Apple Introduces New 7.9-Inch iPad Mini Starting at $329

[LordVic]

why bother even commenting...

because believe it or not, he raises very valuable comparisons.

Apple had no problem during their own product launch of using the nexus 7 to compare to and say what the ipad mini does that the nexus 7 cannot.

I don't think it's unfair to get the opposite spectrum. What can the nexus 7 do that the ipad mini cannot?

Judging by what he's said, for nearly $100 less, you have to wonder if the ipad mini is really priced right, or, if it is worth the premium price to you.

its a buyer decision that will be different for everyone. Some people will think it is worth it. Many will not.

But to ignore the con's and things Nexus 7 does better than ipad mini just because it's not an Apple product, makes you seem very ... and i hate to use this damn term... Sheepish

 

[kayno]

I think the real problem is that people expected a smaller better "iPad mini" for a cheaper price than its larger not as great counterpart.. If Apple is launching a smaller cheaper device.. of course its not going have all the bells and whistles of the larger more expensive version. People are so delusional.. Im not surprised it doesn't have a retina display. I'm not surprised it doesn't have an A6 processor.. Its the cheaper smaller version.. you also have to think about the price points of the iPad Nano (the iPod Touch) and where that falls into the equation. Personally I don't care about the iPad mini.. I don't even care about the iPad as a product category.. My iPad 2 is the last iPad i will own for a while.. After getting my 15" retina i don't really care much for the iPad especially since mountain lion. But the iPad Mini and it's pricing kinda makes sense, especially since we all know Apple intends to make money on Hardware and not loose money like its competitors.

 

[milo]

What is the point of the iPad Mini? What need does it fill that isn't already met by the iPad and iPhone (or iPod touch)?

The same need filled by different size laptops, imacs, and monitors. Different people like different sizes.

Plus it's cheaper than the full iPad (though not cheap enough).

Pixel density is something to consider. 1024x768 (163 ppi) on a 7.9" display will look better/sharper than the iPad 2.

And worse than the iphone, ipod touch, and both sizes of kindle fire as well as the nexus 7.

 

[paul4339]

This bad marketing decision is the starting point of the downfall of Apple, whether you like it or not.

This iPad mini will probably be successful (much more likely than not).... AND will do even better when the iPad mini 2 comes out 6 to 12 months from now, which lowers the price for the previous generation (ala iPad 2).

.

 

[wimdows]

All you whiners do realize that if you take the same resolution and shrink the display you increase the pixels per inch don't you? I guess you all bought into the "retina" like it is some magic technology where fairies fart out retina dust that makes everything look great.

iPad 2 = 132 ppi
iPad mini = 163 ppi
iPad 3 and 4 = 264 ppi

So, it's not quite retina, but it's better than an iPad 2 because the screen is smaller. Some people just can't be pleased.

We all get that. But the difference between 163ppi text and 264ppi text is enormous. Unless you have/need reading glasses.

 

[larrybeo]

Why is this so expensive?

Who the hell would pay $329 for a 7 inch tablet?!?!

 

[nutjob]

Im an iPad 3 owner who's not at all pissed that they released a tweaked iPad. Am i a minority?

Not at all, the majority of Apple's customer base is meek, compliant and ready to pay again and again for second best.

 

[Dammit Cubs]

With their eco-system, market share = profits $$$$. And they haven't cared about quality in ages. Look at the build of the iPhone 5, feels like the cheap toy that it is. rMBP's and now iMacs that are so underpowered they're bad jokes. Apple = bargain basement quality and designer label prices. And at this rate in a year that label will be a warning not to buyi.

Then why are you still on these boards. Why are you still here? You seem to not like anything Apple is doing and you are just whining.

WHINING. WHINING. WHINING.

How about you stop whining? Stop typing and change your platform altogether.

2012 Internet = A group of sissy whiners. If you have a problem, change it. YOU ARE THE CONSUMER.

Bargain Basement Quality...pfft. You really don't know what you are talking about. You take the smaller blemish and make it sound like WWIII crisis mode.

 

[trip1ex]

Apple turns people into whining retards.

