story first appeared on usatoday.com
Science fiction version: Mad scientists inside Apple's ultra-secretive lab plunge a recent iPad into boiling stew. What emerges is a near identical but considerably smaller and lighter tablet.
Figure Apple relied on more conventional (if no less secret) lab behavior in designing the iPad Mini that reaches stores Friday. But no matter how the downsized tablet came to be, the natural question is how it differs from its bigger sibling and rival tablets with similar-size small screens, such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, Barnes & Noble Nook HD, and Google Nexus 7.
The smaller form changes the way you approach the tablet. I've never hesitated to travel with the bigger iPad. It's terrific for reading, watching movies and playing games on an airplane — but given a choice, before a road trip I would now more likely grab the little guy. It's the right size for immersing yourself in a novel. Held sideways, it's simple to bang out an email with your fingers. Battery life is excellent
A tour of the Mini reveals the usual home button on the bottom front, power button and headphone jack on the top, and volume controls on the side. Front and rear cameras are on either side, just like on the bigger iPad. You're greeted by the customary home screen layout with icons for Safari, Mail, Videos and Music parked at the bottom of the display.
You can even exploit the Siri voice assistant. And the Mini runs iOS 6, the latest iteration of Apple's mobile operating system software.
But it is the multitude of apps — 275,000 optimized for the tablet are available in the Apple App store— coupled with Apple's formidable iTunes ecosystem for music, movies and TV shows that represents a major reason why the iPad, big or small, is still the tablet to beat.
That is not to say that the Kindle Fire HD, Nook HD, and Nexus 7 don't pose strong alternatives to the iPad Mini. Those tablets have starting prices of $199 that undercut the $329 starting price of the Mini that has Wi-Fi only and 16 gigabytes of storage.
Amazon, for one, already is running ads comparing Kindle Fire HD with the Mini — bragging about the Fire's impressive high-definition screen and its stereo speakers. The speakers on the Mini are mono. And its screen, though nice, does not afford the beautiful, super-crisp "retina displays" on the latest larger iPads, iPhones or Macintosh computers. But the Kindle is heavier and has fewer apps.
(Update on Wednesday: Amazon is no longer running the ad. Apple confirms that the Mini does indeed have stereo.)
Prices for the Wi-Fi-only Mini climb to $429 for 32GB and $529 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models, available later in the U.S. from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless, command $459, $559 and $659, respectively. (The unit I've been testing for a week is Wi-Fi only.)
To be sure, the 7.9 inch display on the Mini, vs. 9.7-inches for full-size iPads, gives you a lot less screen real estate to play with. But at a shade under 0.7 pounds and 0.28-inches thick, the paperback-size Mini is 53% lighter and 23% thinner than the newest iPad. It is just wide enough that I was not able to stash it in one inside sport jacket pocket but was able to slip it into another. Compared with the 7-inch screens on some of Kindle, Nook and Nexus devices, though, the iPad Mini is 35% roomier.
Sitting in a cramped airline seat, or lying in bed, I found reading on the Mini to be a generally a more pleasurable experience than reading on the full-size iPad. But though you can now more easily hold a Mini with one hand, I still tended to use two.
Speed: Inside, the iPad Mini has an Apple-designed dual core A5 processor, a version of which powered the iPad 2. But I did detect some sluggishness. At the same time that I was downloading some content in the background, it took several seconds for the screen shots I captured on the device to land in the Photos app. I've never experienced the delay on a bigger iPad.
Cameras: The iPad Mini has two good cameras, including one on the front for doing FaceTime video calls, and a rear 5-megapixel camera that can capture 1080p high-definition video. The quality of FaceTime is related to your network connection, so even in a Wi-Fi environment, I sometimes lost sight of the person at the other end of the call.
Battery life: On the Wi-Fi model, Apple claims 10 hours of battery life while surfing the Web, watching video or listening to music. I was well on my way to confirming that. Nine hours into my test with Wi-Fi on, brightness at 75% and a video playing, I still had about 25% of juice left. But I cut my test short because of a power outage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Apple promises about an hour less battery life on the cellular models.
