All iPads Tough choice next year if Retina iPad gets more Mini-like?

Awakener said:

Another thing is that iPad Mini may look okay in stores. At home is a different story. It is a common experience with displays.

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Agreed. Phones can only be so large before they are inconvenient. But as devices become more useful the fascination with small wears off when reality sets in.

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Understandable. I do love the full sized ipad for the simple fact I rarely have to pinch and zoom. I say I won't upgrade it, but I would probably only lose $100 on the upgrade.

Abazigal said:

I doubt it would be enough to offset the massive power drain doubling the pixels would cause. The PPI would be excessive (imagine an ipad3 in 7.9 inch form factor).

The only way I think we will ever see a retina ipad mini is if Apple bucks the trend and introduces a 3rd tablet resolution, one that allows it to just hit the retina threshold. This, in conjunction with IGZO screen, should allow it to retain its prized battery life.

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Ipad 4 is about 1.44 lb. Ipad mini is 0.68lb. Ipad mini is about 65% of the screen size of an Ipad 4. Using the same screen technology with 2048x1536 resolution would mean an ipad mini that is about 1lb to 1.1lb. Not ideal. Sharp announced a tablet using IGZO screen, AQUOS SHT21 and will be available in Japan in December. The claim of battery life was pretty spectacular. I am pretty sure that we will see a Nexus 7 and SHT21 battery life comparison once the SHT21 is available. If the claim is anywhere near the reality, I think we will have a retina mini with 2048x1536. The only question is when can Sharp ship that resolution with 7.9 inches screen. Given the rumor 2B loan/investment Apple made to Sharp, I think Apple will logically be the first customer for Sharp when they are ready. If everything go well, we can also have an Ipad 5 that use the same technology and cut down the weight substantially as well.

http://www.slashgear.com/sharp-aquos-tab-sht21-with-igzo-screen-hands-on-18252572/


What a difference a display makes: in the case of KDDI’s AQUOS PAD SHT21, announced yesterday, it’s the promise of more than double the runtime simply by switching to Sharp’s IGZO panel technology. The new LCD screen system – which plays with chemistry to make pixels smaller and thus reduce backlighting demands – has shown up on its second device for the Japanese market, so we wasted no time in checking out the new 7-inch Android tablet. Check out our hands-on video and some first impressions after the cut.

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However, it’s the IGZO screen that’s the real talking point here. Most of the time, it looks just like a regular LCD IPS panel, only it’s sipping roughly half the power. Crank up the brightness, however, and it’s significantly brighter at its maximum than a traditional tablet; we weren’t able to take the SHT21 outdoors, but from what we’ve seen we’ve little doubt that you could comfortably use it without having to shade the screen in strong sunlight.

Awakener said:

iPhone 5 was designed about 20% thinner and lighter, so it's not difficult to believe Apple could use the same technology on iPad.

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20% lighter than the iPhone 4S is different than 20% lighter than the iPad 4.