While Android may be running away with the lion’s share of the smartphone market, there’s still no doubt about what rules the roost when it comes to tablets. New data from InfoScout reveals that roughly 40% of iPads sold on Black Friday were purchased by Android smartphone users.
Insert quips about bricking your iPad here.
Lego accessories have been popular for Apple products for a while now, and now that trend continues with Belkin’s new Lego iPad mini Case — which comes with an official grid of Lego studs on the back.
What’s this? A review of the Retina iPad mini almost a month after launch? That’s right. And although I haven’t been using my new mini for that long, I’ve been using for more than the two or three hours logged by most of the folks who “reviewed” it on launch.
So if you are wondering if the new mini is noticeably heavier than the old one, or if it takes all night to charge it, or whether an iPad even needs LTE, then read on.
Breaking with the tradition of Friday launches in India — and despite rumors that it would take place on November 29 — Apple has announced that customers in India will be able to buy the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display as of Saturday, December 7.
The euphoria of Black Friday is over, and like the comedown after any spend-heavy holiday it’s time to look at the receipts.
According to analytics firm InfoScout, the iPad Air and iPad mini were two of the day’s big winners.
Native Union wasn’t kidding around when it chose the name “Gripster” – this thing can be gripped and grabbed any way you like. Hell, even a Dolphin could get a purchase on this thing with its slippery flippers. The case, now available for the iPad mini, had a swiveling hand loop, a kickstand/carrying handle and a Smart Cover that folds up to add yet another handle.
You’ve probably heard that the new iPad mini with Retina display has a significantly smaller color gamut that the larger iPad Air, but how does it compete against rival tablets like the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HDX?
According to the experts at DisplayMate, not very well. In fact, the new iPad mini came a “distant third” in their tablet display shootout, thanks to Apple’s “inexcusable” decision to use old technology.
“Apple was once the leader in mobile displays, unfortunately it has fallen way behind,” DisplayMate says.
Hoping to get a nice discount on your next Mac or iOS device this Black Friday? Then you’d better buy it from a third-party retailer. Apple has taken a new approach to its Black Friday deals this year and decided to give away gift cards rather than discount its goods.
The holy grail of mobile devices like the iPad mini, in my opinion, is a bulk-free, cable-less charging system that can position Apple’s diminutive tablet in various ways.
The iPort Charge Case tries to make this dream come true, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark. While the iPort stand can indeed hold my iPad mini in both portrait and landscape orientation at a wide range of viewing angles, the need to place my gorgeously designed device into a bulky plastic case sort of kills the whole idea of “mini.”
The iPort Charge Case and Stand does indeed have some very valid uses in and around the home, but ultimately, due to the way it changes the use experience of the iPad mini, it isn’t quite the world-changer it hopes to be.
Recent reports have claimed that Apple’s had some difficulties manufacturing the new iPad mini with Retina display, which is why it didn’t shout too loudly about its launch earlier this month, and why the device hasn’t been too easy to get hold of in many markets.
But now that the initial supply constraints are easing, the Cupertino company will produce 4 million units during November alone, according to supply chain sources in Taiwan.
Apple is still facing supply constraints on the 3G/4G units of the iPad mini with Retina display, but it looks like customers can finally walk into an Apple Store and purchase a Retina iPad mini without ordering online first.
eBay’s Black Friday sale is set to start a day early this year, on Thursday, November 28 — and it includes a whole bunch of tablets, smartphones, consoles, and cameras. So whether you’re into Android or iOS, there’s a great deal to be had, such as an original iPad mini for $239, a Nexus 7 for $199, and the new iPad Air for $469.99.
The third-generation iPad mini and second-generation iPad Air will have Touch ID, there’s no doubt. Just like Siri — a feature that debuted in an ‘S’ year for the iPhone — took a year to creep to the iPad, TouchID will have a year’s exclusivity before it comes to Apple’s line-up of tablets.
Don’t hold your breath, though. We’re almost a year away from Touch ID coming to the iPad mini. So you should take this picture of a ‘leaked’ iPad mini 3 with Touch ID with super pessimism.
Tim Cook admitted that the iPad mini with Retina display will be in short supply for the next few weeks, but while Wifi-only units seem to be in-stock at Apple Stores across the country, it looks like Apple is having a hard time keeping a steady supply of 3G/4G units rolling out to developers.
Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all reporting shortages of iPad mini with Retina display stock with most orders being backed up for weeks, according to a report from CNET.
