Apple unveils iPad mini, upgrades its big brother
Yes, it's called the iPad mini – and that was one of the few heretofore unknown facts about the new iPad that Apple rolled out at its "a lttle more" event on Tuesday in San José, California. That and its price: $329 for the entry-level, Wi-Fi model. Pre-announcement speculation was somewhere in the $299 range, with some overly …
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Interesting as in the curse?
It's clearly priced out of major competition with Nexus, Kindle & Nook so we can only hope they decided to maintain their iPadded margin that way even if it cuts into sales of iPad the larger it won't be a kick in the shorts.
Re: Interesting as in the curse?
You do realise that Google and Amazon are selling their devices below cost? In order to lure people into their ecosystem, they've decided to sell their tablets for an incredibly low price, thereby screwing their OEM partners (in the case of Google, same as with Microsoft). Yes, Apple extracts a healthy profit from their devices, but then isn't that the mainstay of capitalism?
Best Amazon commercial I have seen all year. Didn't cost them a thing either.
Yup, the investors certainly don't seem too happy. AAPL stocks have taken a sharp drop following the announcement. I dont place too much faith in the markets, but it looks like the shine is definitely starting to come off.
Market adage:
Buy on rumour, sell on fact. Unless the announcement was wildly beyond all expectations the stock price was going to go down as speculators take their profit.
Re: Market adage:
That certainly makes sense, does look like there's been a climb over the past few months.
Can't help think that Apple kit never lives up to the hype. Whether that reflects on the quality of the kit or the reliability of Apple gossip is a completely different discussion though!
Re: Market adage:
It has been going down markedly for the last month or so.
So rumours made it fall and so did yesterdays fact.
The stark business reality here is that this starkly looks like Apple's last great cash grab before that seismic perception shift.
UK pricing
£269 for the cheapest model, £80 between each model and £100 extra for 3/4G
compared to £190 for the Nexus and £160 for the ad supported kindle fire HD. You'd have to be very committed to Apple/iOS to go for the ipad.
Re: UK pricing
If you don't want an e-ink kindle why would you want anything else? Even the "awesome" Nexus was plagued with problems that makes it looks like cheap rubbish.
Re: UK pricing
Because expensive rubbish is so much better? Never understood that turn of phrase personally, Id much rather spend close to fuck all than a fortune on something that turns out to be shit.
Not that this is intended as a view of any of the kit, more an OT ramble
Re: UK pricing
I paid £56 inc postage from ebay for a new 7" Android tablet. It does email, web, video Skype, Angry Birds, movies, Google Play, etc. What more is a 7" device supposed to do? I accept for 3x the money a £160 Nexus is faster and the top of the line 3D games run smoother on it, but what more would I get with an ipad mini for 5x the cost? 5x as much fun? 5x as much productivity? I doubt it. Not everyone has cash to splash so every £/$ counts.
A few years ago I thought only rich fanatics bought Apple products but I've seen friends who always say they're broke own the latest iphones and ipads. If they're hard up they should realise a designer label isn't important and the functionality they need can be found is products at a fraction of the cost. Moan over.
@toadwarrior
"Even the "awesome" Nexus was plagued with problems that makes it looks like cheap rubbish."
Citation needed. I know of several people who have Nexus 7's and no-one who has been plagued with problems. And it doesn't look, or behave, like cheap rubbish.
iPad mini - 4:3 screen size. I expected a 16:9. I owe someone on these forums a virtual beer...
iPad mini at £269 =
No thanks.
It sounds crazy to call it 'old tech', but that's exactly what it is. In the lightning fast world of computer hardware, it's a shruken iPad 2. And spare a thought for all those who invested a large chunk of change on an iPad 3 six months ago. A very small, smug, thought.
With the loss of Jobs, it does seem Apple is starting to lose direction. Love, loath or 'meh' him, Jobs had a certain style and polish - that's sadly lacking now.
About the only highlight was the stunning looking new iMac range. There's no doubt, they are *incredibly* sexy beasts, but the price? Less so.
Re: iPad mini at £269 =
Guess we should spare a thought on everyone who invested a large chunk of change on an Android phone two months ago as well then.
Re: iPad mini at £269 =
"Guess we should spare a thought on everyone who invested a large chunk of change on an Android phone two months ago as well then."
Can you be more specific?
