iPad mini?

moyer777 · October 30, 2012, 10:14:49 AM

awesome video... had me laughing!

KingIsaacLinksr · October 30, 2012, 10:21:56 AM

Hehehe, yeah that got a few chuckles out of me.

MARKO · November 02, 2012, 12:49:48 PM

My iPAD mini has arrived..... its very mini and light, loving it.

Rico · November 02, 2012, 03:17:46 PM

Cool! Let us know what you think after using it for awhile.

Coda · November 02, 2012, 04:22:59 PM

Quote from: Dangelus on October 28, 2012, 12:29:58 PM
Part of the problem with Apple computers and laptops in general is that there aren't designed to be user serviceable and so give the impression that the don't last as long. This may be true but for traditional pcs it is a lot easier to replace components yourself so if your graphics card, ram, hard drive pack in you can keep the machine going for a lot longer. Also upgrades are easier.

The fact that traditional pcs are big boxes helps too. iMacs and mac books are packed in tight for style which isn't great for component lifespan.

I heard from somewhere that Apple makes their products disposable so their customers will be forced to buy newer and better ones. ie...ipod batteries lifespan is supposed to be two years. I got lucky with my 1st gen nano when I sent it back in due to a recall and got the 6th gen nano. If I had waited a few months, I could have gotten the 7th gen nano instead.

KingIsaacLinksr · November 02, 2012, 05:17:42 PM

Quote from: Coda on November 02, 2012, 04:22:59 PM
Quote from: Dangelus on October 28, 2012, 12:29:58 PM
Part of the problem with Apple computers and laptops in general is that there aren't designed to be user serviceable and so give the impression that the don't last as long. This may be true but for traditional pcs it is a lot easier to replace components yourself so if your graphics card, ram, hard drive pack in you can keep the machine going for a lot longer. Also upgrades are easier.

The fact that traditional pcs are big boxes helps too. iMacs and mac books are packed in tight for style which isn't great for component lifespan.

I heard from somewhere that Apple makes their products disposable so their customers will be forced to buy newer and better ones. ie...ipod batteries lifespan is supposed to be two years. I got lucky with my 1st gen nano when I sent it back in due to a recall and got the 6th gen nano. If I had waited a few months, I could have gotten the 7th gen nano instead.

That rumor goes around for more companies than just Apple, but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Bryancd · November 02, 2012, 05:22:48 PM

Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on November 02, 2012, 05:17:42 PM
Quote from: Coda on November 02, 2012, 04:22:59 PM
Quote from: Dangelus on October 28, 2012, 12:29:58 PM
Part of the problem with Apple computers and laptops in general is that there aren't designed to be user serviceable and so give the impression that the don't last as long. This may be true but for traditional pcs it is a lot easier to replace components yourself so if your graphics card, ram, hard drive pack in you can keep the machine going for a lot longer. Also upgrades are easier.

The fact that traditional pcs are big boxes helps too. iMacs and mac books are packed in tight for style which isn't great for component lifespan.

I heard from somewhere that Apple makes their products disposable so their customers will be forced to buy newer and better ones. ie...ipod batteries lifespan is supposed to be two years. I got lucky with my 1st gen nano when I sent it back in due to a recall and got the 6th gen nano. If I had waited a few months, I could have gotten the 7th gen nano instead.

That rumor goes around for more companies than just Apple, but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Business 101 for you guys. Companies will weight the cost/benefits of spending the money for the development and higher production costs and size considerations for longer lasting products vs. the need to get product into peoples hands. It's really academic, it's not personal.

Dangelus · November 02, 2012, 10:19:22 PM

I wouldn't say Apple are products are "disposal" in the same sense as other products. They are great quality so if you treat them right they can last a long time. My 3GS is still knocking around and working great. Where Apple get you a little more than some other companies is that a lot of the time you can service their products or they are extremely hard to get into without industrial tools. They make great money when you have to send your phone for a new battery fitting as opposed to having a removal battery for example.

