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

[435713]

Looking at the comment sections makes me wonder just how many iHaters are out there. I mean I complain here from time to time, but good god it's like 90% of the internet just goes in on Apple all the time. Google never gets any hardly. These kids like 14 or so? They do realize google is also "the man" correct??

I complain about Apple stuff here but don't go to Droid sites or articles and complain about Android, since I don't own an Android device so have nothing to really say. Only thing I said here was the obvious that Android is like Windows where it wins marketshare by default from the sheer # of devices it's on. Not like that isn't true.

 

[xofruitcake]

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.

I am not saying Apple can't build Ipad mini at break even or loss leader, I am asking why should they?

You don't think the current spec is attractive enough? My guess is that enough folks will find ipad mini appealing and they will buy enough Ipad mini to make Apple shareholders happy. The proof will come when Apple announce the first weekend sales number or when Apple report their 4Q earning in late January.

Company price a product to maximize their profit. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong. The sales number is going to be their report card. Ipad mini spec is not appealing enough for you and you are not going to buy one. But it looks like Apple is going to be supply constrained in 4Q with screen being the problems. Ipad 3 sell 3 million units in the first weekend and I think we can easily see 1 to 1 1/2 m Ipad mini sales in first weekend. Would that be a good enough number to prove that enough customers are willing to pay $329+ for Ipad mini? Why should Apple price it any lower if they find enough buyers willing to pay up to buy a lot of them?

Remember in the first Iphone, Apple had to lower price when they got the price point incorrect. We will see the same dynamic here. If $329+ is the right price point, Apple will sell out their units. If $329+ is too expensive, no one will buy them and Apple will have to cut price to move them.

 

[chr1s60]

"oh where oh where can my baby be"

I'm jealous of how many iPads Louisville has right now.

 

[xofruitcake]

Looking at the comment sections makes me wonder just how many iHaters are out there. .

I don't think they are not iHaters as much as customers who has very unrealistic expectation of what Apple should do. They want an $250 or $299 ipad mini with retina display and A6x processor because Nexus 7 is selling at $199 and break even or losing money. If Google is willing to loss money and sell Nexus 7 at a loss, Apple should too. They also like IOS but not willing to pay any price premium for using an IOS device. But if Apple find enough buyers at the higher price point, why should they lower the price?

I wonder if any of them run his/her own business, would he sells his mechandise at break even or at a loss if they have customer lining up in their door?

 

[hyteckit]

I can't justify owning (any) iPad again, unless I get rid of my MBP. Having a laptop, an iPad, and an iPhone is just overkill in my opinion. They're all mobile devices, and one of them will inevitably be extraneous. The iPhone is super-portable, the MBP is super-powerful. The iPad is a compromise on both fronts, so it got sold.

That said, I'd buy an iPad if I ever ditched my MBP for an iMac. I could see it making a semi-suitable substitute in that case.

I have an iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, iPhone, and iPad.

Ditching my iMac and using my MacBook Pro as my main machine.
Ditching the iPad for iPad Mini.

 

[smoledman]

I have an iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, iPhone, and iPad.

Ditching my iMac and using my MacBook Pro as my main machine.
Ditching the iPad for iPad Mini.

That sounds like cannibalization to me. Or maybe Apple realizes that the market segments into iPad Maxi & Mini and want to prevent Amazon/Google from 7" tablet sales. Either way, the Mini strikes me as very reactive. They took an iPad 2 and shrunk it down. Now if the Mini had Retina Display, A6X, wireless charging I'd be impressed. But truly a reactive product cyncialy designed to get rid of iPad 2 parts.

 

[hyteckit]

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

Nexus 7 has a 216 ppi.

Android tablets have a variety of resolutions, making it fragmented and many tablet apps look like crap.

If the iPad mini has a retina screen, it would be the same resolution as the iPad 3 & 4, to avoid fragmentation.

 

[GoldenJoe]

I've already got an iPad 3, and I purchased an iPad 4 for a family member for Christmas due to older folks generally liking larger screens. That said, this looks like a nice device. I find smaller electronics appealing. Might have to get one of these once they reach second gen.

And I'm glad Apple kept the same resolution. Literally saved me quite a lot of work.

 

[435713]

I don't think they are not iHaters as much as customers who has very unrealistic expectation of what Apple should do. They want an $250 or $299 ipad mini with retina display and A6x processor because Nexus 7 is selling at $199 and break even or losing money. If Google is willing to loss money and sell Nexus 7 at a loss, Apple should too. They also like IOS but not willing to pay any price premium for using an IOS device. But if Apple find enough buyers at the higher price point, why should they lower the price?

