iPad mini So, now the iPad mini is the "ideal" form factor for the iPad

[mcdj]

I think the Mini is a sign of the times for Apple. They are headed down a "me too" road of competitor influence. They succumbed, slightly, to calls for a larger iphone, and now a smaller ipad, both of which SJ was basically against.

With SJ gone, the bean counters are gaining ground and instead of focusing on forging new markets, they are now answering existing markets, and monetizing the crap out of everything from leftover screens to proprietary cables.

I think we'll see a wider phone next year. And of course a retina mini.

 

[fizzwinkus]

If I was still using a Mac Pro, I would have gotten an iPad 4. 4" to 10" to 24" works well.
Since I moved to a 15" MacBook Pro, the mini fits better. 4" to 8" to 15" works well.

The 8" iPad mini still has a better sized and better proportioned screen than all the other 7" tablets. It's funny seeing all the apple haters go "ZOMGFLIPFLOPPERZZZSWIFTBOATHAIRCUTS"

 

[raccoonboy]

I think the Mini is a sign of the times for Apple. They are headed down a "me too" road of competitor influence. They succumbed, slightly, to calls for a larger iphone, and now a smaller ipad, both of which SJ was basically against.

With SJ gone, the bean counters are gaining ground and instead of focusing on forging new markets, they are now answering existing markets, and monetizing the crap out of everything from leftover screens to proprietary cables.

I think we'll see a wider phone next year. And of course a retina mini.

I also read that article about apple now releasing a "me too" product. Its a great piece of reading.

 

[sweetbrat]

Steve jobs says 10inch was perfect and everyone agrees, now 7.8 is the perfect size


Lol, classic

There's actually a lot of us that have been wanting a smaller iPad for a long time. That's why I never bought the original one. I don't care what someone else tells me the perfect size is. I can make up my own mind, thanks. I also don't care if someone tells me the PPI is too low, or if the bezel is too small. I used it, I like it, and there' a lot of people out there that are like me. We are all allowed to have our own opinions, and they're not wrong just because they don't agree with your own.

 

[nanotoj]

There's actually a lot of us that have been wanting a smaller iPad for a long time. That's why I never bought the original one. I don't care what someone else tells me the perfect size is. I can make up my own mind, thanks. I also don't care if someone tells me the PPI is too low, or if the bezel is too small. I used it, I like it, and there' a lot of people out there that are like me. We are all allowed to have our own opinions, and they're not wrong just because they don't agree with your own.

Ditto for all that ...This is the size I have wanted all along and have no problem after using it a LOT since launch day. I have used it so much I am questioning my reason for waiting but then I picked up a friends iPad 2 at work yesterday and the weight gave me my answer. If the 5 is lighter I will get one of those too, but the mini, because i use it so much, will only make me realize the possibilities for the larger one. Every day I use it I am finding that this size does work best for me in most situations. I am happy with it.

 

[sneaky butcher]

There's actually a lot of us that have been wanting a smaller iPad for a long time. .

well a poll on here registered 80% against apple releasing an ipad mini.

looks like your part of the 20% of apple consumers who can think for themselves.

 

[ZBoater]

...looks like your part of the 20% of apple consumers who can think for themselves.

No offense to Macrumors intended, but a Macrumors poll is not exactly what I would call "representative"...

 

[sweetbrat]

No offense to Macrumors intended, but a Macrumors poll is not exactly what I would call "representative"...

So true. MacRumors is not a cross-section of the general population. Not even close. People on here tend to be Apple fans, and tech geeks. So any poll done here will be very skewed from a poll taken at random from the general population.

 

[sneaky butcher]

im sorry everyone the actual poll was "do you want a smaller ipad version"

the reason for the results is becuase most ifans (80%) just parrot whatever apple says at the time. You really think results would be the same if the poll was done again today?

I bet 80% on here would vote "yes"

 

[iosuser]

I was looking for sand paper in my iPad mini box but didn't find any It's interesting to see how Apple is backing away from some of SJ's comments.

I do love the mini. I've had every iPad, now have iPad 3 and Mini so I can sell my other 7" tab now. It'd be great if I can justify upgrading my 3 to a 4 so I can use a single cable...

 

[GoCubsGo]

Aside from whatever John Gruber is saying or what Steve Jobs said, what happened to all the forum posters who were saying 9.7 is the perfect size for them? Did they all change their mind? Or staying quiet? Just buried under the torrent of attention the mini is getting?

