not a big deal.
only fan boys will queue up. But fanboys will already have the bigger ipads and wont want the mini, hence no queue.
Astonishing queues at times reached as far as several feet from the tills in Glasgow's Apple store, as the Wi-Fi version of the iPad mini launched in the UK. Reader Joseph Heenan reported walking in to the Apple Store, buying the device and walking out "within a couple of minutes". Heenan added that "there were staff standing …
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My conspiracy theory is that the A6 was always meant for the iPad 3 and that Apple hit delays producing it. This required a stop-gap which was the A5X. The only problem being it was fabbed at 45nm and the quad-core graphics needed to push the retina display created a very large and expensive chip.
Therefore the costs of the chip meant it was always going to be a temporary solution that would be replaced with a more cost effective 32nm A6 as soon as was feasible. I believe that was the plan all along and is why the third gen iPad was just called "the New iPad" and the fourth gen is called the "iPad with Retina display" to avoid blatantly incrementing the version number twice in one year. That Apple also had a new dock connector to help justify updating the model is probably just lucky happenstance.
this is a niche product - those that want a full tablet will already have an iPad. If you don't then you've got an iPhone. There definitely seems to be a market for the iPad mini, but if the highly unscientific sample set of people in my office is an indication, then the market is about 1/5th that of the full size iPad and a tiny fraction of that for the iPhone.
When there are no queues for an Apple launch, it is not because Apple have stopped marketing massively overpriced, overhyped tat to fashion victims. It is because their naked greed has risen to the point that their customer base can no longer afford to buy all the tat - that, and the tat is so much tattier that even fashion victims won't buy it.
To answer your points...
not everyone wants a device with a widescreen? My desktop is 2 24in 1920x1200 monitors with them rotated by 90deg giving 2400x1920., almost 5x4.
Would anyone (geeks apart) notice if the CPU is not quite the latest 'hot-rod'?
Many people already have GPS on their phone.
(I do but I have disabled it from day 1. I don't want any stinking location based adverts.)
Ok, so I own a MacBook Pro and an iPod Touch. both are several years old and do their jobs perfectly.
I didn't get an iPad mini but a Kindle HD Fire. Nice but still not as good as the company iPad I had in a past job.
Having to use iTunes does not bother me either.
The HD fire ebooks are good but there is an iPad version as well so meh!
Friday Lunch Beer Time and yes I can find my way to the pub without needing GPS
>There is such a thing as off line maps you know, like what all those sat navs use...?
Do you really think apple want you to have anything offline - especially maps?
GPS + wifi is useful because, you normally use your phone as a hotspot (one 3g contract), but you may want a larger screen than your phone. Or you may want to geolocate photo's - perhaps edited in iphoto.
Or you may be on holiday in your hotel room and be planning your day's schedule. You'll use your phone on the move, but plan stuff on the bigger screen.
It does look a little bit gloomy there. Maybe they didn't want to go out in the cold and wet.
Perhaps Apple are on the way down and people don't get excited anymore, or maybe they have saturated the market with slightly different products that overlap in function?
Two of my friends have asked me if I knew anything about the iPad Mini in the last week or so. (Disclaimer: they already know I don't like Apple) I spared them the anti-Apple rant but just asked if they had seen/considered the Nexus 7 or one of the Kindle Fires. Both of them have looked into it and are edging toward the Kindle Fire. (Just to further prove I didn't try to influence them: I would have gone for the Nexus 7 myself).
That's not scientific and probably not even relevant, but it will be interesting to see how the figures stack up after a while.
"It does look a little bit gloomy there. Maybe they didn't want to go out in the cold and wet."
It's Scotland, it always looks like that :o)
Personally I'm not that surprised. The mini only exists because the N7 and Kindle have proved so popular. Apple had to do a major u-turn on Jobs' famous "there will be no 7" ipad" statement and declarations the regular ipad is perfect for everyone. Nothing is perfect for everyone. They just seriously misjudged the number of people who wanted a smaller and/or cheaper device.
Unfortunately Apple's famously high profit margin doesn't fit well in the budget sector, so the mini ends up underspec'ed and over priced.
This means the only people who will choose to buy a mini are either:
1) Mad (crazy)
2) Already have a large investment in iOS apps
or
3) Non-tech savvy Guardian readers mislead by the hype.
This photo shows the former and latter categories have failed to show up. This is not good news for Apple. Especially if category two do the maths/math and realise just how many Android apps they could purchase with the price difference between a Nexus 7/Kindle and the mini.
You know, iPad L (Large, i.e. regular version) is way too heavy at its 600 or 700 grams (my notebook which I use for writing this reply weights approx 500 grams), especially when you have something to compare to, like e.g. Kindle. Reading books on iPad is not that great experience, neither is it that unobtrusive when stuffed with its SmartCover into messenger bag etc. I'd like to have something lighter and smaller, but not that small as iPhone, so iPad S (Small, i.e. Mini version) would fit the bill (but only with GPS, and priced below $270).