I wonder if any of them run his/her own business, would he sells his mechandise at break even or at a loss if they have customer lining up in their door?

True. Apple articles generate clicks and the most comments every single time. Some talk about the RDF but good god why people whine when they have no intention at all at touching the thing makes no sense. They might have a RDF going on themselves worrying about stuff they supposedly have no interest in. Weird people, that need psychiatric help IMO.

Maybe just label every device with "google" and all the internet hate may stop because that badge seems to go unscathed everytime. Windows 8 by google. iPad mini by google, etc..

 

[matthijst]

Quite the selective quotes they picked. I found these, which make the mini sound less attractive. I cancelled my order. Want to see this thing IRL before I make a decision, but I think I won't like it: non retina

http://allthingsd.com/20121030/sizing-up-the-new-ipad-mini/
The screen resolution is a big step backwards from the Retina display on the current large iPad.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/30/apple-ipad-mini-review/
Text isn't anywhere near as sharp as on the newer iPads, but this is still a very nice-looking display.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9644594/Apple-iPad-mini-review.html
Having used a retina display iPad and iPhone for so long, the iPad mini screen just looks a little blurry.

http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/10/30/review-ipad-mini/
If there was one thing I was surprised with, it would be that the iPad mini doesn’t have a Retina display. It surely gives Apple some room to upgrade the device if they want to next year, but that’s the only thing I would really add to the mini.

http://reviews.cnet.com/ipad-mini/
I wanted that display to be as good as the one on the iPhone 5, iPod Touch, and Retina iPad. It isn't, not now. It mars the product for me, because otherwise, the screen size and its aspect ratio is perfect for handling comics, magazines, and reading apps.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/30/3576178/apple-ipad-mini-review
There's no question that to the naked eye this screen does look lower in resolution than its nearest competition. Pixels are noticeable, especially in webpages, books, and when viewing email — and that can be distracting sometimes.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/30/ipad-mini-review/
Let’s not beat around the bush — if there is a weakness of this device, it’s the screen. But that statement comes with a very big asterisk. As someone who is used to a “retina” display on my phone, tablet, and even now computer, the downgrade to a non-retina display is quite noticeable. This goes away over time as you use the iPad mini non-stop, but if you switch back to a retina screen, it’s jarring.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-31/ipad-mini-is-thin-light-costs-more-than-rivals-review.html
If you’ve got eyesight at all like mine, be prepared to do a lot of pinching and zooming.

 

[brosemann]

Can't wait

Man, I can't wait to hold one in my Hands, Looks very smooth, despite it being just a smaller iPad, the new slate back Looks awesome, but is it as easy to get scratches in it as the iPhone 5, seems like it?!

 

[lianlua]

Quite the selective quotes they picked. I found these, which make the mini sound less attractive. I cancelled my order. Want to see this thing IRL before I make a decision, but I think I won't like it: non retina

I'm genuinely curious why you ordered it in the first place, then. Even pulling the worst quotes out of those reviews, none of them said it was a bad screen. Most actually refer to what a high-quality screen it has, resolution notwithstanding.

They're only stating what you knew when you placed the order: it's not a retina display. What exactly makes it sound less attractive?

 

[inscrewtable]

I will wait for the retina mini because of this:
Image

Have you got really long arms or do you always look at your screen with binoculars?

 

[hyteckit]

Nah what's funnier is all the people that crapped all over other products for not having retina and for not using the latest and greatest CPU and for not having xx amount of memory; you used to read comments like "I will never buy anything without retina", "unless it has an A6 its not powerful enough", "you need at least 1 GB of ram" (I am paraphrasing of course) and now suddenly posting comments like, "you do not need retina in a 7 inch tablet", "1xx PPI is enough", "the mini CPU is enough, the CPU in the iPad 4 is overkill", etc etc etc.

Yeah, it's funnier when android fanboys crapped all over Apple products for not having a removable battery, no rear camera, no microSD slot, no HDMI port.

Now suddenly praise the Nexus 7 on how awesome it is when it has no removable battery, no rear camera, no microSD slot, no HDMI port.

 

[Newton1666]

7.9 Inches.

Hold a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire next to an iPad Mini then compare. Google and Amazon have to play up screen density because there tablets are smaller. I have a 7 inch tablet 16:9 ratio and reading sucks on it - long and slender or weird wide. Surfing the net also blows big chunks, what's the point of dpi if I have to scroll right all the time?

I'll check out the mini this weekend, but the other 7 models are useless to me.

