First iPad Mini Reviews: "Shockingly Nice to Hold", Non-Retina Display, Pricier than Rivals

[mantan]

Originally Posted by MartiNZ

It seems so amusing that everyone is worried about the screen when it is higher DPI than the iPad was until "the new iPad" earlier THIS YEAR ... and the iPad 2 is still being sold, why is better than that now suddenly unacceptable?

The mini has made me interested in an iPad for the first time, and these pictures only increase that interest. A shame there is no 7.x" WinRT tablet .. and apart from anything else the surface ain't reaching NZ until next year if at all; gonna make the decision all the more a no-brainer, I do just want to see the mini in person first.

Also exciting: the mini charges off the 5 watt charger like the iPhone .

The iPad 2 was being sold as a 'discounted' product that had lower specs than the iPad 3.

I think some people hesitate to pay full boat for the iPad mini price knowing that a Retina version is coming at some point. Apple can't play promote the Retina feature for every product they've rolled out, then roll out a brand new device and act like not having it is not a big deal.

[baxterbrittle]

Seems to me all of these 'reviews' are missing one key point when it comes to the smaller bezels - Input rejection that dismisses accidental input from having a thumb of finger touching the digitizer when holding it. They seem to forget it has this...

So it is as fast as the iPad 3, that is only 8 months old. Has a PPI between the iPad 2 and the 'retina' iPad models, has better battery life than the iPad 3, is half the weight without having too small a display and is $170 cheaper than the 3 was. I honestly don't understand everyones beef is here? No 'retina' display. And what resolution do you think a 'retina' display should actually be for the new screen size? 1600 x 1200? So yet another resolution to have to deal with for developers? It is taking long enough for iPhone 5 optimised apps and they really only have to adjust the 'content' areas to fit that device.

[bboucher790]

For me, this is the "almost" perfect tablet. I say almost perfect, because any mobile device released by Apple in 2012 that doesn't have a Retina display, is a deal breaker for me.

Other than that, I love the design and form factor. I'll wait for the next version.

[sovereign]

The best reviews money can buy.

I really wanted to switch to a mini. It is the size I originally wanted Apple to make. But, 1024 resolution and 512mb RAM?

[WilliamLondon]

Originally Posted by ijen0311

Still no interest in owning one.

Crap, you beat me to posting this exact quote, as I just got back from posting the same in a forum announcing the latest tampon at J&J products website.

I'm sure the people who find the latest and greatest tampon have just as much interest in my telling them I'm not interested in that product as people here have in your telling them you have no interest in a product in which they do have an interest.

What is it about people that they feel they need to express their disinterest in something, especially in front of people who actually do care? Do you actually think we care? I suspect you don't give a crap about whether we all care whether you do or not, it's more about your declaring your superiority in not liking or wanting this product.

On topic, love the comments about the size of this device, can't wait to get mine, hopefully on Friday.

[AidenShaw]

Originally Posted by Orange Crane

Right? That's what I'm doing. iPad 3 is awesome.

But the Ipad 4 is now out - you have an obsolete tablet.

Originally Posted by Navdakilla

Reviews are loving the apple products.. did we think they were going to be any different?

The blogosphere is full of fans drooling over everything Apple - of course we expected loving reviews.

Do we believe them? Not so much....

Originally Posted by FlameofAnor

Apple....... "We don't make crap".

You haven't tried Imaps, then....

[kirk26]

The iPad 2 (lol) mini sounds interesting, but it is certainly a downgrade from the 3rd generation iPad. I can't wait to hear the reviews on the 4th gen. iPad.

[grblade]

Apple is a premium brand. Their products will always come at a premium. That's why it's expensive, like any other premium brand. They charge more because their goal isn't to make the best cheap tablet, it's to make the best small tablet. And that comes at a premium. It's for customers who want that. Apple fills that market. So don't be shocked when their products' prices don't compare to their competitors who have lesser build quality and lesser customer service. If you don't want to pay BMW prices, you can buy a Ford.

