5 thoughts about the iPad mini

The iPad mini has been officially announced last night during an Oct. 23 keynote Apple during which many other novelties were presented.

As a preamble, a reminder of the main features of the iPad mini , which are those of the iPad 2, smaller:

Multipoint touch screen tablet 7.9 inches
Resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels at 163 pixels per inch (ppi)
Height: 200 mm
Width: 134.7 mm
Thickness: 7.2 mm
Weight: 308 g (note that the Google Nexus 7-Asus weighs 340 g and already seems incredibly light in hand)
A5 processor bicœu
Lightnin connector
Mini-jack 3.5 mm stereo headphone
Built-in speaker
Microphone
Three-axis gyroscope
Accelerometer
Ambient light sensor
Wi-Fi
Digital compass

The iPad mini will be available from November 2 and November WiFi version version "cellular" 3/4G. Note that the 4G versions will not be compatible with the 4G, crowing.

This ad - long awaited and long - some remarks, born over rumors that fueled the headlines over the last few months.

1. The iPad mini is the first real product after Steve Jobs.

I already know that some of you will fit in against this false claim, arguing that the creation cycle of a product is at least two years while Jobs has handed (and the rest) it only a year ago. But facts are stubborn and unrelenting: in October 2010, six months after the release of the first iPad, Steve Jobs had publicly declared a 7-inch iPad made ​​absolutely no sense. Any visionary he was, the guru had for once deceived, and the pragmatism of the team who succeeded him took precedence over the incantations: the tablet market completely dominated by Apple and even stifled the iPad on 10-inch thrives on unexpected segment, where Cupertino was absent mini-tablet 7 inch format (for which I argued since the beginning). If Apple does not want to be cannibalizing the bottom, it was time to react. It's done. Now that Jobs is gone, his successors had the elbow and could contradict oracle Chef. It is therefore the first product of the post-Job, or at least a product that would probably never be released under his reign. You me retort that mini iPad is 7.9 and that Jobs talked about 7 inches, and that therefore he was right. What you're bad faith sometimes

2. The iPad mini is expensive. Too expensive?

339 euros, or 329 dollars in the U.S. for the entry-level model, namely a 16GB WiFi 3G/4G connectivity without therefore, it is indeed expensive. Especially if we compare it to the price of its current direct competitor, the Google Nexus tablet 7, which costs 249 euros in the same configuration, which must deduct 25 euros more vouchers credited to the Play Store Google to download movies, applications, games and books. However, this is not so much for an Apple product. Firstly, the difference in finish compared to the Nexus 7 is taken as the first hand striking. The brushed aluminum shell of the tablet from Apple has proven, and is a range above the competition back features a molded plastic anti-slip practice but less flattering. The style and design against the functionality. On the other hand, the screen of 7.9 inches has a surface of 35% higher than the Nexus, a virtually identical external dimensions, and a much lower weight (308 g against 340 g for Nexus 7). Finally, another argument in favor of the iPad and can justify a higher rate: the 275,000 apps available, and thoughts developed specifically for the iPad. A strong point when we know that many apps available on Android that adaptations are sometimes very risky versions for smartphones, and even when they are compatible. I know something since I use my Nexus 7 daily for 2 months now and if 95% replaced my iPad, it does not go a day without my app against a plague poorly designed, buggy or just unusable, which NEVER happens on iOS. And I'm not talking about apps that do not yet exist for this format (Jellybean 7 inches), and not least (and generally all MyTF1 media apps, or Flipboard, still conspicuously absent by 10 inches).

Of course, like all observers and users, I would have hoped for a first prize of iPad mini 249 or 299 euros for the worst. But we can also understand Apple's strategy: at equal performance products feature MUST sell more expensive, and especially to guard against the fact that if the iPad Mini cannibalize the "big" iPad (which I opinion is likely to occur), it must not be at the expense of margins. And where is it written that a smaller product - if it meets a strong demand - must be cheaper than its larger counterpart, if everything is equal elsewhere (components, design, functionality) and that it brings a real plus in terms of usability? Do not we say that miniaturization expensive?

3. The iPad mini is compatible with iPad applications 10 inches

That was the big question that I asked yesterday and I was surprised that nobody has mentioned. The keynote yesterday gave the answer in a chapter specifically devoted to him, demonstrating the importance Apple places on it, including on its website . The mini iPad natively supports all iPad applications, due to its screen resolution identical to that of the iPad 2, ie 768 × 1024 pixels. There will therefore be no question of the developers to provide updates as was the case for example for the iPhone 5, and we are entitled to our favorite apps in the format that we already know: a Flipboard GarageBand or turn version of iPad, iPhone and not on the iPad mini. Good news and a small stone from the garden of Android aisles sometimes not very well drawn.

4. The iPad mini is unlikely he not kill the 10-inch iPad?

It is a risk, probably calculated and provided by Apple. And I think in this respect that the choice of size 7.9 inches is not totally innocent. If Apple had released a 7-inch, comparison, and thus the competition with other 7-inch tablet market was inevitable, and perhaps bloody for Apple. By adopting this format "in-between" guards against Apple and avoids comparisons to spend a follower. On the other hand it allows him to sell his pad just more expensive and avoid being drawn into a spiral of low-cost carriers which seem to engage some competitors (low cost does not mean cheap, eh) . But actually, this choice format also includes a risk that significantly cannibalize the 9.7-inch iPad, which seems suddenly very clumsy and cumbersome. It will be interesting to see the purchasing behavior and segmentation between the two models in the next few months, but I'd bet on a strong scalability rapid mini, and sales representing 50% of total revenue in the coming year . The iPad 9.7, which retains some advantages to him as the Retina display and a more powerful processor, could remain the first choice for professionals, and mini star to the general public ... to see.

5. Apple compares for the first time publicly a competitor ... android.

Unless I am mistaken, the keynote yesterday unveiled a new and amazing practice at Apple, at least since the era iPhone / iPad: direct confrontation with the competition. Phil Schiller, vice president of marketing Apple has indeed held a long comparative demonstration between 7 and Nexus mini iPad, and everything is past, large format photographs in support: finishing materials, size and especially of the screen (but not the resolution, coincidentally). Perhaps ultimately the best tribute we can pay to the excellent Google tablet and unexpected advertising, which shows that Android remains the bane of Cupertino, even after Steve Jobs.

Finally, after these facts and (relatively) objective, I give you my personal opinion: they follow me here know that I have always praised the format 7 inches and I always thought - even when I argued the opposite stubbornly with arguments that I have never changed your mind - that Apple would come out one day a mini iPad, because it would have no choice. Also - after you have said all that I think my Nexus 7 - I will not surprise you by telling you that the iPad mini for me is a really good news, and I will hasten to sell my iPad 2 to place orders on October 26. Cannibalization has begun, and I am one of the first actors. For me, the 9.7-inch iPad died last night, and I do not think I will return one day.

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