The "Apple Inc." Thread iPad Mini

[Chino]

What's the point of it? Faster charging?

It prevents third parties from making something that can steal potential revenue from Apple.

[Chino]

https://money.cnn.com/2012/10/05/technology/mobile/foxconn-iphone-5-strike/index.html?iid=SF_T_Lead

Thousands of factory workers at Foxconn went on strike Friday to protest their working conditions on the iPhone 5's production lines, according to a report from an independent workers' rights organization.

[Sigz]

https://www.theverge.com/2012/10/10/3479550/apple-expands-patent-coverage-on-slide-to-unlock-feature

I don't even.

[orcus116]

I blame the patent office more than anything. Stuff this broad should not allowed to be patented.

[kirksnosehair]

What's next?  Is the US Postal Service going to apply for a patent on licking?

[Chino]

What's next?  Is the US Postal Service going to apply for a patent on licking?

No, the vagina already holds that one.

[kirksnosehair]

[Implode]

I'm so glad I wasn't drinking something just now.

[Chino]

iPad Mini invites are out.

[emindead]

https://www.apple.com/apple-events/october-2012/

It can be streamed live.

[faizoff]

Surprise with a ipad 4th generation announcement along with the ipad mini.

[emindead]

I'm not sure, but did you you mean that you're surprised that the 4th generation of the iPad is the mini?

[faizoff]

No there's an ipad 4 now along with the ipad mini. There wasnt that much news on an ipad 4 coming out so soon after the 3rd one.

[Chino]

I'm thinking about selling my iPad2 and getting a mini.

[kári]

Why?

[Fiery Winds]

Why?

Not only that, but it has the same processor as the iPad 2, so it's not much of a performance upgrade either.

[Chino]

I bought my iPad at a time when I didn't have a laptop. I wanted something with a decent screen size when I was at home. I have since purchased a new laptop and now only use the iPad when I'm on the go, hanging out on a couch in the library, or when lying in bed as I wind down for the night. I don't really need the larger screen as much as I used to, and there have been plenty of instances when I wish I had a smaller iPad. I'm not looking for a performance upgrade. The current iPad does everything I need it to.

[Xanthul]

[XJDenton]

So is the ipod going to be renamed the ipad nano?

[cramx3]

I think it's kind of odd that Steve Jobs is gone, and now Apple unviels a lackluster Iphone (in terms of upgrades), and then has a new Ipad Mini, and then Microsoft releases the Surface tablet and Windows 8.  Quite a war of technology.  I think Microsoft is going to make a big impact, along with Samsung, to move Apple down a bit in popularity.

[Implode]

Samsung's commercials bash he new iPhone for being nothing exciting, but then they say nothing about their phone? Are they doing anything new?

[Chino]

Samsung's commercials bash he new iPhone for being nothing exciting, but then they say nothing about their phone? Are they doing anything new?

Not really.

The problem with technology is the rate at which it is evolving. You have many companies releasing new phones so often, it's hard to get anything that can really be defined as 'new'. Everything that comes out now is just a more advanced version of a previous technology. Innovations for mobile phones have hit a plateau. Camera's, multi-core processors, the touch screen, multi-touch gestures, facial recognition, and the seamless integration into everything were innovative. What new is there to do with a phone that can be deemed innovative and not just an upgrade? I'm sure there is something, but I can't think of anything really ground breaking off hand.

Maybe things like;

- Controlling the phone with your brain (way off)
- Laser keyboards (possible https://www.utechnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/How-do-laser-projection-keyboards-work.jpg )
- Precise eye-tracking and facial gestures
- 3D camera systems
- Twin touch screens to make a mini tablet (already tried by some manufacturers)
- No physical phone, an earpiece could project the screen onto your hand or any surface (way off)

My point is, there is only so much innovation you can put in your hand. The power and capabilities will continue to improve at an awesome pace, but things that can be considered 'new'... I don't think there is much left. The only area that I can think that phones can still vastly improve is battery life. That lies mostly in the screen technology. If my iPad can run for 8+ hours using wifi, my phone should be able to do the same. I still wouldn't call that an innovation though. It's just another upgrade. A phone that could charge with built in solar panels would be fucking sweet. Maybe even something like charge the battery via shaking motions while walking, something along the lines of an automatic watch winding itself. Granted one is increasing mechanical potential energy and one is increasing electrical potential energy, but it might be possible. 

This would make a really good thread topic. I'd love to hear other people's opinion on what else they think can be packed into a smart phone. I'm still waiting for a company to release something without the "phone" title. The phone feature is probably my least used feature on my phone. I think I used a whopping 450 minutes last year, most of which were long conversations with school officials and insurance people.

[cramx3]

I'm still waiting for a company to release something without the "phone" title.

Like the Ipod Touch?

[wolfandwolfandwolf]

I bought the iPad 2 yesterday used from a guy on craigslist on the cheap.  Great shape, really.  I was prepared to buy the new mini, but holy crap - the differences are so minimal it's not even worth it.

[Chino]

I'm still waiting for a company to release something without the "phone" title.

Like the Ipod Touch?

No. The iPod touch doesn't make phone calls.

[chknptpie]

But if it makes phone calls... doesn't that then give ample reason to have phone in the title?