Connectors: Like the new iPhone 5, and fourth generation iPad announced last week, the Mini makes use of Apple's new Lightning connector. Unless you purchase adapters, you may not be able to use the Mini on some older accessories. Speaking of accessories, Apple has designed a handsome $39 iPad Mini Smart Cover (in one of 6 colors) that magnetically aligns itself to the tablet. It's made with a microfiber lining that Apple says keeps the screen clean.
But in the absence of a USB connector or SD card slot, you'll need pricey $29 Lightning adapter accessories to connect the Mini to a digital camera or to insert a memory card from your camera into the tablet. On older iPads with a 30-pin dock connector camera kit, you got both connectors for $29.
The big picture on the small iPad: Despite a few quibbles and strong competitors in the space, the Mini is a splendid choice for folks who held off buying an iPad because it was too large or too expensive.
Showing posts with label tablet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tablet. Show all posts
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Microsoft Jumps on the Tablet Bandwagon
Story first appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft Corp. on Monday unveiled the first computer it has ever made, a tablet called the Surface that comes with a keyboard and other features designed to stand out in a market dominated by Apple Inc.
The new device, unveiled by the Microsoft Chief Executive at an event for journalists, is a sign of the new tactics the software giant has been forced to embrace as it tries to make up lost ground in the mobile market.
Microsoft said the smallest Surface tablet is 9.3 millimeters thick and weighs 1.5 pounds, which is similar to Apple's iPad, at 9.4 millimeters thick and 1.44 pounds. The Surface has a 10.6-inch screen compared with the iPad's 9.7-inch screen.
The Surface has a built-in kickstand and magnetic cover, which also acts as a touch keyboard. Microsoft didn't say whether the device would connect to cellular data networks or would be Wi-Fi only.
The Surface will be priced like comparable tablets. Microsoft will sell the tablets itself at Microsoft's handful of retail stores and through some online channels.
Microsoft didn't identify contractors who will manufacture the hardware, or provide much clarity on timing—except to say that the first Surface models will arrive when Windows 8 is generally available, which is expected to be in the second half of the year.
The new tablet device is styled as a vehicle to exploit its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system, and a variant called Windows RT that relies on different kinds of computer chips. The software is the first from Microsoft designed with tablet computers in mind, offering an interface called Metro that is designed to be controlled by a user touching a display.
Microsoft executives repeatedly use the words "no compromises" to describe the tablet computers they envision running Windows 8 and Windows RT—which means that users will be able to use work-oriented tools like Microsoft Word and Excel programs, not just be used for watching movies and surfing the Web.
Microsoft also emphasized the use of the Surface with a keyboard, a convertible usage model that the company has helped champion and Apple has publicly discounted.
The Surface is a PC, the Surface is a tablet and the Surface is something new that Microsoft thinks people will really love.
Microsoft's involvement with tablet-style computing goes back more than three decades, supplying software to companies for products designed to be activated with a pen-style device. But those machines failed to gain wide acceptance. The Surface, and the new versions of Windows, are an attempt to emulate the touch-based interaction that Apple popularized with the iPhone and iPad.
The company also used the name Surface for a tabletop computer it first demonstrated several years ago.
Microsoft executives said the company's decision to make a homegrown tablet computer fits with the history of Microsoft making hardware when it is needed to bolster the company's software, such as Microsoft's making one of the earliest computer mouses.
But by making its own tablet, Microsoft also risks taking sales away from a coming crop of Windows-powered tablets from its own allies. Microsoft traditionally has left the making of computers to partners such as Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. Microsoft treading on the hardware-makers turf threatens to strain that long-standing business arrangement.
The computer makers' business is dependent on Microsoft, so they may not express annoyance publicly at Microsoft's trading on the hardware makers' turf. But at least some hardware executives are fuming privately at Microsoft's decision.
Microsoft's move to make its own tablet comes with consequences, which is complicating choices for consumers and complicating relations with third-party manufacturers.
