23. October 2012 · Categories: Apple

The iPad mini is close to what I expected from it, apart that it is sold as a full featured lineup. I suspect only the base models with 16 GB will sell well, given the lack of a Retina display. It has a nice new use in its much improved portability compared to the full iPad, and I have a feeling that it could become very popular as a companion on the go.

I am surprised that the iPad 2 is still in the lineup, is Apple selling off old stock, or are they required to keep it there to honor some contracts? The iPad mini would be a better buy if you need to look after your money, and the Retina display is just too big an update to ignore for $100.

The camera connection kit now comes with cables, and is split into two separate purchases. So it will be more expensive, and also have more bulk. Not a nice change, as the old connector was small enough to fit into an SD card pocket in your camera bag, and cables have a tendency to break. I wonder whether Apple is worrying about the stress when people put SD cards into the reader while connected to the iPad.

How long will Apple wait before they reduce the price they ask for more flash memory? On the MacBook Pro it is $2 per GB, with the iPads $6 or $3 per GB for memory that has a good deal worse performance. This leaves the door open for competitors to undercut Apple on price.