[Chino]

But if it makes phone calls... doesn't that then give ample reason to have phone in the title?

Not really. Why not call it a portable web browser, a camera, a text machine, a portable gaming system, or a data organizer? It's not really a phone anymore. It's an electronic device with phone capabilities.

[Implode]

What if that becomes the new definition of phone? Why does the name matter?

[Chino]

What if that becomes the new definition of phone? Why does the name matter?

I'm just saying if a compnay wants to appear to be innovative. Create a device that they consider to be above what we now know of as a phone.

[Cable]

Samsung's commercials bash he new iPhone for being nothing exciting, but then they say nothing about their phone? Are they doing anything new?

Not really.

The problem with technology is the rate at which it is evolving. You have many companies releasing new phones so often, it's hard to get anything that can really be defined as 'new'. Everything that comes out now is just a more advanced version of a previous technology. Innovations for mobile phones have hit a plateau. Camera's, multi-core processors, the touch screen, multi-touch gestures, facial recognition, and the seamless integration into everything were innovative. What new is there to do with a phone that can be deemed innovative and not just an upgrade? I'm sure there is something, but I can't think of anything really ground breaking off hand.

Maybe things like;

- Controlling the phone with your brain (way off)
- Laser keyboards (possible https://www.utechnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/How-do-laser-projection-keyboards-work.jpg )
- Precise eye-tracking and facial gestures
- 3D camera systems
- Twin touch screens to make a mini tablet (already tried by some manufacturers)
- No physical phone, an earpiece could project the screen onto your hand or any surface (way off)

My point is, there is only so much innovation you can put in your hand. The power and capabilities will continue to improve at an awesome pace, but things that can be considered 'new'... I don't think there is much left. The only area that I can think that phones can still vastly improve is battery life. That lies mostly in the screen technology. If my iPad can run for 8+ hours using wifi, my phone should be able to do the same. I still wouldn't call that an innovation though. It's just another upgrade. A phone that could charge with built in solar panels would be fucking sweet. Maybe even something like charge the battery via shaking motions while walking, something along the lines of an automatic watch winding itself. Granted one is increasing mechanical potential energy and one is increasing electrical potential energy, but it might be possible. 

This would make a really good thread topic. I'd love to hear other people's opinion on what else they think can be packed into a smart phone. I'm still waiting for a company to release something without the "phone" title. The phone feature is probably my least used feature on my phone. I think I used a whopping 450 minutes last year, most of which were long conversations with school officials and insurance people.

I agree with this fully. What really has changed much since the first iPhone to the present? Huge refinements to everything, some new software, but the same innovations remain. Even if the phone can recharge via solar power; it still remains a useful portable computer.

Who knows what is the next thing is; those who will invent it will figure out. I do not understand the flak for updates to everything; only so much they can do.

I think people have bought into Apple's hyperbole too much, expecting each device to truly be revolutionary.

[orcus116]

Samsung's commercials bash he new iPhone for being nothing exciting, but then they say nothing about their phone? Are they doing anything new?

Huh? I'm pretty sure they say, very blatantly, 5 or 6 things about their phone. And since when has Apple ever had ads that talked in depth about their products? Hell, I can't recall a single Mac vs PC ad that actually said something that their computers or OSX did.

[BlobVanDam]

Samsung's commercials bash he new iPhone for being nothing exciting, but then they say nothing about their phone? Are they doing anything new?

Huh? I'm pretty sure they say, very blatantly, 5 or 6 things about their phone. And since when has Apple ever had ads that talked in depth about their products? Hell, I can't recall a single Mac vs PC ad that actually said something that their computers or OSX did.

Those ads were nothing but generalized lies that tried to convince people that PCs were basically still running DOS.

The iPad/iPhone ads don't really say anything about the product. They just spout some pretentious ramble about their products being magical, or defying the laws of physics.

A lot of ads seem to be following Apple's lead, because ads never seem to tell you anything anymore. They just try to make the product look as futuristic and indispensable as possible, without actually telling you anything specific.

[cramx3]

Thats true that ads in general often show little to nothing about the product, but the Samsung commercials do give some info on thier phones, like the tap phones to exchange playlists featured in that one commercial.

[Implode]

It's probably because I don't watch TV very often. But the commercial I'm talking about was the one where the guys was saving a spot in the iPhone 5 line for his parents. People in line sounded excited for nothing saying things like, "Get this. Headphone jack...on the bottom!" And after the scene, it just said something like, "Why wait for the hype? The new Galaxy S3 is already here." That's it.

EDIT: Okay. I looked up the commercial, and it turns out I saw a short version. In the full version it touts how you can share things by touching phones. There an iPhone app for that. Then it says the S3's screen is bigger, but the iPhone 5 has a higher resolution. And it even uses the fact that they've had 4G for longer as an argument. That doesn't make one phone better than the other.

I'm not trying to say the iPhone 5 is better. But everything they say doesn't matter. Eh. I guess it's just normal marketing right?

[orcus116]

Yeah the hell 4G makes a difference considering it's the new market standard (until real 4G comes out). It wasn't like the technology wasn't available when the 4S came out, Apple just straight up did not include what should've been one of the most important features.