 

[hyteckit]

7.9 Inches.

Hold a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire next to an iPad Mini then compare. Google and Amazon have to play up screen density because there tablets are smaller. I have a 7 inch tablet 16:9 ratio and reading sucks on it - long and slender or weird wide. Surfing the net also blows big chunks, what's the point of dpi if I have to scroll right all the time?

I'll check out the mini this weekend, but the other 7 models are useless to me.

I have a samsung galaxy tab 7" and Acer Iconia 7" tablet. Both suck. Sold my galaxy tab already. Need to sell my Acer Iconia.

My Acer Iconia won't run many of the Android apps and games I bought it for.

 

[AdonisSMU]

That sounds like cannibalization to me. Or maybe Apple realizes that the market segments into iPad Maxi & Mini and want to prevent Amazon/Google from 7" tablet sales. Either way, the Mini strikes me as very reactive. They took an iPad 2 and shrunk it down. Now if the Mini had Retina Display, A6X, wireless charging I'd be impressed. But truly a reactive product cyncialy designed to get rid of iPad 2 parts.

Wireless charging makes no sense to me atm... So now i have to carry around a matt with a cord instead of just a cord?

 

[matthijst]

I'm genuinely curious why you ordered it in the first place, then. Even pulling the worst quotes out of those reviews, none of them said it was a bad screen. Most actually refer to what a high-quality screen it has, resolution notwithstanding.

They're only stating what you knew when you placed the order: it's not a retina display. What exactly makes it sound less attractive?

ppi is higher than the iPad2 and the new screen technology uses thinner glass, so I was hoping it would be less noticeable.

Was waiting on the reviews, so that's why I ordered one.
Cancelled my order now cause I want to see it in person first (and Apple is slow shipping it so I'll be able to get it faster in store anyways).

 

[lianlua]

ppi is higher than the iPad2 and the new screen technology uses thinner glass, so I was hoping it would be less noticeable.

Was waiting on the reviews, so that's why I ordered one.
Cancelled my order now cause I want to see it in person first (and Apple is slow shipping it so I'll be able to get it faster in store anyways).

Ah. Fair enough.

I was just curious because I had the opposite reaction reading those same reviews--I found their comments spot on for what I hoped. A top-notch display in every way, just at a lower density. Exactly the improvement on the iPad 2 I was looking for, which was already one of the best tablet displays, just a little too low density for me.

I suspect that if you don't have trouble switching between a computer and a retina device, you wouldn't have any trouble with the mini, since it's still a good step forward from that. But it makes sense to see for yourself.

 

[Mr.damien]

Still no interest in owning one.

Still no interest to read your comments.

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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, they manage to have sluggish 7" tablet and low battery life by putting a retina display with an OS that need a patch to be as fluid as iOS 6 on a 3GS with quad-core CPU and 2GB of memory...

 

[Ryth]

Retina was the deal breaker for me and I'm glad the reviews point out that if you have used the iPad 3 with Retina or iPhone 4+ then you will definitely notice the difference.

No way the iPad Mini 2 doesn't have a Retina...hopefully they do a 6 month revision on it..waiting till next Nov would suck.

But I have a feeling that the iPad 4 was just to get all the iOS devices released on a XMAS schedule and all at the same time to take advantage of the tech. The spread out chips, OS, etc wasn't a good thing. Now they all can be released (iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini, iPod touch) at the same time.

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Now suddenly praise the Nexus 7 on how awesome it is when it has no removable battery, no rear camera, no microSD slot, no HDMI port.

There's a word for that...starts with HYPO...

 

[Eadfrith]

HAHA this is hilarious. The anti-Apple zealots in the discussions on all of these sites are FUMING that the iPad mini has received positive reviews from pretty much every review.

I think most of them are on here now too lol

 

[roxxette]

Still no interest to read your comments.

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Yes, they manage to have sluggish 7" tablet and low battery life by putting a retina display with an OS that need a patch to be as fluid as iOS 6 on a 3GS with quad-core CPU and 2GB of memory...

You care more than him that you couldnt resist to respond lol nexus 7 low battery life ? Sluggish ? Have you even used one ? mate your just hater, i own a ipad and have used a nexus 7; it all comes down to what OS you prefer.....

 

[8a22a]

Yotta-excited now.

 

[gpat]

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.

Premium brands usually offer superior products at an higher price. Apple took 2-year old hardware, installed it into a smaller chassis, and pretended to call it a day, so they can rip customers off next year with the "magical" "new" iPad Mini.
Also, do you know why Apple produced this product? Because there was a market for it, started from the competition. Innovation? Zero.