Smaller seems to be better

Apple’s iPad mini has leapfrogged its bigger brother in terms of sales. If the latest figures and projections from NPD DisplaySearch are anything to go by it seems like the market has shifted and smaller tablets will take over in 2013.

“We now understand that Apple may be planning to sell 55M iPad minis (7.9”) and 33M iPads (9.7”) in 2013,”

The focus upon smaller screened tablets isn’t just from Apple’s customers. NPD figures looks at industry-wide shipments which indicate that “in the first month of 2013, tablet PC panel shipments shifted dramatically toward smaller screen sizes”.

Also NPD suggests that the mini tablets are about to get a shot in the arm with higher resolution displays.

Full size Apple iPad sales collapse as iPad mini takes over - Tablets - News - HEXUS.net

Where is that going to leave the Surface? I'm not surprised that OEMs have shied away from producing Windows RT tablets and will this have an effect on Windows Pro tablets?

 

[BillWindows]

I doubt very much that people will suddenly start abandoning their Android/Apple devices for Windows tablets etc. They are so entrenched in these devices and the ecosystem, especially Apple, that there is no reason for them to change. Microsoft hasn't introduced anything compelling enough for any of these users to contemplate change, in fact, the marketing has probably convinced most that there is nothing to be gained with change.

I mean, look at the Microsoft fanboy on this forum, despite the religious fever with which he promotes Windows 8, he still keeps buying every new Apple and Android product. I argue about Microsoft's direction etc, but do not own one single Apple/Android device, everything is Microsoft. However, I can see what the general populace wants and is happy to own and Microsoft comes a distant third in their choice of product.

If MS hasn't bought out anything compelling enough, how come people are lining up to buy Surface Pro and ditching their iPads.

 

[Ray8]

Yep, I can see those lines everywhere. Oh, wait, I think those are supermarket queues.

 

[Coke Robot]

I doubt very much that people will suddenly start abandoning their Android/Apple devices for Windows tablets etc. They are so entrenched in these devices and the ecosystem, especially Apple, that there is no reason for them to change. Microsoft hasn't introduced anything compelling enough for any of these users to contemplate change, in fact, the marketing has probably convinced most that there is nothing to be gained with change.

I mean, look at the Microsoft fanboy on this forum, despite the religious fever with which he promotes Windows 8, he still keeps buying every new Apple and Android product. I argue about Microsoft's direction etc, but do not own one single Apple/Android device, everything is Microsoft. However, I can see what the general populace wants and is happy to own and Microsoft comes a distant third in their choice of product.

I'm a fan of Microsoft and haven't bought a Surface Pro yet. I have a Windows Phone and Windows 8. The Windows Phone is what makes the distinction from a user to fan....

Also, I'm not those "fanboys" who buy the latest thing on day one just to have it. I have to have a real reason to own it, right now I don't have that's justifiable at the moment. A year from now yeah, but not now. This partly because I used Excel 2013 on my Windows 8 PC and Windows Phone 8.

 

[Ray8]

I'm a fan of Microsoft and haven't bought a Surface Pro yet. I have a Windows Phone and Windows 8. The Windows Phone is what makes the distinction from a user to fan....

Also, I'm not those "fanboys" who buy the latest thing on day one just to have it. I have to have a real reason to own it, right now I don't have that's justifiable at the moment. A year from now yeah, but not now. This partly because I used Excel 2013 on my Windows 8 PC and Windows Phone 8.

As I said, I use Microsoft products exclusively, the only thing I've ditched is my Windows phone (HTC Touch Diamond II - $500 at time of purchase) as it did everything well, except make phone calls (no reception capability whatsoever). I've since bought a ZTE T95 ($49 at time of purchase) and everything it does makes it better than the HTC, especially phone calls. I have no idea what OS it uses.

I used to be a Nokia fan and liked the way you could connect the phone to the Windows desktop and really love the way the ZTE connects to my desktop and tablet. I can connect my ZTE say to my tablet and immediately have full sync with everything on the tablet, I can receive and send text/MMS messages through the tablet with the ZTE connected and with one click I can use the ZTE as a modem and get 4G (LTE) data connection. All this from a $49 phone.

What was really an eye opener is how poorly implemented and tragic is the Windows phone to desktop interface through Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC). Maybe some of it has to do with the phone provider itself, but all I could ever do with the WMDC was sync with the phone. Woopee!

There is one member here who appears to buy the latest thing from Apple and Android and then goes on to bag how poor they are. Makes you wonder.

 

[BillWindows]

I'm a fan of Microsoft and haven't bought a Surface Pro yet. I have a Windows Phone and Windows 8. The Windows Phone is what makes the distinction from a user to fan....

Also, I'm not those "fanboys" who buy the latest thing on day one just to have it. I have to have a real reason to own it, right now I don't have that's justifiable at the moment. A year from now yeah, but not now. This partly because I used Excel 2013 on my Windows 8 PC and Windows Phone 8.

