iPad Mini: The Mini is Apple's weakest offering

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by mcdj

"It's not as powerful as an iPhone because it isn't small enough."

Huh? What does that even mean? If you're trying to get people to see your point of view, it helps to have a coherent point of view.

If I gave you an iPad Mini tomorrow, you'd love it. Desire it. Use it every day.

Your post is a thinly veiled attempt at rationalizing why you don't/can't have an iPad Mini. Yes, the iPad Mini is a sour grape, right up until you taste one.

Maybe the OP meant that the Mini isn't as powerful because it has to drive a larger screen? But then the iPhone has a retina display, which requires more power to run than a non-retina display that the Mini has anyway...

[BHP41]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

I think the iPad mini is Apple's weakest offering. It doesn't live up to the iPad standard because it doesn't have a retina display. It's not as powerful as an iPhone because it isn't small enough.

There's not enough packed into it that makes it a desirable product. It's like most tablets that are release where it's a generation behind from the moment that it's released.

It's on the iPod touch standard now. It's there, but it's just not a flagship product. If you compare it to the Galaxy Note, it's not even as good because it has no calling capabilities.

Each iPad has a place. The size and WEIGHT of the mini is its advantage. It's not meant to be the power house product the full size one is. It's a smaller,lighter and the price point is different. To say it isn't a desirable product throws away your credibility to argue ANY other facts. Look at its sales. I believe it's STILL on a 1 week lead time.

[techstyle]

I don't know why some are outraged about the Mini, It's not like people who bash on it have OWN one. I have an ipad 4 and gave it to my mom, purchased the mini and love it.

[Gav2k]

Ok...
I saw the thread title...
Opened said thread...
Discovered who the op is...
Replied....
Not even going to read the op's post before going back....

[OTACORB]

Original poster makes no sense. I really like the poster that said he looked for 5 minutes. LOL

I have a mini, we also have and iPad 4. Had a Nexus 7, but sold it. Even tried a Nexus 10 which had freezing and rebooting problems, it was returned.

IPad mini offers a great user experience and in many ways I do like it better than the larger retina display model. It goes more places with me than the larger model ever has.

[Tsikura]

I enjoy my ipad mini as well. It will be great the day it goes retina though. Tech wise, the mini is pretty damn weak compared to other tablets out there but for people like me, the mini/ipad2 is good enough and the form factor is fantastic.

[T5BRICK]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

I don't even know why they make 11 inch MacBooks. But hey, Macs are great!

Something about the iPad mini is missing. I mean it's literally a carbon copy of everything else Apple makes. Just a different size.

It weighs less than HALF of what a iPad 4 weighs, maybe that's what is missing: weight?

Yup, it's a different size; it's more portable. Is that such a bug surprise? Apple makes two different sizes of iMacs. They make two different sizes of MBA. They used to make three sizes of MBP, now they're down to two sizes, but 4 variations. Different sized copies seems to be a thing Apple does and has been doing for a long time.

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

Did Apple ever give a reason for not having retina? I mean, retina is like, a no-brainer. It still boggles my mind. You do legitimately feel a difference. I look at the iPad mini as an iPad 1 chopped in half.

And if they come out with a mini 2 with retina, I'm just going to say, "Nope, too late!"

A retina display would be thicker and require more power. The graphical capability would have to be increased to handle the extra pixels. The battery would have to be larger to handle the display and the more powerful GPU. Those are a lot of compromises that would make the product more expensive and therefore less desirable to most people.

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

Something about the iPad mini is missing. I mean it's literally a carbon copy of everything else Apple makes. Just a different size.

Started losing me.

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

I look at the iPad mini as an iPad 1 chopped in half.

Lost me.

[Paulywauly]

The Mini is hardly Apple weakest offering, anyone who went to an Apple before Christmas would have noticed the crowds of people packed around the Mini display tables whilst the iPad 4 table was deserted. How you could walk in and get any iPad 4 you liked but have a choice between one or two Minis.

Say what you like about the Minis hardware, if its not good enough for you its not good enough for you and you're entitled to that. However 90% of people out there have no idea or simply don't that care about Retina or how much of full RGB it displays. Referring to it as a To-Late-To-Market failure is simply short sighted, the majority of people will see that it as a highly portable iPad for significantly less money than a iPad 4. There are already indications of it seriously cannibalising sales of full size iPads, if Apple has brought to market a device which is actually drawing a significant number of customer away from its "flagship" offering (which is arguably the market leader) How could it possibly be a weak offering? Customers are happy and Apple makes money.

[maflynn]

Funny how Apple's weakest offering seems to be one its more popular products.

I think all in all, its a great product that fits a need that I had. That need (a 7" tablet) is one that others evidently has because the product is selling extremely well

[WilliamLondon]

When are all these mini attacking trolls going to crawl back under the rocks from which they have all recently come??

[unibility]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

I think the iPad mini is Apple's weakest offering. It doesn't live up to the iPad standard because it doesn't have a retina display. It's not as powerful as an iPhone because it isn't small enough.

There's not enough packed into it that makes it a desirable product. It's like most tablets that are release where it's a generation behind from the moment that it's released.

It's on the iPod touch standard now. It's there, but it's just not a flagship product. If you compare it to the Galaxy Note, it's not even as good because it has no calling capabilities.

...and these are the reasons why you shouldn't have removed the down-vote.

[Ladybug]

I'm sure Apple is laughing all the way to the bank. Weakest product indeed. More like the little engine that could.

[darngooddesign]

Originally Posted by adildacoolset

...That extra $100 over a nexus 7 is a premium. Apple always charge a premium for it's logo.

