iPad Mini announced

[haven]

iFixit has performed a tear-down of the iPad Mini, and documented the process with lots of photos. So if you want to find out which components are used inside, look here:

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad+Mini+Teardown/11423

 

[haven]

"What is the point of the LTE thing. I mean with the modem, what can you call anyhow?"

The cellular modem in a tablet like the iPad Mini, be it HSPA+ or LTE, is for digital data. That means it won't work for traditional voice or texting service provided by your cell phone company. This difference in cellular modem service is what distinguishes a cell phone from a tablet.

However, a cellular modem will allow voice over IP (VOIP). So if you have signed up with a VOIP service like Skype, Oovoo, or Google Voice, you can send and receive voice calls.

Cell phones keep getting larger. The Samsung Note 2, with its 5.5 inch screen is an example of a phone with a whopper of a screen, and phones with 6 inch screens will be here in the next 6 months.

In a few years, the cell phone carriers are planning to transition away from traditional voice and text service. When they get to near-100% coverage on their networks using LTE, then they can re-purpose the radio spectrum used today for voice and text. The result will be faster service and more value-added features (read: cell phone companies make more money).

 

[Sempertoy]

Mini's will be in stores tomorrow, I want to go check it out for myself. I hope I like it because I have on on order!

 

[Ford Prefect]

Mini's will be in stores tomorrow, I want to go check it out for myself. I hope I like it because I have on on order!

Not to worry, if you do not like it, let me know, I will shoot you my address...

 

[Sempertoy]

I went to the apple store today and played around with the mini. It is absolutely perfect! The display was crystal clear, the camera worked great. It was so light and thin. Apple really hit a home run with this one!

 

[Boost Creep]

i put in a preorder the night they put em up. mine will take slightly longer to get to me cause i got my name engraved on the back. can't wait for it to get here though. supposedly next week

 

[haven]

Research firm IHS estimates the cost of components used to manufacture the iPad Mini is $188. Retail is $329, so $141 profit to use to pay for development, marketing, and support. Previously, IHS estimated the profit Apple makes on a full size iPad 3 to be $180.

http://allthingsd.com/20121104/two-...-microsoft-surface-and-amazon-kindle-fire-hd/

A similar report from IHS shows the Amazon Kindle HD bill of materials to be $187, compared to a retail price of $199. So it's true that Amazon (and Google and Barnes and Noble) don't make very much on the sale of one of the 7 inch Android tablets. That makes it pretty painful when outdated models (read: six month old models) have to be discounted to $130 to $150 to make them attractive.

Last is the Microsoft Surface RT. IHS estimates the bill of materials is about $271 for the base Surface RT, which has 32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM, and includes a copy of Microsoft Office Home and Student. List price for the Surface RT is $499. So Microsoft shows a profit of $228, before subtracting development, marketing and support costs.

Microsoft specified a lower resolution display for the Surface RT, compared to the iPad. That's probably where the extra $50 in profit per unit comes from.

 

[reece146]

Wandered over to Apple at lunch to handle the iPad Mini. Not small enough to bother with for my personal use case; more of the same.

I compared to a cheapo 7" Android at another store. The wide screen Android will likely be more usable for me (i.e. smaller). Reserving final judgement until I get a Nexus 7 in my hands.

If I didn't already have an iPad and didn't need/want retina I'd buy a Mini.

For in vehicle use I'm still more inclined to go with the full size device (~10") for the larger display, regardless of platform. It seems to be a nice size to be usable while not crowding out your passenger. This is with a small interior like a Jeep Cherokee for context.

 

[Ford Prefect]

I went and checked it out on the 7th, really nice. My wife was great too, it was her Birthday, and she picked the resturant next door, so I was told I could slip out and check it out.

The thing is super thin (all things considered) are thinner than the phones. The display worked just fine for me, and really I did not notice any problems at all with it watching a movie on there etc. Also I am pretty sure it will fit into my pocket, but the cord was a touch too short for me to know for sure. The sales guy was sure wondering what I was doing trying to slip it in there with the massive cord attached! lol.

At any rate, I think that may well be the trick for me. Easy to use, functionality much the same as the full size, but with a few cool new tricks it seems.

 

[Sempertoy]

Got my tracking number! Monday is going to be sweet!

 

[Sempertoy]

Picked up my mini today. Also installed motionx HD. Very excited to try this combo out.

 

[hitek79]

I got my Mini on Monday. It's absolutely perfect for me. It's so easy to carry everywhere.

 

[Sempertoy]

I got my Mini on Monday. It's absolutely perfect for me. It's so easy to carry everywhere.

Right?! I can't believe that I lived without this. Ok not that dramatic, but it's the perfect size!

 

[haven]

I stopped by a local Best Buy to see what the iPad Mini display looks like. It looked fine to me. If you zoom in on text, the result is not quite as nice as text on the Retina display equipped iPad 3 or 4. Conclusion: I think reviewers' wailing and gnashing of teeth about the lower resolution screen is overstated.

Apple chose to go with the lower resolution screen because it's cheaper, and because it uses less power. Low power = smaller, lighter battery needed to achieve a 10 hour run time. The iPad Mini is very, very thin and light. Other tablets feel chunky after using the iPad Mini for a few minutes.

The iPad Mini has 512KB RAM, like the iPad 2. The iPad 3 and 4 have 1 GB RAM. This is a bit troubling. At some point, updates to iOS will require too much space to operate comfortably in 512KB RAM. And sooner or later, Apple will find a retina-style display that is more power efficient. So within a year or two, I think there will be an updated iPad Mini that will be more attractive.

But who wants to wait? Apple products have very good resale value. You'll be able to get back a good percentage of your original investment when it's time to upgrade.

 

[jrose609]

Can anyone who has purchased one provide a review? Just curious what owners think after using them for a few days or weeks. Battery life, wi-fi, etc.

Anyone with an iPad 1 and a mini that can provide some comparisons?

Thanks