iPad Mini - Needs a damn retina display

[sgrinavi]

Say what you want but I really like mine - it's simple, light, plenty fast, tethers to the iphone instantly, connects with all my BT devices and the freaking battery lasts forever.

 

[mosco]

Say what you want but I really like mine - it's simple, light, plenty fast, tethers to the iphone instantly, connects with all my BT devices and the freaking battery lasts forever.

Yeah, its crazy light. I find it much more comfortable and the screen size much better than the kindle fire HD. It's fast. I still won't buy a personal one until they update the screen.

 

[Zink]

Exactly as I predicted when the iPad Mini was announced:

Poor quality screen, frame too wide for comfortable one-handed use.

Gizmodo tears into the screen even more:

http://gizmodo.com/5959068/a-week-with-the-ipad-mini

The wide size and narrow bezel do make one handed portrait use harder. On the other hand, the weight that cutting this extra bezel off saves makes it even nicer to use one handed in landscape than a Nexus 7 from what I can tell. Which one is easier to hold depends on how you use the device. For users expecting to use it like a phone or book and hold it in one hand while reading, the Nexus wins. For standard tablet use where landscape is preferred, I think the iPad mini is easier to hold.

The Gizmodo article is mostly hyperbole.
Blahg reading is still a thing and 4:3 is almost certainly better for everything but video. Letterboxing. May. Look. Ridiculous. but that is the trade-off for a taller view in landscape and more width in portrait. From my experience using 10" 16:10 and 4:3 on Android regularly, I only prefer widescreen for video and one handed portrait use. The iPad mini plays video bigger than the Nexus 7 anyway so the only valid complaint would be Apple's crappy XGA ("Needs a damn retina display").

Outdoor viewing is a big problem with tablets but there is no comparison given of the iPad to other tablets. According to displaymate's objective measurement system, the mini is in line with the iPad 2 and better than tablets such as the Xoom, Transformer, and Iconia A500. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire have awsome laminated displays but they still reflect 70% of the light that the mini does. There is also an upside to using a separate digitizer and display because instead of paying $150 to replace a cracked Nexus 7 screen (or just getting a new one), only the digitizer needs to be replaced which is less than half the cost.

I was at an Apple store this week to try out the mini and was surprised to hear someone walk in and ask for an iPad 2. At least people on a budget who want an iPad now have an awesome alternative to buying the model from a 20 months ago. From my experience I prefer the mini to the Nexus 7 for everything but books and video so it isn't completely overpriced even in that comparison.

 

[bearxor]

I'll probably end up getting one for my wife to replace her 1st gen iPad. It will be a significant upgrade from what she's perfectly happy with now and she'll appreciate the smaller size.

 

[sgrinavi]

Yeah, its crazy light. I find it much more comfortable and the screen size much better than the kindle fire HD. It's fast. I still won't buy a personal one until they update the screen.

But don't you think that if they update the screen the battery life is going to go down hill and/or the weight will go up?

 

[mosco]

But don't you think that if they update the screen the battery life is going to go down hill and/or the weight will go up?

I am hoping that this is true:

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/11/07...tina-display-for-second-generation-ipad-mini/

If they can keep it as thin, light, and as good of battery life, I will probably pick up a LTE version. For now, I will just stick with my non-LTE work one.

 

[jpeyton]

I was at an Apple store this week to try out the mini and was surprised to hear someone walk in and ask for an iPad 2. At least people on a budget who want an iPad now have an awesome alternative to buying the model from a 20 months ago.

The iPad Mini may have just come out, but it's got the same guts as the model from 20 months ago.

 

[Zink]

The iPad Mini may have just come out, but it's got the same guts as the model from 20 months ago.

*kindof
OS performance is the same but the thin/light battery wouldn't have worked as well without 32nm which is 2012 tech.