I don't see the need for GPS on a wifi only model unless you get lost in your office - oh GPS doesn't really work indoors does it? Sure if you want to use it up hills etc. you are out of luck but with no 3G or wifi many mapping applications would not work and if you need to use it out-and-about surely you would buy the 3G version WITH GPS?
Assuming that there is no magic in the mini iPad battery, it is going to have a life of 2-3 years. After which, replacing it involves removing glue, removing 16 tiny screws, and possibly wrecking the thing in the process.
Why? A Blackberry Playbook or a Nexus 7 are both much cheaper and in a few years the battery can easily be replaced and they can be handed on to the kids/grandparents/local school/Oxfam. Samsung can make phones with replaceable batteries. So can Asus and RIM. Nokia used to.
I just refuse to buy stuff from companies that build in obsolescence.
In 2-3 years time you probably won't be able to get an official / original battery anyway from those others so left with potentially iffy 3rd party ones.
As for the battery only last 2-3 years - most modern lithium ion cells are rated at 1000 full discharge cycles to 80% capacity - these devices last up to 10 hours continuous use so for most people it's going to take several days of usage to flatten it.
So let's imagine you fully discharge / charge it about 3 times a week - thats about 150 full charges a year so it could take many more years of usage to get to 80% capacity and even then the cell is not knackered.
Imagine you fully discharge and charge it every day (a pretty mean task as it would involve using it for almost every waking moment on battery) - even then after 3 years the cell would be at around 80% capacity.
Some lithium ion cells (mostly LiFEPO4) are actually rated at 2000+ full cycles to 80% but their power density is lower so they tend not to be used as much.
A blackberry playbook was obsolete before you took it out of the box. At least Apple seem to support their devices for a decent amount of time - trusty 3GS still going strong (and supported) after 4+ years now. Reality is the batteries in these devices are likely to last around 5+ years and after that you will be able to replace them but realistically things will have moved on so far you probably want to replace it.
Saying that I know people with 4-5+ year old Macbooks that are still using them and can still get spares (batteries etc.) for them so I'm sure the same will be for the iPads and other makers tablet. Apple usually have a fixed cost for replacing stuff - a friends hard drive died - they replaced it with a 1Tb brand new one, reinstalled the OS and explained how to recover using Time Machine when they got home all for just over £100 inc. (basically the cost of the part itself at that time).
Playbook obsolete before you get it out of the box ? ...... Apple by contrast support their devices for a decent amount of time ?
Advantages of Playbook
More ram
Better camera
Better video
multitasking
Dual speakers
Dual Microphone
HDMI
Rapid charging
Similar
CPU - 1 Ghz
Resolution - Mini 163 PPI vs 170 PPI on playbook
Advantages of Ipad
Apps
Battery life 10hrs (vs 7 on playbook)
Given you can get a 64 gig playbook for £120 (16 gig for £80 or £90) you would have to be mad to pay £250 for a 16 gig ipad mini ! That is why there is no one in glasgow queuing.
Btw as for BB support, in last month I have got two updates, and come Jan/Feb BB10 update is released on playbook, an OS which looks like its at least equal to IOS and is a good chance better (if previews are anything to go by)
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The mini is the cheapest iPad - so quite appealing to first timers. I can see a lot of parents buying this for 'kids homework' purposes. That's what happened when cheap slow 10" screen £199 netbooks with piddly keyboards came out.
There are only a few instances I can think of where the smaller form factor is useful, on the whole it makes more sense to go for the larger one. Just a shame its £130 more for Retina and A6X, and twice as heavy.
But it's not an iPad - the joke is people with other tablets often refer to them as iPads - most likely they do not know better. It's all down to the apps - an iPad benefits from Apple support (far better than others) and the huge and better quality 'app' library. I read about actual tablet usage and they reckoned Apple tablet devices were responsible for something like 90% of the usage when their market share is less = people use them / use them more. These cheap tablets end up as fancy remote controls or left in the car as a media player - the iPads get 'used' far more as they work very well and have plenty of apps. Long term TCO is probably lower as they most likely have better longevity and cost per hour of usage is certainly going to be lower.
"There are only a few instances I can think of where the smaller form factor is useful"
True, but they're also *all* the instances where a tablet is inherently useful. If you're toting a 10" tablet (assuming you're not carrying it around in your hands so's everyone can see it), you're toting a bag. That bag can contain a laptop which'll do everything the tablet can PLUS flight sim/netbeans/loads of porn. On the whole it makes sense to go for the smaller one.
There are plenty of reasons for this smaller one - it's cheaper, smaller (obviously) and about half the weight - probably better for children to use. Would make a great e-reader. I'm surprised people still buy the original black and white kindles - of course I appreciate most books are black and white but these days do you not prefer COLOUR?
At least they have the Fire now.
I'm surprised people still buy the original black and white kindles - of course I appreciate most books are black and white but these days do you not prefer COLOUR?