Re: iPad mini at £269 =
Excepting that it got the iPad 3 CPU, iPad 4 LTE radio and WiFi, the new Lightning connector, a new screen and case then yes, it's identical to an iPad 2. /s
Re: iPad mini at £269 =
"Excepting that it got the iPad 3 CPU, iPad 4 LTE radio and WiFi, the new Lightning connector, a new screen and case then yes, it's identical to an iPad 2"
Err... try again... http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/compare/
iPad 2 & iPad mini both have the A5 processor and 1024 x 768 screens, the iPad 3 has the A6 and 2048 x 1536 screen. All 3 have the same wi-fi specs.
Those Apple-tinted glasses need cleaning.
Re: iPad mini at £269 =
"the iPad 3 has the A6 "
No it doesn't - it has an A5X.
"Spare a thought for those who invested in an iPad 3"
Yes, think on how they'll be able to use all existing peripherals while people who buy an iPad 4 or Mini will have to replace theirs.
The manufacturers of iCade must be spitting teeth; their device is now obsolete, and due to its nature (it's an arcade-style case with joystick) you can't use an adaptor with it.
Pricing fail ...
£269 for the base model? They're having a giraffe .... never mind iPad Mini, it's more like an iPod Maxi.
I now eagerly await the news that the iPod Touch will be rebranded as the iPad Nano ...
Re: Pricing fail ...
... it's more like an iPod Maxi...
Now there's a crossover product...
Costly memory
So it's £80 for and extra 16GB of memory and another £80 for another 32GB of memory.
If only they provided MicroSD slots for consumers to decide for themselves.
And you cant even use a USB 3G dongle for calling/data plans and download. Stuck to WIfi unless one coughts up another £100.
Fanbois, open wide this time. St. Jobs cometh for you.
WTF
Suspicious
I can't help but think the size, shape and position of buttons not to mention the rounded corners suggests that this is nothing more than a rip off of certain Samsung products. I hope they reap what they sow.
Expensive
It strikes me that Google and Amazon have correctly priced these toys in the toy price bracket. A lot of people out there will drop £130-160 on something on a whim, but £269 is a bit more of a commitment.
(yes, I know that someone will have some stories about how these are used for some serious application, but most of them are really toys).
I was all set for it, and at $250 or so I'd have bought in, but at this price its a fail for me. I'm not paying that much for 16 gig.
I an disappointed.
Prices
Ipad Mini
Wifi Only
16GB £269
32GB £349
64GB £429
Wi-Fi + Cellular
16GB £369
32GB £449
64GB £529
I'm waiting to see how much for a 32 GB Nexus 7 3g please...
Re: Prices
>I'm waiting to see how much for a 32 GB Nexus 7 3g please...
Still £199, but with no £15 app voucher - prices leaked last week from Argos Catalogue initially then elsewhere.........but if it were even vaguely about price/value Apple would be long since bankrupt.
Re: Prices
Erm, no. Thats the WiFi only version. The 3G version we're still waiting on the announcement for that (next week apparently)
The way I see it, with the pricing they have the main competitor for the mini is umm, an iPad 2 although you can get a Samsung Tab 2 for around the same price as a mini so it's a 7" competing with 10"? What kind of idiot would blow that much cash on a 7" and not a little more for the 10" version or a lot less if they really want a 7" from Google/Amazon? I'm discounting Windows RT tablets until they come out, the Surface is just too expensive.
Cake and eating it too!
What I love is the spin Apple puts on things. First, it was "OK, our screen is smaller, but just LOOK at the resolution!" Now, with a lower resolution, it's "Look how much BIGGER our screen is!"
apple innovation harvest low this season..
Same stuff with different measurements, same bland OS.
The side bezel looks a bit thin too but then apple know ergonomics right?
The competition are already way ahead with unique designs to really start drilling home the benefits of a well resourced R&D dept. Will the fanbois notice? Doubt it...
A flat near featureless slab is not my idea of good tech.
Finally, I sincerely hope 'education' via ipad poking is a very small fad, what a sorry state of profiteering... apple essentially stealing kids dinner money to aid their quest for cash. Sick.
Re: apple innovation harvest low this season..
Are you kidding? Brand it "educational" and kids stay away in droves"
Re: apple innovation harvest low this season..
Apple products are stylish, not ergonomic. I found out about that when I accidentally invested in a 13" macbook unibody a couple years back. The edge below the keyboard was so sharp, it created painful cut marks on my palms. The thing would get extremely hot as aluminum conducts heat (I was trying to use it for work, not just organizing itunes library). The no button touchpad is a disaster for usability. (Unfortunately other manufacturers started using the clickpads also and got rid off the physical buttons.)
Your cut-out'n'keep guide
Shortly after launch a hardware issue with ##### will arise, which Apple will ignore until the swell of protest becomes too great. Some time later Apple will punish customers for %%%%ing with their tablets, sparking a well-worn debate about the walled garden and ownership of their device. This will last almost until the release of the next Apple tablets, which will be &&&&&er than their previous ones.
