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iPad mini Is this a Mini killer?

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1458279

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sviato said:
Given that the Mini wasn't updated this year, it's in prime position to be killed [or abandoned].
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I guess in the end it really won't matter, Apple shorted the customers with the last Mini "update" and keeps to their high upgrade price for ram.

I hope someone comes in with a product like this for the US market, I like the form factor.
 
C

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
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KarlJay said:
It's sad that US won't be in the mix or if it is, it'll be too late.

I can't say that I'm happy about that, but I do understand that the US market is different and most that want a tablet in the US already have one and the US market tends to buy more expensive stuff because it's a richer market.

However, the US is 6% of the worlds population, this is why manufactures look to Asia for growth. Some of these products are more than some peoples monthly gross income. They'd have to save up for a long time to buy one and a few hundred dollars is a lot for them.

Developers will go where the market is, and although the $/Person is in the US, the growth of market isn't here.

This could be a "shot over the bow" for Apple, that they need to look at these things and ask how can a cheaper product have better cameras and USB, memory, etc... And they are going after the one market Apple needs if it's going to grow.

One other issue is that WiFi is a free way to make calls and connect to social media, the "phone" part of the iPhone ups the cost one something that's already expensive for most in Asia.

We probably won't hear much about this here in the states.
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Although on paper this device is clearly superior to the iPad Mini, raw specs don't equate to raw sales. The average consumer doesn't even look at things like RAM. Being that it's running Android it's unable to provide the end user experience that iPads provide and thus would not really affect iPad Mini sales if it were released in the US. As we've seen the iPad competitors only chance at making inroads is to sell their devices dirt cheap.

Playing the specs war with Android won't provide Apple a lot of growth in Asia either. The only way they can expand beyond where they already are is to make the iPad cheaper and we know that's never going to happen. Raw specs don't equate to sales in this market and that's why the Surface and likely this N1 don't make money for their respective manufacturers.
 
K

Kendo

macrumors 68020
Apr 4, 2011
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KarlJay said:
It's sad that US won't be in the mix or if it is, it'll be too late.

I can't say that I'm happy about that, but I do understand that the US market is different and most that want a tablet in the US already have one and the US market tends to buy more expensive stuff because it's a richer market.

However, the US is 6% of the worlds population, this is why manufactures look to Asia for growth. Some of these products are more than some peoples monthly gross income. They'd have to save up for a long time to buy one and a few hundred dollars is a lot for them.

Developers will go where the market is, and although the $/Person is in the US, the growth of market isn't here.

This could be a "shot over the bow" for Apple, that they need to look at these things and ask how can a cheaper product have better cameras and USB, memory, etc... And they are going after the one market Apple needs if it's going to grow.

One other issue is that WiFi is a free way to make calls and connect to social media, the "phone" part of the iPhone ups the cost one something that's already expensive for most in Asia.

We probably won't hear much about this here in the states.
Click to expand...

I get what you are saying because sometimes it is sad when a nice product doesn't get recognition like some HTC phones. But as far as this product, why should they be in the mix? In order to make an iPad mini killer, you need to do better than the iPad mini, not a carbon copy of it down to the design and screen resolution.
 
S

Skika

macrumors 68030
Mar 11, 2009
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It doesnt run iOS therefore it is not an iPad mini or any iPad killer.

Wow that was easy.
 
N

NorthSeaBeach

macrumors 6502
Oct 29, 2014
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Skika said:
It doesnt run iOS therefore it is not an iPad mini or any iPad killer.

Wow that was easy.
Click to expand...

In many - not all - ways I prefer iOS too, but don't be fooled into thinking Android is what it was a few years ago. It progressed and I rather like it from JellyBean up. But I don't trust Google one bit. Still my phone is a Note:p
 
1458279

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I don't see this as a carbon copy, more base ram, better cameras, USB and price alone.

People of much lower income will see this as a godsend because it's not only much cheaper but better specs. Quality of both the product and OS can be overlooked, esp on a product that has about a 1.5 year life span.

It's hard to know if any one product will be able to knock it out of the ball park, because once one product starts moving, others usually follow. Either way, it's good to see some movement in the Mini size range because I think the size is just right for many.
 
mcdj

mcdj

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Jul 10, 2007
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NorthSeaBeach said:
don't be fooled into thinking Android is what it was a few years ago. It progressed...
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People say pretty much the same thing every time a new version of Android comes out, yet every time I pick up any Android device, regardless of the version, I can't figure out how it works. Nothing happens as expected. The icons on the bezel may as well be written in hieroglyphics.
 
1458279

1458279

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From another article that I read, it looks like there's a number of iPad and Mini knock offs for cheap in other countries. Sounds like it's just a matter of time and quality before they all just become appliances, but a known ex-monster name like Nokia could be a good indication of things to come.
 
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617aircav

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Jul 2, 2012
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Not a mini killer, there is no such thing as it won't run ios. I however returned my mini 3 and bought a Samsung tab pro 8.4. Half the cost of the mini 3 and a better tablet for me.
 
B

brendu

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Apr 23, 2009
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KarlJay said:
The N1 is clearly targeted towards the Mini and it's a lot cheaper with better camera specs, much more ram, AC WiFi,compass, and microUSB.

Not for sale yet, but this could really change the future of the Mini.

http://www.nirmaltv.com/2014/11/19/nokia-n1-vs-ipad-mini-comparison/
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It runs android, so no it won't be an iPad mini killer. Also, it will never be for sale in the US because apple would sue Nokia to oblivion, maybe they will give it a different shell and then sell it here though. I actually think Nokia might have made a good tablet here but just remember specs don't matter, experience does and on a tablet there isn't a better experience right now than iOS for just about every purpose.
 
1458279

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These issues (ram usage, better OS) will pass over time. I don't know when, but the tablets will become an appliance just like the PC and the OS will be like the web browser of yesteryear.
People don't care if your PC is a Dell or home made, they don't care if you use IE, Chrome or FireFox... they just care that it works... it's all about the content.

It's nice to see progress made in the direction of a mid-sized tablet (even if it isn't Apple :D)
 
J

joeblow7777

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Sep 7, 2010
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mcdj said:
People say pretty much the same thing every time a new version of Android comes out, yet every time I pick up any Android device, regardless of the version, I can't figure out how it works. Nothing happens as expected. The icons on the bezel may as well be written in hieroglyphics.
Click to expand...

So you're problem with Android is that you can't figure out how to use it? Try a Nexus device. The custom UIs that companies like Samsung use can indeed be complicated and confusing to a new user, but Nexus phones and tablets run pure unmodified Android, which is not hard to learn and can actually do a lot of things right out the box that iOS requires jailbreaking to do.
 
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