Apple Announce Event For October 23rd (iPad Mini Announcement))

Jimdagym

The screen on the mini is fantastic. Looking at photo's, video's games etc and I really cant see any problems. It feels great in the hand, very light, but not weak.

Initial impression is that its the best thing ever!

iDann

Canceled my order from apple.ie, its not coming till the 15th, rang Compub and they have one for me today

Xavi6

kceire wrote: »

Did you hold the mini?
Is it really a let down screen wise?

I was disappointed with the size, it's just too small for someone used to an iPad.

The screen is meh as well, the '4' is just so much slicker.

xebec

Ambp wrote: »

Yeah, will anywhere actually have them in stock in the morning? I want to pick up a 32GB Mini but can't find any info online about if anywhere in Dublin is selling…

32GB mini is available in PC World Jervis St, only 16GB in other PC World stores...

faceman

iPad mini won't be on my list. I was going to get one for a family member for Christmas but given its using a previous generation chip and previous generation non retina display, the price can't be justified. The latest iPod touch has better specs.

Sure if 'feels' fine but why buy a Nokia 3310 in this day and age?

swingking

Did not like the iPad mini at all when I saw it this morning. Screen too small and the text not as nice as my retina iPad. Apple might not do so well with this

solarith

I'd say they'll make a killing off the Mini, and make a bigger killing when they release the retina version next year. From what I read with the reviewers, if you had an iPad 1 or 2, and you got the Mini, the screen is great! But if you had the iPad 3 and you got the Mini, the screen is terrible!

Makes sense, I suppose.

Duggys Housemate

swingking wrote: »

Did not like the iPad mini at all when I saw it this morning. Screen too small and the text not as nice as my retina iPad. Apple might not do so well with this

They'll do fine. The price is too high, but they won't be able to keep up with demand nevertheless allowing them to reduce price after christmas, with a new model taking the high prices. It makes no business sense to sell something you can't keep up with demand at a lower price.

solarith

Duggys Housemate wrote: »

They'll do fine. The price is too high, but they won't be able to keep up with demand nevertheless allowing them to reduce price after christmas, with a new model taking the high prices. It makes no business sense to sell something you can't keep up with demand at a lower price.

We won't see another Mini for another 8/9 months IMO.

Shred

Buying my 1st iPad later today, I have a 32GB Wifi 4 on hold for pick up this eveing in CompuB. I briefly considered the mini but no Retina no thanks @ that price.

Duggys Housemate

solarith wrote: »

We won't see another Mini for another 8/9 months IMO.

I think it will refresh in March. It depends on if they get their component costs down, APple are now spending more than Intel on capital expenditure, thats gotta pay dividends eventually.

fifth

Got a black iPad mini this morning, have to say, it's really cool.

Wanted it to use my iBooks library mainly, do a lot of travelling so my iPhone wasn't cutting it for books and didn't really want a kindle. Screen quality is good - it's probably somewhere inbetween iPad 2 and retina quality, which is about as good as I'd expected it to be.

It's better than the large iPad for gaming and for typing, I always had trouble with my iPad 2 typing long posts etc. Had to rush back to work so will spend more time with it later.

solarith

Duggys Housemate wrote: »

I think it will refresh in March. It depends on if they get their component costs down, APple are now spending more than Intel on capital expenditure, thats gotta pay dividends eventually.

People were shocked when they released a new product after 9 months, I can't begin to imagine what would be the consensus on replacement after 5 !

DubDJ

Doesn't seem to be as much of a buzz/demand for either the new iPad or iPad mini this time around. I still think I'd they priced it €300 or below they woulda for a lot more sales. I personally know 2 people who have opted for a Nexus 7 over the iPad because of the price. Especially now they have the 32GB for under €250.

JDxtra

Yes, it's a nice device but over priced by €40/€50.

Dman001

Got a chance to play with the Mini today! Design wise, it really puts the original iPad to shame. The coated back felt very nice to hold, and the cut edges felt nice to hold and pleasing on the eye. One thing that really got me was the bezel on the original iPad. I always felt it was huge, bigger than it should be. I understand it's there for comfort of holding the device, but the Mini looks much nicer with the thinner bezel and was comfortable to hold and very light.

Played around with iBooks, Keynote and Newstand. Each worked flawlessly. You could edit presentations with such ease with Keynote, and play through slideshows flawlessly. Magazines render to the screen perfectly too with Newstands, no rotten black bars above or below the magazine. They had a demo of Wired magazine, which is deemed to be more of an interactive than your usual offering from Zinio and the likes. Again played through it flawlessly.

Other tidbits:
Typing worked nicely in portrait mode, was able to grip the iPad with two hands and type like you would with a Smartphone. Fingers were able to reach all keys.

Watching movies was comfortable, but not as nice as the original iPad. No 16:9 screen either, so have the ugly black bars. Not a deal breaker, but slightly off putting for me.

The screen looked fine to me, but I'm not coming from a Retina device. My Smartphone nor my laptop have Retina-speced displays so it wouldn't notice it as much as someone who was coming from a iPad 3G would for example.