[canyonblue737]

Well I got one for my daughter for Christmas so she stops stealing my wife's iPad 2 to make videos and music etc. I really am interested in seeing how I like the smaller size and weight for myself... I travel 3-4 days a week and have now been laptop-less for the last 2 1/2 years using iPads... I like them but I think I would prefer something EVEN MORE portable.

I hope next year's iPad mini 2nd gen has Retina AND a comparable processor to whatever is the current gen iPad at that time... it stinks thinking that the mini which Apple is pricing and marketing as more a brother/sister to the larger iPad rather than a cheaper version will always be a step behind in terms of speed.

I have a feeling I may also opt for the smaller one someday... but not this year.

[xofruitcake]

Originally Posted by TechieGeek

Amazon managed it. Google managed over 300ppi with stunning displays on their Nexus 7 and Nexus 10.

Apple could have done it if they wanted to

yes, certain.. by selling at or below cost (i.e. losing money) like Google. Nexus 7 tear down cost is about $150 and they sell that for 199. After you add into the money they pay ASUS for the design work and profit, distribution cost and market cost, Google is going to loss money. If you think Apple should work for free, then yes, they can choose to.. Except that Apple is a company that is in a position to make money.. So they will price the tablet at a price that they can make money.. They will continue to do so until buyers don't show up...


http://phandroid.com/2012/07/11/tear...o-manufacture/

The most appealing aspect of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is its pricing. At $199, many in the industry have been wondering just how much Google is paying to build and as an extension how wide a profit margin does it provide. A new teardown by IHS iSuppli attempted to put a price on each component found within the N7, and the result was a slate that cost $151.75 per unit for the 8GB model. Add in overhead for marketing and distribution and it’s fair to say that Google is indeed breaking even at best, if not taking a loss when it comes to the $200 price point.

[slffl]

Hell ya! More interested than ever in owning one of these. Need to see and hold it in person first, but if these anti-apple website like Cnet and The Verge are actually giving this a good review it means it has to be pretty awesome!

[inscrewtable]

I find it funny that the companies that copied the iPad design instead of thinking it out for themselves chose to copy the thick all around bezel of the iPad on their 7" models then Apple goes and shows them how dumbass they are by building a bigger screen in the same (almost) outer dimensions by rethinking the bezel width.

The moral of the story is that copying instead of innovating is not necessarily very smart even if you don't get sued.

[rtdunham]

Originally Posted by haruhiko

Rev 2 will have the retina display.

i'e ordered the LTE model, and when they bring out a retina & faster processor version i'll upgrade.

I bought the 64GB iPhone5 for 299 with contract and just sold my 4S for 375. Apple's products are good investments. I won't fare that well if/when i sell my iPad3, since there's an upgraded version out now. But I won't be punished, either.

[Gnomepatrol]

Next round iPad mini hopes 299.99 and retina and I will be all over it.

[ThunderSkunk]

Will buy.

...as soon as they bump up that display res. Don't care what it costs. $50 is a night out.

[coldmack]

Originally Posted by slffl

Hell ya! More interested than ever in owning one of these. Need to see and hold it in person first, but if these anti-apple website like Cnet and The Verge are actually giving this a good review it means it has to be pretty awesome!

Cnet Anti-apple? Please many of the reviewers there eat up anything Apple sells. They actually have been accused of being pro apple too much. I for a while thought that too, but then I started to read their Macbook reviews and realized they are a bit to Pro apple and not in a good way either. And Josh at the Verge is a pretty big apple fan, just one a bit more on the sane side.

[rtdunham]

Originally Posted by thedeejay

Here, let me clarify what he meant. He meant the reviews are biased, which they are a little. The meaning of biased can be found by typing "Define: biased" in google.

