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iPad Mini


abdecal

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Now I do love my Mac and my iPhone but I have never understood the appeal of the iPad. Now they are coming out with a mini version?

http://www.cultofmac.com/184090/the-ipad-mini-everything-we-think-we-know-so-far-rumor-roundup/

When I think of a tablet I think of a touchscreen laptop with slightly less power and a smaller display. I just don't get the whole iPad craze. I've sat and messed with one for hours and never saw what it could do that my iPhone couldn't. It auto syncs your iPhone and iPad apps together so you end up with iPad apps on your phone that you can't use and small iPhone apps on your iPad.

I want it to function like my Macbook Pro, not my iPhone. I want it to have a desktop with large file icons and folders and dropboxes. I want it to be able to run third party software like games and applications. There are a lot of apps and all that do some cool stuff but it's costly and just not the same.

The only appeal I could see to the iPad is like a small TV where you can watch movies on road trips or on flights so I can see this being ideal when you travel.

But the iPad mini?! Where's the appeal? To big for your pocket, to small to watch movies on.

What do you guys think? Anyone agree or disagree? Am I missing something that makes the iPad worth it?

/end rant

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agree with rant... the whole "tablet" thing is a little absurd....

back in the day they had "transformer" laptops which were a little gimmicky because you could flip the screen, and use a stylus, and voila use it like a note pad or something...

Apple took the idea, and went "full gimmick" making their iphone, just much bigger, and without the phone capability... why not btw... you could easily toss a bluetooth or even wired headset in the box and make it function as a phone as well, right?

not as useful as a standard laptop, not as portable as even a large phone, sort of the worst of both worlds.

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Since we've gotten an iPad, we've almost completely stopped using the desktop. It's probably my favorite tech toy in the house.

And if that's how you use it, then it's great.

But it is not a computer.

the iPad has made me consider moving to less powerful laptop though. I'm in the market for a light-duty laptop during black Friday this year (want a new computer for the bar exam. crashes happen. crashes suck).

the iPad is a good browser and media player, but I still need something with word-processing and spreadsheet abilities.

The iPad would be more for games, movies, porn, music, and browsing.

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My wife wants one. Loves her iPad but wishes it was a little smaller to fit in her purse to carry around. The iPhone screen is just a little too small for long web sessions, reading and watching movies. I bet they sell a shit ton of them.

I use my iPad over my laptop/pc 90% of the time. The only time I get on the computer is to do photo editing, video editing or some other task better suited to a larger screen and keyboard. For web, email, games, etc it's perfect...no boot time and easy to carry around the house when multitasking.

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I found the iPad frustrating when I was trying to type. It couldn't keep up. Maybe with practice it would be easier if you're a touch typist. I can type about twice as fast using my thumb on my phone than I could type on the iPad.

I see your points on being easier for web browsing and email though. I do a lot of web development on my Macbook. Transferring files and doing quick fixes is something I would want to use a tablet for if I can't get to my computer right away. I guess I could see it being useful to some people now.

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Since we've gotten an iPad, we've almost completely stopped using the desktop. It's probably my favorite tech toy in the house.

This is the same for me. My laptop pretty much functions as my media player and that's it. I don't understand the mini iPad but agreed they will sell shit loads of them.

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i never found the appeal of an ipad either but since my gf moved in and I've used hers, I haven't touched my laptop when home and its to the point I just don't bring it home from work anymore. If I have anything I need to use an actual computer for I can run upstairs to the desktop but at this point all it has become is media storage and streamer

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I found the iPad frustrating when I was trying to type. It couldn't keep up. Maybe with practice it would be easier if you're a touch typist. I can type about twice as fast using my thumb on my phone than I could type on the iPad.

Try splitting the keyboard. Then your can type with your thumbs. A guy at work had an iPad, had the same complaint and sold it for a BB Playbook. One day I was showing him something on my iPad and he asked me how I split the keyboard. I showed him and next thing you know he shows up at work with a new iPad. That was right when the iPad 2 came out and he still has it.

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I suggest some folks read about disruptive and sustaining innovations...Clayton Christensen is a great author on the topics.

Not everyone is in school producing powerpoints and reports. I'd venture out and guess a majority of ppl use their comps primarily for internet and media use. The tablet is great for portability and gets 95% of what I need done. The apps and itunes ecosystem Apple created is unmatched by ANYTHING out there right now.

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Since we've gotten an iPad, we've almost completely stopped using the desktop. It's probably my favorite tech toy in the house.

+1. Have even used it to rdp into work while out to run SQL scripts. First one I bought was wifi only was too cheap to pay for data plan. Changed my mind when the new one came out and got a data plan. Wouldn't go without it now. Its so convenient.

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But the iPad mini?! Where's the appeal? To big for your pocket, to small to watch movies on.

/end rant

They are coming out with the mini to take sales away from the kindle. The kindle has been the only notebook besides the ipad to have any sales volume worth mentioning. I think this one is going to be marketed towards the ebook crowd with access to the apple's ecosystem. They will sell millions. :)

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+1. Have even used it to rdp into work while out to run SQL scripts. First one I bought was wifi only was too cheap to pay for data plan. Changed my mind when the new one came out and got a data plan. Wouldn't go without it now. Its so convenient.

Oh yeah. iSSH is my best friend.

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