"Nothing new, no one will buy it"
and
"It's too radical, no one will buy it"
Like all tech companies, Apple needs to be able to do subtle iterations and improvements, and their marketing teams are left to try to add an "r" to every evolution.
"At 7.9 inches, it’s perfectly sized to deliver an experience every bit as big as iPad"
It's "perfectly sized" for the role it's filling (one hand, more mobile, like a pulp novel, whatever), and iPad is "perfectly sized" for it's own role (around the house, larger games, magazine reading, whatever). They can both be "perfectly sized" in a marketing world, and I'm sure the design team fussed over the exact dimensions for a LONG time.
It's "an experience" "as big as the iPad" to emphasize that it will run all the existing apps, vs their comparisons to a "scaled up phone experience". The marketing here emphasizes that the compact experience is 'just as good'. I do wonder how well UI elements will scale down, but in a marketing world it makes a certain kind of sense to me.
Yes, these claims are a bit silly, especially in a literal sense, but recall that the original iPad was "magical". It's pretty typical marketing phrasing, especially for Apple.
That said, I frequently find the phrasing funny too.
Unless they are designed for different usage scenarios.
While I agree some of the texts on the iPad mini page could have been better written, it's as usual just marketing speak designed to push interested customers that extra cm they need to do a purchase.
They said it about the iPod too- claiming that having less capacity than the creative nomad and no built in radio made it "lame" (CmdrTaco famously said this.)
They said it about the iMac as well, calling it a toy computer that looked like candy. Funny how in 2 years all the other manufacturers were making their computers colorful, and the bondi-blue design aesthetic was adopted by a wide variety of products around the world.
Now I'm sure somewhere there are people who were not even 10 years old when the iMac was being put down are saying the iPad mini is lame. For the same reasons.
Then when the product strikes a nerve with the public, and sells 100 million units, they decide that the people buying it must be stupid and persuaded by slick marketing, because obviously its "lame" or "doesn't have the specs" of the competition (though they never detail how it lacks specs and usually they're completely wrong and ignoring the terrible usability of the competition.)
It's the standard issue mythology of the apple hater:
Apple products are inferior (even when they aren't.) Apple products are more expensive (even though they aren't.) Apple buyers are stupid and easily persuaded by slick marketing (even though it should be obvious that people buy Apple products because they work better for them.)
Consequently, EVERY Apple product introduction is "underwhelming".
That said, Apple are inviting some of these comparisons. "More expensive", for example. The iPad Mini is more expensive than a Nexus 7, by a significant margin. Apple invited the comparison by comparing the two devices themselves on stage.
No amount of competitive marketing seems to have brought the two product families into competition beyond "well I heard the iPad has books too but my friend loves her Kindle".
I'm not sure why, given the sales of the "mini" form factor. I kind of suspect they're more concerned with positioning themselves against jumbo phones, which -are- selling in volume and have already invited a major design change in the iPhone line.
I don't know if this is necessarily the right conclusion.
The only reason the Galaxy Note gets a pass is because it's still mentally categorized as a big telephone.
For me what it comes down to in the end is the same, which is easier to hand off to a relative and not worry about.
Answer : the iPad.
I provided many family members with PCs over the years all the while using Apple products. Why? Because I knew they could just pop into a local store and buy software for it. Because I knew Windows was common and they most likely had it at work. Because I knew if their machine had an issue either I could solve it quickly or Dell's support would. Heck Dell even sent someone to my parents house to fix the unit!
Well something similar is happening here. I know if I give them an iPad they won't be lacking for software. It is a packaged experience with a dearth of support.
So, yeah they cost a bit more upfront, but for me the lack of having to "fix" something is worth the premium. It also means they know what it is and understand the intrinsic value. If I hand them a Google Nexus the first questions will be to compare it to an iPad... and well, why bother.
Neither is "better" than the other, it entirely depends on your circumstances- what you want your tablet to do, how much money you have, etc. etc.
Turns out it became the best selling iPod of all time.
Same for iMacs. Don't compare an iMac with a clone in a tower. Compare it to a similar form factor: all in one, quiet, low power consumption.