I did spend five minutes playing with the mini at an Apple store, and my first impression is that 9.7 is the right size for me, and 7.9 is a bit small, both in terms of viewing area, but also because I found the device size awkward to hold. It seems too big to hold with one hand, but kind of awkward to hold with two. I do love how light it is, though, and am hoping the next iPad (5) will be a lot lighter than the 2/3/4.

This is my experience as well. I think my hands are average size and it felt slightly awkward to hold in one hand (though doable). I would most certainly say that for my needs (couch surfing and night time video viewing) that the larger is better for me. Again, I will always say if I had to commute to work (public transport) or was flying often like I did in the past then the smaller one would be ideal.

 

[jclardy]

Ipad mini is ugly. The thinner bezel made it ugly. Tablets should leave space for you to put your thumb on, even at 7 or 8 inch not everyone can palm it.

Sorry but no, you don't have to palm it. Because it weighs around half a pound it is incredibly easy to hold while walking around with your thumb on the side bezel. The larger bezel of the 9.7" iPad is needed for you to be able to hold the device with one hand without touching the screen.

 

[takeshi74]

At the macro level there is no single ideal size for a tablet. It is a matter of personal needs and preferences.

^ This. Why do the opinions of others matter? Use what works for you. Anyone broadly proclaiming what is or isn't ideal for every person out there should be disregarded. In other words, always consider the source.

 

[BenTrovato]

Steve Jobs knew his decisions would ultimately lead to a successful Apple and could handle the board. He made you WANT Apple products. Cook inherits the position as a chief. A chief has obligations to the board and investors. Apple is very profitable right now but what they fail to see is that a hugely successful Apple is what Jobs was so good at doing. All these products that they are coming out with now are just to satisfy people in the market to boost market shares, and statistics. Something Jobs would never directly do but accomplished it indirectly through innovation and telling customers what they wanted instead of listening to them and giving them what they ask. Stock is going down. Welcome to the new Apple - the one that goes up and down. The one that is sometimes better than Microsoft, Samsung, and Google - and sometimes not.

 

[fertilized-egg]

Now that I've purchased the thing, I feel it's slightly too small. It's better than 7" tablets, but just barely big enough to fit the tablet apps.

I wonder if the big thing isn't the size but the weight. I know it's technically not possible but if the big iPad weighed about the same as the iPad mini, the sentiment would've been a bit different.

I think the Mini is a sign of the times for Apple. They are headed down a "me too" road of competitor influence. They succumbed, slightly, to calls for a larger iphone, and now a smaller ipad, both of which SJ was basically against.

Isn't that exactly what Steve Jobs did with iPods? In the iPod Mini keynote back in 2004 I vividly remember Steve Jobs showing the pie chart and saying they want to "go after the (existing players)"

In fact in that keynote, Steve Jobs does another thing what many are now saying "Steve Jobs wouldn't have done that", which is pitting a new Apple product against existing competition. The exactly same happened with the first Macbook Air keynote as well - moving into a market where there are other competition, comparing Apple's new offering against them.

That still doesn't mean Tim Cook can explore a "new" market or bring the sense of obsession with designs like Jobs could but so many of the "Steve Jobs wouldn't have done that"s, Jobs has/had done that.

 

[HowardSmith]

Apple did the mini because it is all about making money and choice for it's users! They are down to about 50% of the tablet market and HAD to give users the choice of a smaller device.

It is up to each person to make that choice

 

[cang87]

If Apple designs a 6'' iPad tomorrow and when people buy it, everyone will start to think it is the 'ideal' form. No device can be 'ideal' just because of it's new release. If we were using iPad 7.9'' till now and the 9.7'' was just released, it was going to be the 'ideal' for guys like you.

It's too early for saying 'ideal' for the Mini. Especially the name says what it is. Don't get lost in your dreams. The real and competitive tablet product of Apple is still 9.7'' iPad and it will be same for some more years.

 

[ninermac]

For me, I believe the Mini is the ideal size... for others it won't be. I was using the iPad 3 for daily duties until I got a laptop from work and now that can server for work purposes. So, now the iPad is becoming more a content consumption device which seems to be better in the mini form factor.

 

[orfeas0]

Steve jobs says 10inch was perfect and everyone agrees, now 7.8 is the perfect size


Lol, classic

Steve Jobs changed his opinion on a day-to-day basis. No reason to take his word when he can't change it (RIP).

It's all a matter of preference...