Jobydrone · November 03, 2012, 05:23:02 AM

There's something called "planned obsolescence" which has been happening about as long as mass production has been occurring. It's an important way companies stay in business, by accounting for, (and sometimes engineering) the failure rate of a product so customers keep coming back to buy again and again.

There's definitely a reason why the iPad battery is so difficult/expensive to replace...they want you to buy a whole new device, not replace the battery.

ChrisMC · November 03, 2012, 06:16:48 AM

My iPod 160g classic just took a dump after 3 years...it's funny, I said "Well, I had for a long time..." but since when is 3 years a long time? We are programmed to think that way tech wise. As far as being upset that Apple keeps putting out new stuff, that's an issue for people who MUST have the brand new thing and are pissed that they spent over a grand in the same year on similar products.

billybob476 · November 03, 2012, 06:28:37 AM

That's the thing I'm starting to have trouble with. Why do people get so upset when Apple puts out a new device? No one gets upset when Dell releases a computer with a 2.8 Ghz processor and then 2 months later releases the same machine with a 3.0 Ghz processor. Why should Apple be any different? No one is forcing people to upgrade. I have an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2. They both work fine for me. When one of them stops working fine for me, I will upgrade.

Frankly, I'm impressed that Apple has been able to create the incredibly artificial need for people to upgrade their devices just because a new version comes out. People don't even consider whether or not their current setup suitably meets their needs, they just run to the store because the new one is "better".

Dangelus · November 03, 2012, 06:45:06 AM

Quote from: billybob476 on November 03, 2012, 06:28:37 AM
That's the thing I'm starting to have trouble with. Why do people get so upset when Apple puts out a new device? No one gets upset when Dell releases a computer with a 2.8 Ghz processor and then 2 months later releases the same machine with a 3.0 Ghz processor. Why should Apple be any different? No one is forcing people to upgrade. I have an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2. They both work fine for me. When one of them stops working fine for me, I will upgrade.

Frankly, I'm impressed that Apple has been able to create the incredibly artificial need for people to upgrade their devices just because a new version comes out. People don't even consider whether or not their current setup suitably meets their needs, they just run to the store because the new one is "better".

Spot on Joe.

psikeyhackr · November 03, 2012, 10:39:27 AM

Quote from: Jobydrone on November 03, 2012, 05:23:02 AM
There's something called "planned obsolescence" which has been happening about as long as mass production has been occurring. It's an important way companies stay in business, by accounting for, (and sometimes engineering) the failure rate of a product so customers keep coming back to buy again and again.

There's definitely a reason why the iPad battery is so difficult/expensive to replace...they want you to buy a whole new device, not replace the battery.

There is a curious downside to that which our economists do not mention. How much do consumers lose on the depreciation of all of the junk every year? Somehow that statistic has disappeared into space for the last 50 years.

Economics is Science Fiction.

http://www.spectacle.org/1199/wargame.html

psik

psikeyhackr · November 03, 2012, 10:40:30 AM

My Google Nexus 7 barely fits into some pants pockets. The miniPad should be too wide. And has lower resolution.

Jobydrone · November 07, 2012, 07:14:03 AM

I liked this full review of the MiniPad (I prefer this name, reminds me of MaxiPad)

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/11/the-skinny-on-the-mini-its-not-the-size-that-counts/

For the TL/DR crowd, this part was most interesting to me:

"I didn't really want to like the iPad mini as much as I did before I reviewed it for several days. I didn't want to dislike it, but as a third-gen iPad owner, I couldn't see the iPad mini having any purpose in my life. But as I began to wrap up this review and laid off on my requirement to use the iPad mini over my iPad 3 at all times, something changed. I found myself voluntarily reaching for the iPad mini over my full-sized iPad when it came time to relax on the couch or read in bed.

I can't help but feel like my preference for the mini when entering into "iPad mode" is almost entirely due to its Kindle-like shape and weight. It's just that much easier to hold and carry around. Picking up my third-gen iPad feels like lead after spending days on end with the mini. And the iPad mini's screen isn't actually that mini—the experience is largely the same."