If you buy it over an Apple, you get what you deserve. The quality from Lenovo has been declining since they bought the brand from IBM. Thinkpad's are a SHADOW of their former glory, sadly.
Here's something people don't factor in when buying laptops: Your expensive MacBook Pro is having issues? Well, visit an Apple store and get it fixed!
Your expensive Lenovo is having issues? Well... mail it back...
But you still didn't make the comparison, you told other people to do it. Until you make the comparison, I'm still betting that the Lenovo cuts corners in a variety of ways to make the product cheaper, and as a consumer you have to accept those cost-cutting trade offs.
For example, while there are laptops much cheaper than the Air, the ultra books with similar specs, weight, battery life, and build quality aren't really cheaper. Another way to look at is that while Apple doesn't sell a $500 laptop, you don't get less in a $1,200 MBA than comparable $1,200 PC laptops.
But truthfully, all the Nexus 7 really did was make me want an iPad mini, because the device itself is very frustrating. Reading a PDF? Half the screen is a garbly mess since only one page gets rendered nicely. Drives me nuts.
Even Chrome (which runs plenty fast) has a terrible time recognizing taps on links. I find myself tapping, and tapping, and tapping, and finally, it does something.
I'm ordering an iPad mini for personal usage, and expect it to sell crazy numbers of units, if my experience is at all typical. The size difference is so important that for a month now I've put up with crappy UX even as my larger iPad was in arm's reach.
Also, every iPad I've bought has had cellular; I'm surprised Google doesn't offer that for extra $$$ on the Nexus 7. The only place I do use my iPad now is in the car, and the iPad mini (with LTE) will replace both devices.
It's much nicer than accidently hitting a link, then have to hit back after a second or two.
What's annoying is when it doesn't pick up taps on links that stand alone, which is the case, on, e.g. HN. The tap "targeting" for Chrome seems particularly poor.
But no LTE on a portable device is just ridiculous. I'm going to jump on the iPad mini as soon as it releases.
I'm not sure how representative of any market I am, but Google could have had me as a customer from day 1 if they had had LTE on the Nexus; instead, I'll be giving more money to Apple.
It's a couple of taps to tether to my phone. I'm already paying for a mobile connection and I can't use two accounts at once.
I'm probably still buying the mini. It may be boring, but its still the best of its competitors. Only microsoft's stuff might make me reconsider. I've been really impressed by the lumia phones, which have a better UX than the iphone in my opinion. I can imagine a tablet with windows rt being a joy to use as well.
Do you have any suggestions for something better than the canonical icon grid?
Bigger phone, smaller tablet...yawn.
(I'm only asking this because you wrote "... never before shown the slightest interest in an Apple offering.")
With the iPad mini and the iPhone 5, have they completely forgotten how small thumbs are? It's marketing BS.
https://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/overview/#video-ipad-mini-fe...
it is saying you are too cheap to buy an bigger iPad, so you should buy this instead.
This leaves irrelevance, perhaps, but given the context of this thread I'd argue it's not that either.
* Lighter - that is correct, it is ~75g lighter than KF & N7
* Better battery life - citing the tech specs, it gets 10h browsing, surfing etc. the same as N7 and 1h less than KF's (these are all advertised)
* Bigger display - Yes it is bigger in inches, but it is lower resolution than both KF and N7 - meaning pictures are going to look worst. And the mini won't be able to do true 720p.
* Faster processor - Comparing apples and oranges here, provide a citation.
And I left out the cameras. The iPad Mini has (it appears) an actually good camera, whereas the Kindle Fire has none and the Nexus 7 (I think) only has a (poor) front camera -- never figured out how to use it if it's there.
[citation needed]
At 7.9 inches, it’s perfectly sized to deliver an experience every bit as big as iPad
What does that even mean? Either it's perfectly sized, and the iPad is the wrong size. Or it's not. There can surely only be one perfect size to deliver an iPad experience??? Either it's 10" or it's 7.9".
I think Apple's marketing has always been the same - it's just that for a while they were ahead of the curve and so their hyperbole was justified. The iPhone was amazing. The Macbook Air is still amazing. But there is absolutely FUCK ALL amazing about a smaller fucking iPad.