All iPads What if the 7.9" Mini came first? Would you want a bigger iPad?

Very hard to say. As I said in another thread I started last night, I dropped by an Apple store to play with a mini, and felt that the size is awkward to hold. But that may be because I've gotten used to the 9.7 size so if the 7.9 had come first, who knows?

An interesting comparison might be the Kindle and Kindle DX. Amazon came out first with the Kindle, then later came out with the larger DX. But my guess is the DX didn't sell well, because Amazon eventually discontinued that size.

It would all depend on what steve jobs said on stage

But i think people do like a bigger screen but hate the weight of 10 inch tabs

I admit when i first picked up an ipad 2 i wasn't offended by the weight i think its right on the limit of max weight for a tablet . Ipad 3 however was like a brick my friend also had one of those fancy covers which must have added a bit but it felt intrusively heavy compared to the ipad 2.

Lighter weight 10inch tabs i think are the best experience the smaller ones are a compromise between the functions and weight/portability of a full size tablet.

Yup

I would be all over a larger iPad.

Absolutely, MANY people would ... a larger screen would be the 'best thing ever'

The iPad intro has been odd though ... in most everything bigger screen comes after smaller ones, not vice versa...

I'll be honest - I was one of those people who thought 9.7" was the sweet spot. However, I now think its the aspect ratio that makes the iPad so much more ergonomic than widescreen tablets (particularly in portrait mode), and the 7.9" screen is so much more portable that I prefer it to the "full sized" screen of the original iPad

nuckinfutz said:

Yup

I would be all over a larger iPad.

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So would I but since it's reversed i'll be getting a Mini just hoping for a good refresh next year.

If the ipad mini had retina, maybe. I don't see how people are so weak to say that the ipad feels like a brick in your hand. They should spend less time on the Internet and more lifting things.

Yes, absolutely.

I only wish Apple had not clung to their conservative thinking, choosing to wait and wait and wait before entering the mid sized 7" +/- category.

Nope.

I ended up buying two android 7" tablets because apple didn't offer one.

I always felt the 7" would be the perfect size for me.

I think most wouldn't, which is good Apple released a larger ipad first. They made billions by keeping their tablet and smartphone products separate, but if you merge the two you get an iPad Mini with wifi+cellular. I'm pulling for this convergence so high priced phone contracts become a thing of the past.

I love the extra screen real estate of the 9.7 but love the portability of the 7.9. I don't think that a perfect product is possible, but both sets of compromises make sense to me.

Need a 14" iPad - I felt the original iPad was too small...

Everyone has "tent pole" reasons for buying an iPad - the non-luxury, killer apps that justify the purchase. For me, it's being a pro grade eReader for reading technical papers and websites. For my use, a non-retina iPad was already an impossibility. The Retina iPad is useable, but I hate having to squint and hold it up to my eyes because it squeezes what's normally a full sized page onto a half of a page.

What I want more than anything is a 14" diagonal iPad Pro. The size of a single sheet of paper. The weight of a pad of paper. Then I can read all my technical stuff at WYSIWYG size and not strain my eyes. It also makes web browsing a lot easier, and magazine reading more fun. And think of the enhanced ability to use content creation software.

While I agree that you don't want something you hold all the time to be *heavier*, as far as portability and size goes, for me, an iPad the size of a piece of paper (14") is no less portable than a 10" iPad. To me, the 10" iPad was simply smaller to reduce cost - not because it's better in any other way. Steve Jobs himself said 10" is the SMALLEST the iPad should be, not the biggest.

So while I'll easily settle for an iPad4, it won't be my final "iPad" - I really still need one with a bigger screen.

Oh, because it's relevant to the thread, I'd probably be willing to pay $1,200 for a 14" iPad Pro. It's actually worth more than that to me, probably about $2,500, but I'm poor now and so can't really save up that much. But I'd rate the value of a larger iPad for me to be a little higher than that of a Macbook Pro.

The way I see it, is if I was rich enough to afford a 7.9" it would go like this:
I would have a 9.7" iPad is a "home" iPad. Something with several accounts for like a Man, Wife and maybe child.
The 7.9" iPad would be a personal iPad that would not leave my bag for trips and work etc.
Essentially the iPad mini would be a more advanced kindle. Something I wouldn't use much unless I was travelling.
Almost like a home computer and laptop idea. But a home computer that can move around like a laptop. Hah.

jdiamond said:

Everyone has "tent pole" reasons for buying an iPad - the non-luxury, killer apps that justify the purchase. For me, it's being a pro grade eReader for reading technical papers and websites. For my use, a non-retina iPad was already an impossibility. The Retina iPad is useable, but I hate having to squint and hold it up to my eyes because it squeezes what's normally a full sized page onto a half of a page.

What I want more than anything is a 14" diagonal iPad Pro. The size of a single sheet of paper. The weight of a pad of paper. Then I can read all my technical stuff at WYSIWYG size and not strain my eyes. It also makes web browsing a lot easier, and magazine reading more fun. And think of the enhanced ability to use content creation software.

While I agree that you don't want something you hold all the time to be *heavier*, as far as portability and size goes, for me, an iPad the size of a piece of paper (14") is no less portable than a 10" iPad. To me, the 10" iPad was simply smaller to reduce cost - not because it's better in any other way. Steve Jobs himself said 10" is the SMALLEST the iPad should be, not the biggest.

So while I'll easily settle for an iPad4, it won't be my final "iPad" - I really still need one with a bigger screen.

Click to expand...

Hmm... I might go for a 13" or 14" retina tablet with stylus.

WillFisher said:

The way I see it, is if I was rich enough to afford a 7.9" it would go like this:
I would have a 9.7" iPad is a "home" iPad. Something with several accounts for like a Man, Wife and maybe child.
The 7.9" iPad would be a personal iPad that would not leave my bag for trips and work etc.
Essentially the iPad mini would be a more advanced kindle. Something I wouldn't use much unless I was travelling.
Almost like a home computer and laptop idea. But a home computer that can move around like a laptop. Hah.

Click to expand...

I think this says what I think better than I did. It's kind of like the 9.7 is a 'desktop' iPad while the 7.9 is a 'laptop' iPad.