That's what the title of this thread should be.

 

[nutjob]

Who the hell would pay $329 for a 7 inch tablet?!?!

If nothing else, Apple understands its customers, and will bleed them dry at every opportunity.

 

[larrybeo]

I'm curious how the iPad mini at $329 will compare to the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" at $299. I have an iPad 3, but the wife is looking for something purely to read and watch movies on during lunch at work. I'm looking forward to seeing the iPad mini in store and hearing what reviewers have to say about the Kindle in comparison.

This Kindle is a device that Amazon put thought into product placement. That is the difference.

 

[rtdunham]

E xpensive
P athetic maps
I tunes charges for powering on/off
C heap feeling

F ail port
A 5 processor
I rrelevant rear camera
L ack of retina

Any product's fair game for criticism, and i have no doubt apple's Maps has had some problems. But on a 978-mile drive from Cincinnati to Florida, I turned to my iPhone and Maps several times where the GPS in my Boxster wasn't providing adequate guidance. Maps did. More recently, on a 400-mile trip from the FLorida Gulf Coast to Atlantic Coast and back, the same thing happened, with times when I relied on iPhone/Maps because it they provided better guidance than the GPS in my Prius. I've never considered either of those GPS systems below average, and Maps outperformed them. It may be flawed. But it's hardly pathetic. I think Maps' reputation exceeds the reality.

 

[nutjob]

Then why are you still on these boards. Why are you still here? You seem to not like anything Apple is doing and you are just whining.

WHINING. WHINING. WHINING.

How about you stop whining? Stop typing and change your platform altogether.

2012 Internet = A group of sissy whiners. If you have a problem, change it. YOU ARE THE CONSUMER.

Bargain Basement Quality...pfft. You really don't know what you are talking about. You take the smaller blemish and make it sound like WWIII crisis mode.

Absolutely, it says right there on the top of the front page of this site: "CRITICISM OF APPLE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED". Just alert the mods and have those "sissies" banned.

 

[fredf]

I have been waiting for the iPad Mini announcement for months as I really want a fully functional iPad but in a smaller form factor.

What arrogance from Apple!

$150 premium over the Nexus (ok, so the screen is a bit bigger...lets say, then $100 premium) and we get the old processor, the old screen and the old camera.

I would pay a premium for the Apple ecosystem but a splashing huge unveiling of yesterday's technology at tomorrow's pricing? Hubris.

 

[wimdows]

This. They're still selling the 2nd gen. I wonder what they're going to do with the 3rd gen.

3rd gen is simply won't be available anymore. It's been replaced by the 4th gen spec bumped version. So we can all breathe a sigh of relief and call the 4th gen the new new iPad.

 

[Chevelle]

Really disappointed this only has an A5. I'm curious to see how this geekbenches now.

 

[larrybeo]

Apple turns people into whining retards.

That's what the title of this thread should be.

I was actually looking forward to this thing! You can't possibly tell me this is going to compete with the Nexus or Kindle Fire tablets?

 

[nutjob]

All you whiners do realize that if you take the same resolution and shrink the display you increase the pixels per inch don't you? I guess you all bought into the "retina" like it is some magic technology where fairies fart out retina dust that makes everything look great.

iPad 2 = 132 ppi
iPad mini = 163 ppi
iPad 3 and 4 = 264 ppi

So, it's not quite retina, but it's better than an iPad 2 because the screen is smaller. Some people just can't be pleased.

So, let me get this straight: you should pay a premium for this product that doesn't have the premium features because the premium features are actually rubbish?

 

[ucmj22]

hmmmm....

this was the first thing I thought of.

 

[sfphoto]

I have the original iPad first gen with the unlimited data plan from AT&T. I know I can transfer it to a new iPad 2 or iPad 3 but I'd really like to transfer it to one of the new iPad minis.

Kind of early to tell since they are not yet on sale.

If the Mini uses a 'NanoSim' you will have to cut down your MicroSim like iPhone5 users have done.

 

[nutjob]

Apple turns people into whining retards.

That's what the title of this thread should be.

