[ney]

Im thinking of getting my sister an Ipad mini for her Chirstmas as it would link up to her Iphone but if it was up to me I would get her the Google Nexus 7 like I have.
Currys and Argos in town seem to be out of stock of the Ipad mini and I dont want to be paying over £300 on just one gift.
Anyone got the Ipad mini and is it as good as the over priced Ipad. Also anyone know where I could het an Ipad mini for £300 or under.

Darren

[Roush]

Black or white, and does it have to be from a physical shop? Argos list the black 16GB as being available for 2 day delivery online.

Do you have an Apple store near you?

[Matt D]

What size?

Standard price for the 16GB model is £269.

As it's for Christmas, why not just order it online from Apple (2 week wait)?



As for "overpriced iPad"... I agree that the Mini is overpriced, but IMO the full-size iPad is the one Apple product that isn't overpriced. All the competition (Galaxy Tab, Sony Tablet S, Xoom, PlayBook, TouchPad, etc. etc.) launched at the same price... Only reason some are cheaper now is because they failed to sell at their original iPad-matching price (with extreme examples like the PlayBook slashed by insane amounts due to being utter commercial failures). The Nexus tablets are a lot cheaper from the get go because Google sells them pretty much at cost, hoping to use the low cost to get a foothold in the market and make money back on selling content (whereas Apple makes money on hardware and content).

[ney]

It dont matter if its black or white. The nearest Apple sore is Edinburgh 12miles or so from me.
Its the 16gb im looking at getting my sister.

Darren

[IvanIV]

Just that you know, they will be upgrading it with retina display saying the old one is all shit for the lack of it and that you'll need the new one.

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by IvanIV

Just that you know, they will be upgrading it with retina display saying the old one is all shit for the lack of it and that you'll need the new one.

They will be doing that with all tablets out at the moment

[Dan Sette]

Originally Posted by IvanIV

Just that you know, they will be upgrading it with retina display saying the old one is all shit for the lack of it and that you'll need the new one.

It is possible. Everything is upgraded eventually. However it may be that as existng stocks of old ipads get sold out all that will be left as current stock are the ipad mini and the retina display ipad.

This would give Apple a range of prices from £269 up. As soon as the retina dispaly is put onto the iPad mini there is a less compeling argument to buy the full size version. Of course Apple may see it differently.

That said. I have the iPad mini. Much, much nicer to hold than the full size ipad - especially when reading as its easier to hold with one hand. I haven't noticed any real fiffence with looking at things on the smaller screen.

I was concerned about the lack of retina display - especially as I have an iPhone with one - as reviews said that once you have seen a HD display there is no going back. However, if you look closely (as in bring it up to your nose) you can see the pixels, but as in a lot of real world work, in ordinary use, holding it at a normal distance I'm honestly not aware of them (so far) Pretty much in the same way as you can see the pixels on a television if you sit close enough - however at a normal viewing distance they are not apparent.

The advantage of having an iPad (mini or otherwise) if you already have an iPhone is you don't have to re-buy your apps. Any you have bought for the iPhone are automatically available, free of charge, to download to the iPad.

[IvanIV]

^^^ Only in this case they released a new product, iPad mini, with a substandard (by Apple standards) screen knowing they would be upgrading it to a hires screen soon. It's this 'reliving of the past' I find problematic, releasing a product and then 'improving' it with something that should have been there in the first place.

[Gormond]

Originally Posted by IvanIV

^^^ Only in this case they released a new product, iPad mini, with a substandard (by Apple standards) screen knowing they would be upgrading it to a hires screen soon. It's this 'reliving of the past' I find problematic, releasing a product and then 'improving' it with something that should have been there in the first place.

Not really true, apple needed to keep app compatibility so their choice was either iPad 2 res or iPad 3/4 res. the later would have been very difficult to produce ATM on a 8 inch screen, not to mention expensive.

[IvanIV]

Originally Posted by Gormond

Not really true, apple needed to keep app compatibility so their choice was either iPad 2 res or iPad 3/4 res. the later would have been very difficult to produce ATM on a 8 inch screen, not to mention expensive.

They can do a high PPI for iPhone size screen, how is this more complicated?

[Gormond]

Originally Posted by IvanIV

They can do a high PPI for iPhone size screen, how is this more complicated?

It's easier to manufacture small screens with a high PPI. It gets more difficult as the screens get larger hence why 4k TVs are so expensive.

[Rowieboy]

If it's easier why didn't they? A major fail. I feel sorry for people who will buy or have bought the mini only to find,probably,in April that a a new one with retina is available. I know its business but this is sheer exploitation in my opinion!

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by IvanIV

They can do a high PPI for iPhone size screen, how is this more complicated?

The bigger the screen the more expensive and complex it becomes to make

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by Rowieboy

If it's easier why didn't they? A major fail. I feel sorry for people who will buy or have bought the mini only to find,probably,in April that a a new one with retina is available. I know its business but this is sheer exploitation in my opinion!

