but the mini's individual pixels are smaller than the iPad 2's, and they are squeezed into a smaller area. It's not Retina quality, but the screen is quite acceptable. Without having to push 4 times as many pixels, the iPad mini can extend battery life and render/scroll the screen more quickly. The A5 is no slouch. And built on a 32-nm process, it is more power-efficient than when it debuted.
3. Build quality and industrial design are important. Many people think these are non-value-added factors. They cannot bring themselves to put a price tag on build quality and/or industrial design. My own purchasing habits over many years show a reverence for both design and build because they bring additional satisfaction-of-ownership.
So what do I think of the iPad mini after 3 days?
a. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I am. When Steve Jobs introduced the original iPad, many just saw it as an iPhone with a big screen...until they actually used it. The iPad mini is like that too. The reduced size, weight, and thickness are almost subliminally appealing.
b. Every now and then I try to imagine what a Retina display on the mini would look like. The mini already has higher PPI than iPad 2 and smaller individual pixels, but of course Retina would give it a palpable boost. But if that means bigger battery, thicker chassis, beefed-up processor, and increased weight, then no thanks. Recall that iPad 3 gained a bit of thickness and weight for these reasons.
Am I keeping it? Yes, absolutely.
Is it more expensive than competitors on specs alone? Yes.
Is it more expensive than competitors on specs + build + design? Not in my opinion.
The mini isn't cheap, but it's a product I'm happy with.