The extra .9" of screen compared to the Nexus 7 and other 7" devices does make a dramatic difference. So much more screen estate to utilise.

I played with the Black one. Smudges were apparent on the back, and my fear is that scrapes and chips would be more apparent than they would on a white Mini.

Rather annoying that the only reason excluded a Retina display and an A5 processor is solely so they can update them this time next year. It's always the case with Apple, and technology in general.

All in all it is a great piece of kit, and can imagine Apple selling many of them. I wouldn't be surprised at all actually if it eventually surpasses the original iPad sales. I only spent 15 minutes+ with the device, maybe over time its flaws will become apparent. But it's worth shelling out the extra €100+ on one rather than going for a Nexus 7, based on the quality of Apps alone. I've an Android Smartphone, and it's a great device software wise. Android Tablets on the other hand are a bit of a disaster, where the quality of Apps are lightyears behind Apple unfortunately.

Whether it's worth shelling out a bit extra for an iPad 2/3/4 is more of a personal preference question. I personally wouldn't. I like how portable it is, I like the design, I like how light it is. It's a device I plan to carry along with me to college, to read PDFs and eBooks, to go edit presentation slides, to watch videos and stream content. It does all this perfectly and comfortably, for less than the "Big" iPad.

Pipmae

Very thorough review Dman001. Thanks for that. I have two on order for my kids for Christmas. I'll wait for the online store to deliver in two weeks.:D

Dman001

Pipmae wrote: »

Very thorough review Dman001. Thanks for that. I have two on order for my kids for Christmas. I'll wait for the online store to deliver in two weeks.:D

Bare in mind I only spent around 15 minutes playing with the device! I was set on buying the original iPad for a while now, despite all the iPad Mini rumours. Never got the appeal of the 7" devices, but Apple has really pulled it off.

jack presley

Jimmy Kimmel's take on Apple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyWSEwKPo8s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RyWSEwKPo8s

solarith

Such a ****ing stupid sketch.

Mimikyu

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Wolverine359

I had a chance to hold and test out the iPad mini in Curry's PC World today, I love the size of it, for me the original iPad is a bit too big (i owned one for over a year but sold it last christmas when I got an iPhone. I think I'll be buying one soon.

copacetic

Captain Morgan wrote: »

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The screen resolution is a problem imo, the natural way to hold the mini is in portrait. A lot of websites have small txt on such a small screen in portrait and it is quite blurry on the mini. Reader mode needs to be used a lot more than it would be if screen was better. Possibly not an issue if not used to/switching between it and retina iPad and iPhone.

Other issue for me is that it's too big for most pockets. I dunno what kind of fat arsed people in the states are fitting it into back pockets of jeans or inside suit jackets but it doesn't go near on any of mine.

It's really portable and easy to carry but you still need a bag or a jacket with large pockets. Even then I have to take cover off to fit it in to most.

All in all it's a well made iPad as expected with limited screen, very useful for anyone doing a fair bit of commuting or travelling. Price is too much to go for it instead of iPad 2 for home use imo, but could work for someone looking for one for general daily use if they move around a lot and iPhone is too small.

Wolverine359

copacetic wrote: »

The screen resolution is a problem imo, the natural way to hold the mini is in portrait. A lot of websites have small txt on such a small screen in portrait and it is quite blurry on the mini. Reader mode needs to be used a lot more than it would be if screen was better. Possibly not an issue if not used to/switching between it and retina iPad and iPhone.

That's the one issue that held me back from buying it instore today. After I got a 4S last November, I literally couldn't enjoy looking at the iPad anymore, the pixels were just glaring at me. Damn retina displays have ruined me. :P I think I'll hold off for now, I think I'd just regret it if I took the plunge right away. I'm hoping that they bring out a higher resolution model in 6 months time...

Mimikyu

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Mimikyu

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Xavi6

I've had my new iPad for four days now and I'm still fascinated by the retina screen in comparison to the old one on my 2nd gen. The difference is massive, no way should anyone consider buying a 2 just because it's now a bit cheaper.

Same goes for the Mini imo. If you want one just wait until they go retina.

grease2000

Picked my mini up yesterday, love it Should have bought it out months gao

quad_red

Same as above posters. Was in the Apple Store in Manchester at the weekend and got to play around with it for a while.

Very impressive form factor. So light, so easy to hold. The screen is barely smaller than the normal iPad.

A very impressive package. My folks want an iPad for Christmas and I would definitely have gotten them an iPad mini instead.

If it had a retina screen. I'm sorry - the difference is a day and night. I have an ipad 2 and I constantly notice the difference between that and the retina screen on my iphone.

eamondunphy

went to buy the mini yesterday but after playing with it in store, i just couldnt justify buying it because of how poor the screen is.. its ok for someone coming from an old nokia or somebody on a budget (who doesnt want an android tablet) but there is no way i could recommend the mini because of the screen. Even my girlfriend, who knows nothing about tech, could tell the difference and was put off by it

even though all my smartphones have been android, i dont want an android tablet and the ipad 4 is too big for my liking.

im gonna have to wait until next years version which hopefully will be retina display, what a downer

am shocked with how al the reviews are so good for it despite the screen being so bad