The poster should have said "uninformed" instead of biased. His point was the reviewers have held it, used it, tried to run down its charge, read on it, browsed on it, used apps on it. The original poster who was complaining about the reviews hadn't, hadn't, and hadn't. That was his point, and it's a valid one.

[WilliamLondon]

Originally Posted by sovereign

The best reviews money can buy.

You know, I remember once at IBM a colleague (head of a regional sales/marketing division) said to me, "go get an article placed in a journal favouring our products." I thought, wow, this person really doesn't understand journalism, nor does he understand how advertising and PR are separate disciplines in an organisation, as well as in magazines. What I also suspect is that people who make statements like his (and yours) don't even understand the difference between PR and advertising in general.

Ever see the movie, "All the President's Men"?

[mantan]

Originally Posted by xofruitcake

yes, certain.. by selling at or below cost (i.e. losing money) like Google. Nexus 7 tear down cost is about $150 and they sell that for 199. After you add into the money they pay ASUS for the design work and profit, distribution cost and market cost, Google is going to loss money. If you think Apple should work for free, then yes, they can choose to.. Except that Apple is a company that is in a position to make money.. So they will price the tablet at a price that they can make money.. They will continue to do so until buyers don't show up...


http://phandroid.com/2012/07/11/tear...o-manufacture/

The most appealing aspect of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is its pricing. At $199, many in the industry have been wondering just how much Google is paying to build and as an extension how wide a profit margin does it provide. A new teardown by IHS iSuppli attempted to put a price on each component found within the N7, and the result was a slate that cost $151.75 per unit for the 8GB model. Add in overhead for marketing and distribution and it’s fair to say that Google is indeed breaking even at best, if not taking a loss when it comes to the $200 price point.

Why does it always go back to the tired straw man argument that 'Apple can't build the Mini to break even/or as a loss leader?'

Obviously they needed to make a profit with it. And doing that required a series of business decisions and compromises. But once they went with no Retina, they really needed to find another way to make it appealing.

Heck, make the base memory 32 gig. That would cost them all of ~$7 a unit. But nah...not only did they want to hold off the Retina display (which will likely come out in August)...but they still wanted a premium for $16 gig and the same $100 16 gig upcharge they've been charging since memory prices were 3 times higher.

There's no way I want to be in the same boat as iPad 3 owners watching the current iPad mini being replaced with a new and improved Mini next spring that will undoubtedly have Retina.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by tech4all

Seems like a decent product. But simply just overpriced. Even more now that you can get a 32GB Nexus 7 for $249.

Um, yeah, Apple is a business and needs to make a profit on their hardware.

Google is giving you the Nexus at cost so they can sell you to advertisers.

The iPad isn't overpriced. The Nexus is underpriced...so Google can pimp you out.

Different business models.

[JAT]

Originally Posted by 28monkeys

I'll be poorer by $399 once it released.

Cause you're waiting til then to buy an iPad2?

[troop231]

Originally Posted by justski

No regrets at all even if it is updated in the spring.

You say that now.. lol.

[JoeyCloverfield]

Originally Posted by baxterbrittle

I honestly don't understand everyones beef is here? No 'retina' display. And what resolution do you think a 'retina' display should actually be for the new screen size? 1600 x 1200? So yet another resolution to have to deal with for developers? It is taking long enough for iPhone 5 optimised apps and they really only have to adjust the 'content' areas to fit that device.

By 'Retina' display they mean a display with 2048x1536 resolution. As in the exact resolution the 3rd & 4th gen. iPads have. A lot of apps have already been optimized for them so…

[DaveN]

I've been waiting for the iPhone 5 to be available on Virgin Mobile USA but it doesn't look like that is happening anytime soon so I just may get the mini and keep my old phone on a basic plan.

Friday is my decision time. I'll check out a mini to see if it works for me.

[JoeyCloverfield]

Originally Posted by AidenShaw

You haven't tried Imaps, then....

I've actually never tried "iMaps"… What is that?