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Rumors Continue to Point to November 2 Launch Date for 'iPad Mini'
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I just wanted to say that I'm quite excited about this new "iPad Mini."
Things that will keep me from buying it:
1) Performance not being great. I know that it's unlikely that Apple would ever release a product with "bad" performance, but I also am aware of the various (potential) positioning issues that Apple may want to avoid. With the (supposed) emphases on books, it's possible that the performance may not be played up as much as the new exciting form factor perfectly suited for reading. I for one would rather have perfect/great performance as apposed to a high resolution display, as the deal breaker for me with any device is performance/stuttering.
2) A gimped/hybrid iOS. I'm interested in the iPad application ecosystem. For instance Photosmith (http://www.photosmithapp.com/). I would be worried or at least more likely to hold off if the "iPad Mini" was not able to run applications that ran on the iPad 10". To be fair, I don't know exactly how well all iPad 10" applications will scale down to the 7.85" display, and I'd probably tend to trust Apple was making the correct move if they required applications be specifically released for the new size (doubtful, I'm sure they aren't interested in fragmentation), but again if this did happen I would want to hold back and wait to see what happened. Same with the idea that the device might run iPhone/iPod Touch iOS. That would be a very big turn off for me.
Basically, I loved my iPad 2, bought a "new iPad" the day I could pre-order, but returned it soon after I got it on account of the size/weight (a small difference, but enough that it made using one handed wile on public transit (BART) uncomfortable), and decided to wait to see if a smaller iPad was released. I will pay any amount of money, up to $500 for an iPad Mini, but am guessing the base model will start somewhere between 299 and 400. I am fine with the iPad 2 resolution scaled down to the iPad Mini, assuming display quality is still great. I'd rather this then have a ridiculous resolution at the cost of performance or battery life. Given the "new iPad" performance/battery/etc, I'd rather Apple wait a generation before doing anything too crazy, and focus on great battery/performance/weight for now. I also feel that because of the smaller size, the pixel density even at iPad 2's resolution would be good/acceptable.
Things that will keep me from buying it:
1) Performance not being great. I know that it's unlikely that Apple would ever release a product with "bad" performance, but I also am aware of the various (potential) positioning issues that Apple may want to avoid. With the (supposed) emphases on books, it's possible that the performance may not be played up as much as the new exciting form factor perfectly suited for reading. I for one would rather have perfect/great performance as apposed to a high resolution display, as the deal breaker for me with any device is performance/stuttering.
2) A gimped/hybrid iOS. I'm interested in the iPad application ecosystem. For instance Photosmith (http://www.photosmithapp.com/). I would be worried or at least more likely to hold off if the "iPad Mini" was not able to run applications that ran on the iPad 10". To be fair, I don't know exactly how well all iPad 10" applications will scale down to the 7.85" display, and I'd probably tend to trust Apple was making the correct move if they required applications be specifically released for the new size (doubtful, I'm sure they aren't interested in fragmentation), but again if this did happen I would want to hold back and wait to see what happened. Same with the idea that the device might run iPhone/iPod Touch iOS. That would be a very big turn off for me.
Basically, I loved my iPad 2, bought a "new iPad" the day I could pre-order, but returned it soon after I got it on account of the size/weight (a small difference, but enough that it made using one handed wile on public transit (BART) uncomfortable), and decided to wait to see if a smaller iPad was released. I will pay any amount of money, up to $500 for an iPad Mini, but am guessing the base model will start somewhere between 299 and 400. I am fine with the iPad 2 resolution scaled down to the iPad Mini, assuming display quality is still great. I'd rather this then have a ridiculous resolution at the cost of performance or battery life. Given the "new iPad" performance/battery/etc, I'd rather Apple wait a generation before doing anything too crazy, and focus on great battery/performance/weight for now. I also feel that because of the smaller size, the pixel density even at iPad 2's resolution would be good/acceptable.
Several possibilities were floated, but by far the favorite was iSlate. Every rumor site picked up on the name so it gained a kind of consensus legitimacy in the media. It was unearned. In fact that was an obviously terrible name.
Doubtful, if only because it would confuse the iOS line with the Mac line. Yes I know Apple is sort of merging them, but not to this degree. It also doesn't say anything about the product. Probably mini or nano is the most consist with Apple's naming strategy, but suffice to say, Apple's Ministry of Names has surprised us before.
Wasn't there a rumor recently that Apple will market the mini as a reading device? In that case, I don't think that 8GB is a joke. It should be enough to hold books and such.
I'd probably mostly use it on the subway for reading. So 8GB would be enough for me, and it could help keep the price down.
I just want Apple to make the best product possible and not worry about meeting some price point. To me 8GB is marketing saying we need to meet price X and finance/operations saying we can only meet price X and retain a margin of Y if the specs are Z. Plus I don't want to see Apple start competing in a race to the bottom. That hurts their brand, IMO. Let Google and Amazon fight over the bottom. If Apple could find a way to build a 16GB model for $250-299 I think that would be huge. Probably wouldn't have retina display but maybe it would come in colors or maybe there are changes on the software/iBooks side to make it a really compelling offering.
Excited for the mini! Since I'm in the market for an iPad, it'll be interesting to compare and contrast with iPad 2 and new iPad. In other words, I could be convinced either way depend on price-point vs. performance/features.
Yeah I can't see the 8GB working. With most Apps now containing Retina graphics, which have ballooned the average size of an App, 8GB just isn't gonna cut it. I believe the minimum is going to be 16GB. My bet on spec is
A5X
1GB RAM (although I could squint my eyes and see it being 512MB)
16Gb - $250
32GB - $299
64GB - $350
I don't really know how I feel about the ipad mini. I don't think it is something I plan to consider because of its expense. I have a normal ipad and don't see the reason to buy a mini. However I will tell you that your poetic has been designing some ipad mini cases for it that will be bomb.
Yeah but I believe in order to hit the price point they want they won't. Also with the iPad 2 resolution on a smaller screen, they're not that far off from Retina. Even with a resolution of 1024x768 it'll still look better than the iPad 2!
$349 8gb
$449 16gb
$549 32gb
pointless piece of junk
do you want to make iPads for the rest of your life
or do you want to change the world
What?
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
"can" and "will" are very different things. Do you not know of the "save something for version 2" curse?
Cue 200+ posts of closet marketers with "why would they do that? It would hurt iPad sales"
...to go with the 2000+ posts of closet marketers arguing why a bigger-screen mini can't possibly cost less than the iPod Touch with the same memory specs (ignoring that bigger-screen iPads with cellular are priced cheaper than unlocked iPhones).
All that said though: I hope you are right (about the retina).
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Without a graphic card installed - she wouldn't see a thing....LOL....just saying. I think you meant a discrete graphics card maybe? LOL
perfect for my sister and my mum even without retina as they wont see the difference anyway. i mean, my mum runs her vaio without a graphic card installed and doesnt see how bad it looks
Why not? This is the Kiddie iPad. Good for junior, for schools, for folks that read email, do a little facetime etc. There are folks like that so this size would work
With increasing labor rates in China and further currency destruction here, I would expect an upward bias in Apple pricing this year of $50 on pads and $100-200 on computers.
Phones are a service contract annuity so is more impacted by VoIP adoption than labor and currency. But I would expect data pricing to stay sticky high in response.
Rocketman
Phones are a service contract annuity so is more impacted by VoIP adoption than labor and currency. But I would expect data pricing to stay sticky high in response.
Rocketman