 

[zhenya]

While I agree that technically it might have been difficult at the time (many of you might have forgotten or not know this, but the iPad 1 is MUCH thicker than the 2/3/4), the other point Gruber makes is equally important - that if you remember back to the original iPad release, it was almost treated as a joke because it was 'just a big iPhone.' People couldn't conceptually grasp why the experience would be better on this device than what they already had on their phones and laptops or netbooks. Most people couldn't grasp this at all until they actually used one at home for a while. He goes on to point out that a 7.9" device would have reinforced this perception and perhaps limited developer interest in the platform, choosing instead to just scale up their phone apps (ie. the problem that still plagues Android 7" devices to some extent today).

You may not always agree with Gruber, but he does tend to put a lot more thought into his blog entries than goes into 99% of posts here.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Here's my opinion.

I think that, due to the same reasons that Gruber addressed, Apple absolutely did the right thing by starting with 9.7" and going down to 7.9" like they did. I think in hindsight they would have done it exactly the same way for those same reasons.

Now do I think that Apple sat there and said "Ok... 7.9 is the idea size, but we just don't have the technology to make it that size at the necessary thinness, weight, and price. Also, we want it to be significantly bigger than the iPhone to give it more of a 'full computer' feel and to force devs to update their apps instead of just letting them use blown up iPhone apps. So let's start with 9.7" and then move down to our ideal size in 2.5 years, after we can make it thin enough, cheap enough, and when people have already adopted it as a computer replacement item and all the iPad apps are written." Of course not....

However... I do think the Apple used all of those SAME factors to determine that 9.7" was the ideal size at the time to achieve the desired thinness, weight, price, size difference, and just overall appeal of the device. Since then I think they have re-evaluated, and based on the advances in technology (and how people have been using the iPad) determined that 7.9" will provide an ideal experience. I feel the 7.9" would not have been successful at all if it had been made as thick (or maybe even thicker) than the the original iPad. The reason for it's success is the thinness and weight.

So I think Gruber is right, just Apple probably wasn't quite so deliberate about it back in 2009 (when it was being developed).

 

[sneaky butcher]

seriously its just not that complicated.

apple failed to predict a market for smaller tablets, saw the competition getting results in that market and made a smaller tablet of their own.

its not rocket science. Unless you want to try and jump through hoops for fear of admitting apple isn't perfect.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Of course it's ideal. You can now use it with one hand, according to Apple.

But... not those smartphones over 4". Those you can't use with one hand. No no no.

Observe:

In the official iPad Mini video, Ive explicitly says "...you can still pick it up and easily use it with one hand..." Easily. Earlier in the video, they make the distinction that you can hold it with one hand, but at the 2:10 mark, they're clearly talking about using it with one hand.

Video is here: http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/overview/#video-ipad-mini-features)

Going by that reasoning, any device can be used one handed, yet according to their iPhone 5 campaign, one of the main talking points is that anything larger than a 4" smartphone is unusable with one hand.

So either the iPad Mini can be used one handed (like it says in the video) and therefore so can other smaller smartphones, or nothing above the iPhone 5 screen size (like it says in the iPhone campaigns) can be used one handed in which case the iPad Mini video is a lie.

----------

seriously its just not that complicated.

Apple failed to predict a market for smaller tablets, saw the competition getting results in that market and made a smaller tablet of their own.

Its not rocket science. Unless you want to try and jump through hoops for fear of admitting apple isn't perfect.

+1. It's okay to admit Apple makes mistakes.

For the record, I love my iPad 3rd gen.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Of course it's ideal. You can now use it with one hand, according to Apple.

But... not those smartphones over 4". Those you can't use with one hand. No no no.

You are nuts if you actually think Apple meant that you can easily hold the iPad mini and use it all with the same hand.... you aren't actually thinking that are you? I don't own one (play with one a couple times for a few minutes) so I can't actually test it out, but I have a feeling it is impossible to touch 90% of the screen when holding it with one hand... and I'm talking about people with big hands. Children/women? Forget it.

 

[onthecouchagain]

You are nuts if you actually think Apple meant that you can easily hold the iPad mini and use it all with the same hand.... you aren't actually thinking that are you? I don't own one (play with one a couple times for a few minutes) so I can't actually test it out, but I have a feeling it is impossible to touch 90% of the screen when holding it with one hand... and I'm talking about people with big hands. Children/women? Forget it.

I agree it's nuts, but that's what Apple says:
http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/overview/#video-ipad-mini-features

In the official iPad Mini video, Ive explicitly says "...you can still pick it up and easily use it with one hand..." Earlier in the video, they make the distinction that you can hold it with one hand, but at the 2:10 mark, they're clearly talking about using it with one hand.

Watch it.

I agree, it's an absurd claim that a mini tablet can be used one handed while a large smartphone can't.