That premium is due to Google not making a profit, and possibly taking a bit of a loss, on the N7. While Apple could have priced the Mini at 200, it would have made no money from it and that's untenable from a business perspective.

[bonskovsky]

Originally Posted by Kadin

I think it's easy to guess at why they didn't. They still wanted to make a certain amount of profit per unit and if they included retina at this price, obviously it would have meant less to them. Plus there's the consensus that Retina in a thin design like this would be quite difficult to do so...

They've been putting retina in iPhones for years. Even iPods touches have it.

[guitarmandp]

This is just my opinion but I think Apple's weakest offering is the iPod classic. It was a great product 5 years ago but now it's out of date.

First of all IMO the screen is way too small for videos, and photos. I can't imagine watching a movie on that screen! I guess it's handy if you are on a 12 hour international flight and don't want to pay for wifi, or if you want to carry a lot of music and don't have unlimited data.

Things like Spotify, iTunes Match, and Home Sharing have made the iPod classic obsolete. Plus it doesn't support bluetooth, or airplay and the cover art isn't as slick as the music app on iOS devices.

Now back to the Mini. I think the bigger screen makes the iPad a lot more comfortable if you are propping it up with a Smart Cover, and I like using it with a bluetooth keyboard. I bought one of those brookstone cases with the keyboard in the case which I really like.

I think the mini is a lot more comfortable if you hold your device because it's smaller and lighter.

I don't see how anybody can use a full size iPad without at least a Smart Cover.

[roxxette]

Apple weakest offering imo is th magic mouse.

[BHP41]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

They've been putting retina in iPhones for years. Even iPods touches have it.

You really have no clue what you're talking about do you?? You continue to make these types of threads. Myself and plenty of others could go into trying to help you understand how and why you are wrong but it seems that it's a waste of time as you don't seem to won't to learn, just argue your point until you have nothing left to argue.

[bonskovsky]

The iPad mini takes design cues from both the iPod touch 5 and the iPhone 5.







The iPad mini, with a thickness of 0.28 inches is more thick than the iPod touch, with a thickness of 0.24 inches.

So why then, with more room to spare on the iPad mini, did they not include a retina display?

No one has been able to reasonably answer this. Even the Kindle Fire has a resolution of 1280x800. Out if the things that it does have going for it, with a resolution of merely 1024x768, having a industry leading display is not one of them.

[Maverick713]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

I think the iPad mini is Apple's weakest offering. It doesn't live up to the iPad standard because it doesn't have a retina display. It's not as powerful as an iPhone because it isn't small enough.

There's not enough packed into it that makes it a desirable product. It's like most tablets that are release where it's a generation behind from the moment that it's released.

It's on the iPod touch standard now. It's there, but it's just not a flagship product. If you compare it to the Galaxy Note, it's not even as good because it has no calling capabilities.

And i think you're wrong, opinions are like a$$holes, everyone has one some are just bigger than others. I use my ipad mini everyday for work and school as a field tech it is easier to carry around and put into my pocket. it fits perfectly into my back pocket. I have an iphone 5 as well and I use it to but when I want to read a book I prefer to read it on my ipad than my phone and I don't see much of a difference in the screen resolution. will I buy the updated iPad mini maybe I'll see where I stand when that happens.

[Phil A.]

The iPod touch retina display has less pixels than the iPad mini display. To add a retina to the iPad mini would mean 4 times the number of pixels and would mean a much more powerful graphics chip, which would use more power and need a bigger battery.
When the iPad 3 gained retina, the thickness increased over the iPad 2, and a retina in a mini would require the same increase in processor power and battery size. It's not physically possible to do that in the current form factor. IMO the form factor is the biggest selling point of the mini and I'd rather have it the size it is than have a retina display on it

[Maverick713]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

The iPad mini takes design cues from both the iPod touch 5 and the iPhone 5.

Image

Image

Image

The iPad mini, with a thickness of 0.28 inches is more thick than the iPod touch, with a thickness of 0.24 inches.

So why then, with more room to spare on the iPad mini, did they not include a retina display?

No one has been able to reasonably answer this. Even the Kindle Fire has a resolution of 1280x800. So why is the iPad mini stuck with a resolution of just 1024x768?

Battery life, beside apple probably wanted to have one great feature for the next iteration. There is probably a chance that the technology to make a battery has impoved allowing for a form factor to stay as thin, or possibly thinner. If you just want a reason why you should buy one spend more than 5 seconds with one. I am an avid reader, I know that you'll say the full size is not heavy but if you read for 25 - 30 minutes your hand will get tired with my mini I can read longer without my hand cramping, plus to me it feels more like a real book.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

It's not as powerful as an iPhone because it isn't small enough.

This was my favorite line. So I guess the iPod Shuffle is the most powerful product in Apple's lineup? or maybe the Lightning to Micro USB adapter since it's even smaller still?

[bonskovsky]

Originally Posted by Phil A.

The iPod touch retina display has less pixels than the iPad mini display. To add a retina to the iPad mini would mean 4 times the number of pixels and would mean a much more powerful graphics chip, which would use more power and need a bigger battery.
When the iPad 3 gained retina, the thickness increased over the iPad 2, and a retina in a mini would require the same increase in processor power and battery size. It's not physically possible to do that in the current form factor. IMO the form factor is the biggest selling point of the mini and I'd rather have it the size it is than have a retina display on it

But what I'm saying is there already a retina display in these smaller phones, and they're just as powerful as full size iPads. So it doesn't make sense that they would need an iPad sized battery. They just need a mini sized battery.

[lympero]

The problem with ipad mini is not the non retina display. It's the a5 processor along with 512 ram. End of story.