I turn down a lot of offers to review gadgets, either because I figure that you folks won’t care about whatever it is the PR folks are trying to hawk, or because it’s obvious that the product is too lame even to ridicule on these pages.
And sometimes it’s because I’m not equipped to review the item in question. I almost turned down the iOgrapher for this reason, as I have no LED lighting rigs; I recently gave away my tripod and I almost never shoot video. But I’m glad i didn’t, as the iOgrapher turns out to be a pretty excellent all-round iPhoneography case for the iPad mini.
Just looking at it, it’s clear that the iPad mini with Retina Display has improved upon its predecessor down to the pixel. But what about the pixels you can’t see? The ones inside the built-in iSight camera?
The bad news is the iSight Camera hasn’t changed from last year from a hardware perspective. It’s still a 5 megapixel, backside-illuminated, five-element, hybrid IR file red camera with a f/2.4 aperture. But the good news is it does a little better with low-light performance anyway.
Word on the street (and by “the street” we mean Tim Cook himself) was that Apple might not have enough iPad Minis to see it through this quarter — with Cult of Mac even opining that, “Good luck getting one of these before Christmas.”
Friday afternoon I checked out the Retina iPad mini at a local Apple reseller (spoiler: it’s awesome), and I tried it right after I’d hefted the iPad Air. And I noticed something I hadn’t heard about in any reviews: The colors are way brighter and, well, more colored on the iPad Air. The wallpaper looks more saturated, and the blue/green icons really jumped out at me on the bigger display.
The mini, by contrast, looked just like the old mini, only with higher resolution. And it turns out that my eyes were right. Anand Lal Shampi of Anandtech did the tests and found that the color gamut of the Air is wider than that of the Retina mini.
Affix your party hats, fine friends, and join us for a rip-roarin’ good time as we celebrate our 100th episode of The CultCast—recorded live! We’ll recall some of our favorite moments from episodes past, tell you how you to win a free signed copy of Leander Kahney’s new much-hyped Jony Ive book, plus, we talk the new iPad mini Retina; killer Black Friday iPad deals; and more rumors iPhone 6s with way bigger screens.
Have a few laughs and get caught up on each week’s best Apple stories. Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below adventure begin.
Thanks to Reflector for supporting this week’s episode. Looking for a great way to mirror your iPhone or iPad’s screen on any Mac or PC? You need Reflector.
Remember Apple Tracker, the web app that checked Apple’s inventory in order to help you find new iPhones and iPads in your area? Apple killed it off ahead of the iPad mini Retina launch , but now it’s back… just not on the original site.
Do you remember how last week, the iPad mini with Retina Display was said to have been delayed to November because of LCD burn-in issues with Sharp’s IGZO display panels? It appears the rumor was true, because the iPad mini does have image retention issues.
If you want an iPad mini with Retina Display today, there’s only one way to get one: reserve it for in-store pick-up. That’s how I got my 128GB iPad mini with Retina Display on day one of availability while my colleagues Charlie Sorrel and Killian Bell were sitting at home, waiting five to ten days for delivery like a couple of suckers.
If you’d like to make the hunt for an iPad mini in your area easier, a new web-based tracking tool has been released that makes the process less tedious. But act now, because Apple has shown itself to be willing to kill these trackers before, although it’s possible this one will escape unscathed.
The crazy folks over at iFixit are at it again with a complete rip apart of Apple’s latest amazing machine, the iPad mini with Retinal Display.
What they found is that the iPad mini with Retina Display is just as amazing, just as powerful, as the other two flagship iOS products, the iPad Air and the iPhone 5s. The mini, as advertised, has the uber-powerful mobile A7 chip as well as the M7 motion coprocessor. It also has a stunningly sharp 2048 X 1536 pixel display that fairly shines with a fairly dense 326 pixels per inch (the iPad Air “only” has 264 pixels per inch).
That’s a lot of pixels–and power–in a small space.
The Retina iPad mini suddenly went on sale this morning, and the device’s benchmarks have been posted online. Apple chose to put the same 64-bit A7 processor in the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and new iPad mini. The result is a hardly noticeable change in performance across the three devices.
The iPad mini with Retina display is finally here now that Apple managed to surprise us all by making units available to the Apple Store Online last night. The launch comes sooner than many expected, but if you’re hoping to run down to the Apple Store and pick up a new Mini you’re sure to be disappointed.
Apple sent out an official press release this morning to announce the immediate availability of Retina iPad mini units and also clarified that units will only be available for purchase from the Apple Store Online, or via the Personal Pickup option that allows users to check if local Apple Stores have available units on hand to pick up after ordering.