No, it should be "Apple apologists indulge in ad-hominem attacks because they can't defend the indefensible".

 

[Oracle1729]

One more thing, stop oversimplifying, its not a 13" Notebook. You may lack the knowledge to see it for what it is but please do yourself the courtesy to brush up on the price of manufacturing hi-ppi displays, SSDs, and custom hardware machining. Its not as if apple doesn't have lower-priced options. And its not as if we who buy Apple products think that we are getting a good bargain. I know I pay a premium. I am poor and I still don't give a $#!t. It preforms for my professional work, it lasts a long time, and it looks nice. I'll pay extra, it means that much to me. It doesn't to you, so GTFO.

Thanks for the laugh. First Apple's the one that focuses on the product, not the tech. If it's not a 13" notebook then what is it?

Your whole post is so ridiculous and you clearly need some anger management skills. SSDs are pretty damn cheap outside apple's little proprietary sphere. Custom hardware machining isn't expensive as the air and pro prove. And hi-ppi displays are worse than useless when you don't have the cpu/gpu power to handle it.

I do use my notebook for professional photography, and this $1700 steaming pile is totally useless, underpowered, and overpriced.

I don't mind paying extra for something nice, but when you're paying 3 times the price (of a comparable spec Dell) to get something so vastly inferior, you have to be an idiot to buy apple.

 

[belsokar]

As a mobile developer, I own both iOS and Android products...In this case, I have owned the Google Nexus since about the time it came out...I immediately enjoyed the size, and felt it would provide some occasional benefits over an iPad...mostly when I really needed some easy one handed operation...

I was not too excited about the price of the mini but it's not much higher than what I expected...or what I should say I hoped for...and that's $249...

The thing is, the nexus is still an android product...and I'm not an Android fan...It does some nice things, but overall the OS and hardware are still flawed...the ecosystem still lags behind iOS and Apple...so the premium I pay for the mini, covers some of that.

Some examples:

1. Nexus Screen...It's nice, but not that impressive. Colors are dull. Even though it's a high resolution, it just doesn' t look that sharp. It doesn't have that refined smooth overall feel to it that iOS products have. I expect the mini not to have this problem seeing as it should look nicer than an iPad 2.

2. OS...The Android OS is still a pain for me...maybe I'm just too used to apple products. But with an Android tablet, an older Android phone, and a Galaxy SIII on the way,...I'm just not that excited about Android...I know it does alot, but it's just not as simple and straightforward and well executed as iOS...even though I know iOS doesn't always match up feature-wise

3. Hardware...The Nexus, my old motorola Atrix,...just have always felt cheap next to my iPhones and iPads...They're not bad, but they're definitely not as well made...from the materials used to the final cut and polish,...Apple just does it better...

4. Problems...My new Nexus already has an issue. The speaker is somehow broken and all audio is garbled...and I barely touch my nexus...so what do I do? I don't know! If it's an iPad, I just take it to an Apple store, and they replace it, fix it, or something...especially since it's under warranty still and so new...To some people, this may seem like a minor issue...but it's a bonus of the Apple eco-system that I can easily take care of problems if I ever have them...

5. Processor...My android products, with all their super-duper multi-core technology...have never performed as smoothly and efficiently as my iOS products...it's just a plain fact...obviously the guts inside may be nicer, but the OS doesn't make good use of all that power...

So when you consider comparing products...remember, it's not always an equal comparison...I WISH the mini could have been cheaper...but I know that I'm paying at the end of the day for a product that has alot more going for it than it's Android counterparts do...

Maybe the masses will agree...maybe they won't...but I'll be ordering one anyways...

 

[kzoojason76]

How can the iPad Mini support Siri, but the iPad 2, with the same specs, cannot??

 

[Nunyabinez]

So, let me get this straight: you should pay a premium for this product that doesn't have the premium features because the premium features are actually rubbish?

Where are you getting the idea of paying a "premium?" My point is that "retina" has to do with ppi and not with some special feature. And while it does not have the ppi of the much more expensive iPad 4, it has a higher ppi than the more expensive iPad 2.