Easier to make smaller screens like iPhone not larger screens like iPad Mini – do you feel sorry for everyone else that has bought a tablet knowing that in a few months a new version will be out with a better screen?

[IvanIV]

Originally Posted by alan1302

The bigger the screen the more expensive and complex it becomes to make

Still less complex and expensive than iPad3/4 then.I think they wanted to come with it before Christmas and they did not have the right display yet. Wait for the new resolutionary iPad 2 mini coming soon.

[Gormond]

Originally Posted by Rowieboy

If it's easier why didn't they? A major fail. I feel sorry for people who will buy or have bought the mini only to find,probably,in April that a a new one with retina is available. I know its business but this is sheer exploitation in my opinion!

It's not easy at 8 inches, there are no tablets at 330ppi!

[Gormond]

Originally Posted by IvanIV

Still less complex and expensive than iPad3/4 then.I think they wanted to come with it before Christmas and they did not have the right display yet. Wait for the new resolutionary iPad 2 mini coming soon.

Your missing the point.

300+ PPI is easy to make on small screens like 4 inches. As it gets bigger its more problematic, hence why the iPad 3 is only about 260 PPI.

300+ PPI at 8 inches would have been very expensive to mass produce. Not only that but you would have needed a bigger battery and an A5X chip, increasing unit price, thickness and weight.

[thedrewser]

Originally Posted by ney

The nearest Apple sore is Edinburgh 12miles or so from me.

Have they opened a new store? I thought they didn't have one in edinburgh, only Glasgow (in the central belt). If so, where in Edi? I'm excited.

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by thedrewser

Have they opened a new store? I thought they didn't have one in edinburgh, only Glasgow (in the central belt). If so, where in Edi? I'm excited.

They still don't have one in Edinburgh - I assume they meant somewhere like Currys

[Stuart_h]

Originally Posted by Gormond

Your missing the point.

300+ PPI is easy to make on small screens like 4 inches. As it gets bigger its more problematic, hence why the iPad 3 is only about 260 PPI.

300+ PPI at 8 inches would have been very expensive to mass produce. Not only that but you would have needed a bigger battery and an A5X chip, increasing unit price, thickness and weight.

isnt the new Nexus 10 300ppi ?

The 'retina' thing was the only feature (IMHO) that Android was still lacking .... thats now been superceded by the Nexus 10 it would seem. The HTC Butterfly also blows the water out of the iPhone retina I believe .....

Apple could easily have put a better screen in the mini but:
(a) it would have cut into their stupidly high profit margins
(b) it would have prevented them from releasing an 'all new' retina iPad mini in 6/12 months time.

So they release a unit that is behind the competition yet charge 50-100% more for it ...... they know people will still buy it .......

Android tablets, playbooks etc are releasing hardware with the latest possible spec. Apple is just using up old hardware and re-badging it.

Sooner or later even the Apple die-hards are going to twig they are being taken for a ride .....

[Gormond]

Originally Posted by Stuart_h

isnt the new Nexus 10 300ppi ?

The 'retina' thing was the only feature (IMHO) that Android was still lacking .... thats now been superceded by the Nexus 10 it would seem. The HTC Butterfly also blows the water out of the iPhone retina I believe .....

Apple could easily have put a better screen in the mini but:
(a) it would have cut into their stupidly high profit margins
(b) it would have prevented them from releasing an 'all new' retina iPad mini in 6/12 months time.

So they release a unit that is behind the competition yet charge 50-100% more for it ...... they know people will still buy it .......

Android tablets, playbooks etc are releasing hardware with the latest possible spec. Apple is just using up old hardware and re-badging it.

Sooner or later even the Apple die-hards are going to twig they are being taken for a ride .....

Yeah the nexus 10 afaik is the first tablet at 300dpi and its meant to be the best tablet screen available.

This isn't cheap though, even google with their tiny profit margins had to charge over £300 for it.

[Stuart_h]

Originally Posted by Gormond

Yeah the nexus 10 afaik is the first tablet at 300dpi and its meant to be the best tablet screen available.

This isn't cheap though, even google with their tiny profit margins had to charge over £300 for it.

Just remember though that they are including 32GB Ram and NFC and GPS as well ......

I dont know what the equivalent iPad4 would be with those specs ....

[ney]

Originally Posted by alan1302

They still don't have one in Edinburgh - I assume they meant somewhere like Currys

Yes I did. There was talk of Apple opening a store in Edinburgh but thet never happened. There is a PC World in Kirkcaldy but even thats out of stoke the website says.

Darren

[sheppy124]

Keep looking on mini iPad stock checkers, picked on up from sainsburys, of all places free delivery to store.

[Gormond]

I'm curious what you mean by "link up" to her iPhone?