A colour e-ink would be nice, sure, but given the choice of reading on an LCD or an e-ink, I'll choose the latter. They're about a billion times better for the job, plus have insanely lower power requirements, so the readers last longer than 10 hours.
The kind of person who would queue outside an Apple store on the first day a new product goes on sale will undoubtedly already have an iPad, so it kind of makes sense that they wouldn't buy an iPad Mini, too. Even the most die-hard Apple fan would surely not, for example, buy an iPhone 5 AND a hypothetical smaller, less powerful version as well. The true test will come when said Apple fan decides to upgrade to a newer tablet, at which point I'm betting he'll choose the Mini over the regular size, simply because it's both cheaper and - as someone commented above - is a better size for doing "tablet-y" stuff on. That's why I reckon the Mini will end up cannibalising sales from the iPad, as well as being very popular amongst normal punters; and of course, normal punters can't be expected to queue up during working hours for something they can buy online or at a time that suits them. For better or worse, I think the iPad Mini will be around for a long time, probably as the best-selling tablet on the market. Personally I'm pleased, 'cos I have an 8-inch, 4:3 aspect-ratio Android tablet and it's almost impossible to find a decent case/stand for it, so bring on the flood of (non-official and therefore cheap) iPad Mini accessories!
To me, iPad mini is the first iPad that comes at a usable size, as in it is bigger than my phone but not so big that I could not just schlepp a Macbook Air instead which is a real computer that can get real work done. In fact, iPad mini would have been a great thing to replace my trusty Apple Newton MP2100 (which still runs like a charm on AA batteries, unlike certain other devices with built in obsolescence, thank you very much).
Like, three years ago, looking at the specs. So I'd rather buy a Galaxy Note II if I had to.
Face it: These days, Apple is being out-innovated by Nokia, out-featured by Samsung and now out-designed by Surface (no chance to play with it yet). When I saw the marketing video for the iPad mini I could not help but laugh. "Look, we worked really really hard… so that this thing could still be an iPad … but smaller!".
Regardless, they will sell loads and loads come XMAS and schools / students will pick them up by the boatload.
Already phoned the Apple store about availability so can get one for the OH (female of the species) - but the 3g version is some while away in the UK.
Defo paying a premium for the sheer convenience of just restoring all the usual iPhone apps via iTunes.
And the logo.
But compared with most purchases in life, still quite logical.
I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. I though I was being logical. I could wait until I'd read the reviews, and still be sure of getting the config I wanted on the first day, instead of a three week wait for it to arrive if I ordered online. The Glasgow photo at 9:00 am obviously ins't going to show a queue that was at 8:00am. It took me 15 minutes including queueing and being served in Exeter. The queue (about 60 at 8:00am) was almost gone when I left.
I really like the first day queuing system. It's beautifully egalitarian. If you really want a new Apple product, you can have one, at the start of the first day, whoever you are. The inconvenience is surprising small (15 minutes in queue for me).
Apple's main selling point has been exclusivity, with the exception of the ipod the majority of their products have been priced just out of reach of everyone, imac, ipad, iphone etc have all been the most expensive versions of whatever they were (and no, they are not innovative one offs that have no competition, they're a computer a phone and a tablet). So releasing a cheaper version which is very obviously lower spec for the lower price pi55es off their current customer base because it's no longer as 'exclusive', and is seen as a bit of an insult to the potential new customer base, ooh the rich guy has just thrown me a bone...
Imagine if Ferrari released the Ferrari mini for £5k, it's red of course, and has a Ferrari badge, but it's slower and doesn't have many of the features of the others. The guy who works at a supermarket decides to buy one, he now owns a Ferrari, and is parked next to the guy who owns the supermarket in the carpark, who also owns a Ferrari...
Is devaluation a word? I'm not sure.
Meh - The queues where healthy in Central London yesterday
I picked one up in Central London yesterday and its a beautiful little machine - especially compared to the cheapo crap being peddled by Amazon
Amazon / Samsung / Google would give their eye teeth so see people queuing for their rubbish devices
Well the proof of the pudding and all that - they sold bucket loads - more than their own predications and more than the iPad 3 launch weekend. As with the iPhone 5 they probably made all they could by launch date and sold them all - if they could have made more they would. Will be interesting to see the sales figures for the holiday period.
Also on a very rough straw poll I know plenty of people who are planning iPad Mini for Xmas pressies (when the more expensive iPad might have been too expensive - or large) and when asked they had thought about buying a kindle e-reader but now plan on the iPad Mini. I don't recon it being slightly more expensive is an issue for most people over the life of the unit.
I picked one up from John Lewis on launch morning - just a short queue but a lot of people 'interested' - they had received their full allocation apparently for that day and I got the last 16Gb black one (they had a few of the larger capacity left in black) but the people in the queue behind me were probably going to take those. All white ones had already been sold. So considering they now sell via many more outlets they are probably still selling the same overall volume - or more.