[In the meantime Android will suffer a @@@@@ lapse and ***** issues. RIM will complete another orbit of the drain.]
Re: Your cut-out'n'keep guide
And speaking of RIM, Playbooks are down to C$149 for the 32 Gb version. (Staples had this price for a while, but it seems London Drugs has joined the fray.)
Re: Your cut-out'n'keep guide
It's £129 for the 64Gb Version in the UK (at Currys/PC World)
It looks just like a...
Samsung Galaxy Note, LG Vu, (insert other idenitcal small form factor tablet name here) only better.
Apparently.
I really couldn't careless but I will enjoy telling fanbois that it's sh*t. Always good for me when I'm feeling down.
Re: It looks just like a...
Except the resolution on my Note II is 1280x720 ish. Better resolution over a smaller area, and similar usage distance from face usually. And it fits in a pocket comfortably (by comparison).
Bedsores galore?
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/23/tech/mobile/apple-goes-small/index.html
"When the iPad came out, it was intended to be a consumption device. Ads for the tablet showed people reclining in various environments, clutching the iPad like a book. The spacious 10-inch screen was ideal for watching movies and TV shows, playing games, surfing the Web and otherwise consuming content.
That's how most tablet owners use their devices. Tablets are homebodies, used most often in the living room (30% of the time according to Nielsen) followed by the bedroom (21% of the time).
"Fully half the time they're using tablets, they don't leave the couch or the bed," said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps. "If you can do everything on the smaller iPad you can on the larger iPad -- that plus the added convenience of being able to take it with you more places could take the wind out of the sales of Amazon.""
So, are they snapping and then discarding remote photos to say with certsinty that these users are in bed and on their sofas? Or, are they satisfied with self-reported surveys? I wonder how many tablet users (all tablets, mind you) are seeking therapy for bedsores, and sore backs. It definitely is easier to surf in bed from my Tab 10.1 than to try doing so with my 6lbs laptop in bed. (So far, no bed sores for me... YET.)
3rd generation iPad
For me, the biggest announcment today was that they've released a 4th generation iPad after only six months. Is this a sign that they are changing to two new versions a year? I own a 3rd gen. iPad* (yes I know... ) but to me this seems more likely to upset people than the poor 'mini' version.
*Personally I didn't want an iPad, I wanted a Transformer Prime but ASUS were utter dicks and only sold the 32GB version with keyboard dock in the UK. That was more expensive than the iPad and that coupled with the display resolution made sense to me for checking photos on the go with the camera connector / USB connector.
Re: 3rd generation iPad
Then people are stupid. The iPad they bought is still very fast, in fact the iPad2 is fast! They are NOT expecting people to upgrade every new version, which is why they've stopped numbering them.
@JDX
As someone elsewhere mentioned, the increased cost of Apple stuff over other products is usually excused with it being the new iThing for a year. This changes that and for some (not me, I don't even play games on mine) will mean either spending more to have the most recent or going elsewhere. I don't care either way, it just seems like a very bad strategy to start at this point in time.
Re: 3rd generation iPad
>For me, the biggest announcment today was that they've released a 4th generation iPad after only six >months. Is this a sign that they are changing to two new versions a year? I own a 3rd gen. iPad* (yes I >know... ) but to me this seems more likely to upset people than the poor 'mini' version.
No, it just shows they are switching to an October release for new iPads. Which is much better for the Christmas market than March - as then by the time you get to Christmas you're thinking - I won't buy an iPad now because there will be a new one in a couple of months.
Hmmm
> is usually excused with it being the new iThing for a year
Ah well, if you buy for "bling" rather than actual feature set then there is no real "value" in the value proposition anyway. If users insist on making purchasing choices on the possible future actions of a corporation rather than the actual benefit of the device then ...
/me logs out of humanity and goes and looks for a better species to join.
Re: Hmmm
" /me logs out of humanity and goes and looks for a better species to join."
You may want to look into the delphinidae family, I hear they have sex for fun.
Paris because, well just because.
The main reason for the iPad 4 is to extract more money from gullible Crapple fans with the new "we can charge you £25 for an adaptor" connection port....
and ...
grosso modo, it seems to be working. Why in creation do you bother?
"price kept low presumably by Amazon's desire not to make money on hardware, but rather on content purchases from its online store."
It'd be interesting if Apple took this stance...
Hmmmmm
Will Apple be taking BMW to court for stealing the Mini name?
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