Microsoft showed off the two versions of the Surface. The versions running Windows 8 will run chips from Intel Corp., which supplies chips used in most PCs. The versions running Windows RT will be powered by chips from Nvidia Corp. based on designs from ARM Holdings PLC, a variety of chips widely used in cellphones and tablets.
Microsoft Corp. on Monday unveiled the first computer it has ever made, a tablet called the Surface that comes with a keyboard and other features designed to stand out in a market dominated by Apple Inc.
The new device, unveiled by the Microsoft Chief Executive at an event for journalists, is a sign of the new tactics the software giant has been forced to embrace as it tries to make up lost ground in the mobile market.
Microsoft said the smallest Surface tablet is 9.3 millimeters thick and weighs 1.5 pounds, which is similar to Apple's iPad, at 9.4 millimeters thick and 1.44 pounds. The Surface has a 10.6-inch screen compared with the iPad's 9.7-inch screen.
The Surface has a built-in kickstand and magnetic cover, which also acts as a touch keyboard. Microsoft didn't say whether the device would connect to cellular data networks or would be Wi-Fi only.
The Surface will be priced like comparable tablets. Microsoft will sell the tablets itself at Microsoft's handful of retail stores and through some online channels.
Microsoft didn't identify contractors who will manufacture the hardware, or provide much clarity on timing—except to say that the first Surface models will arrive when Windows 8 is generally available, which is expected to be in the second half of the year.
The new tablet device is styled as a vehicle to exploit its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system, and a variant called Windows RT that relies on different kinds of computer chips. The software is the first from Microsoft designed with tablet computers in mind, offering an interface called Metro that is designed to be controlled by a user touching a display.
Microsoft executives repeatedly use the words "no compromises" to describe the tablet computers they envision running Windows 8 and Windows RT—which means that users will be able to use work-oriented tools like Microsoft Word and Excel programs, not just be used for watching movies and surfing the Web.
Microsoft also emphasized the use of the Surface with a keyboard, a convertible usage model that the company has helped champion and Apple has publicly discounted.
The Surface is a PC, the Surface is a tablet and the Surface is something new that Microsoft thinks people will really love.
Microsoft's involvement with tablet-style computing goes back more than three decades, supplying software to companies for products designed to be activated with a pen-style device. But those machines failed to gain wide acceptance. The Surface, and the new versions of Windows, are an attempt to emulate the touch-based interaction that Apple popularized with the iPhone and iPad.
The company also used the name Surface for a tabletop computer it first demonstrated several years ago.
Microsoft executives said the company's decision to make a homegrown tablet computer fits with the history of Microsoft making hardware when it is needed to bolster the company's software, such as Microsoft's making one of the earliest computer mouses.
But by making its own tablet, Microsoft also risks taking sales away from a coming crop of Windows-powered tablets from its own allies. Microsoft traditionally has left the making of computers to partners such as Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. Microsoft treading on the hardware-makers turf threatens to strain that long-standing business arrangement.
The computer makers' business is dependent on Microsoft, so they may not express annoyance publicly at Microsoft's trading on the hardware makers' turf. But at least some hardware executives are fuming privately at Microsoft's decision.
Microsoft's move to make its own tablet comes with consequences, which is complicating choices for consumers and complicating relations with third-party manufacturers.
Microsoft showed off the two versions of the Surface. The versions running Windows 8 will run chips from Intel Corp., which supplies chips used in most PCs. The versions running Windows RT will be powered by chips from Nvidia Corp. based on designs from ARM Holdings PLC, a variety of chips widely used in cellphones and tablets.
For more Electronics
News, visit the Electronics America blog.
For more national and worldwide Business News, visit the Peak News
Room blog.
For more local and state of Michigan Business News, visit
the Michigan Business News blog.
For more Health News, visit the
Healthcare and Medical News blog.
For more Real Estate News,
visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For more Law News,
visit the Nation of Law blog.
For more Advertising
News, visit the Advertising, Marketing and Media blog.
For more Environmental News,
visit the Environmental Responsibility News blog.
For information on website optimization or for the latest SEO News, visit the SEO Done Right
blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