As I said, I use Microsoft products exclusively, the only thing I've ditched is my Windows phone (HTC Touch Diamond II - $500 at time of purchase) as it did everything well, except make phone calls (no reception capability whatsoever). I've since bought a ZTE T95 ($49 at time of purchase) and everything it does makes it better than the HTC, especially phone calls. I have no idea what OS it uses.

I used to be a Nokia fan and liked the way you could connect the phone to the Windows desktop and really love the way the ZTE connects to my desktop and tablet. I can connect my ZTE say to my tablet and immediately have full sync with everything on the tablet, I can receive and send text/MMS messages through the tablet with the ZTE connected and with one click I can use the ZTE as a modem and get 4G (LTE) data connection. All this from a $49 phone.

What was really an eye opener is how poorly implemented and tragic is the Windows phone to desktop interface through Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC). Maybe some of it has to do with the phone provider itself, but all I could ever do with the WMDC was sync with the phone. Woopee!

There is one member here who appears to buy the latest thing from Apple and Android and then goes on to bag how poor they are. Makes you wonder.

I have never said they're all poor, just the Mini, but I knew that when I bought it, they're all limited in some way.

Some people when they get older buy a red sports car, me, I buy tech products and travel a lot. Travelling and tech go pretty well together. I remember the first time I went to Europe I used maps to drive around, the next time I used a phone and Netbook. Next time I'll probably use a phone and the Mini if I haven't sold it, or I'll get something like the Nexus 7 which will be easier to read.

 

[jimbo45]

It just seems insane to be doing web activities on such a small screen. Why would anyone do that over a larger monitor, faster hardware, and faster internet? To me, this is like what?! At least use a tablet PC! A smartphone wasn't built so it can replace a PC. That's just that.

Hi there

Never mind just about web services -- what about complex spread sheets / presentations etc.

Even for reading e-books a 4 inch or even 4.5 inch smart phone screen is too small -- and as for any sort of continuous reading on any type of backlit device such as an iPad -- forget it -- e-readers really are fine for reading --even in the brightest of direct sunlight and whatever other device you have an e-reader will fit decently into a pocket, can be taken anywhere, doesn't need any OS updates etc and e-books are easily available from all sorts of "places" too -- convert from different formats with calibre so you aren't restricted to one store for your e-books or even if you get them from "the wild".

I can't really see the use of an Ipad mini myself -- I'd go for a surface pro or a decent ultrabook type of laptop - but if I were visiting the US for a short holiday I'd be happy with an e-reader and a smartphone. If you want to play movies on a hotel TV using your smarphone you can easily get MHL==>- MicroUSB adapters for your phone to connect to the TV (at HD quality too if you've got a decent smartphone).

pic enc

Cheers
jimbo

 

[BillWindows]

One good thing about all this tech today, there's plenty of choice, and with Microsoft in the mix, there's even more choice, especially for business users.
My own preference for travelling is to travel as light as possible, it costs less, and some Airlines are getting very stingy about carry on luggage.
When you've got the right travel apps on a small tablet, you don't need a big screen, it's amazing how much detail apps like Expedia and Hotels.com put on a small screen.

 

[Wenda]

Well, I went over to the 'Dark Side' last week, and bought a 7" tablet.

My 'main' laptop, being a high-end 18.4" 'desktop replacement' isn't easily or readily portable. It does have great battery life, though.

The 'second' laptop (15.6") is portable enough, but the battery is shot.

I have an Android smartphone (a ZTE T760 running Gingerbread 2.3.5) which has a 4.5" screen, and, as Jimbo points out, it is really
too small for doing anything too complex or serious, or as a practical e-book reader. My eyesight isn't all it could be, either.

Also, it eats its battery fairly quickly if you spend much time online.

Enter the tablet. Now, I've had a bit of a play with a Surface RT, and I quite liked it. My preference would be the Pro, however, for
its 'legacy' capabilities. Sadly, a Pro is out of the question, price-wise at present, nor was I sure that I'd even find a tablet useful.

So, it's an entry-level 7" 'Pendo Pad 4' (also made by ZTE, I believe) running ICS and it cost me A$129.00. I like the 7" format
because I can just drop it into a pocket and go. It's proprietary, so can't use the Google store direct, but the app store provided seems
OK. The rig works well as an e-book reader, has good battery life, and I can do reasonably 'serious'stuff on it without ruining my eyes.

So, shoot me for not buying a Surface/W8 rig if you must. I'm happy with this, at present.

 

[BillWindows]

Like I said Wenda, it's all about choice, but these little tablets are a long long way away from being a Surface Pro, but they still have their uses. I dare say the screen on that is probably better than the iPad Mini.
Now you can see why Microsoft had to do what it did, it can't ignore this market, and Windows 7 wasn't meant for touch. Just think, one day that little device could be a full blown computer with Windows 8 or RT.

 

[Coke Robot]

Now, the only way I'd think a smartphone or a smallish device like that could really be used as an all in one replacement is if the processing hardware is obviously top notch, along with holographic image projection. That way, you could plop down your smartphone for example, and enter in projection mode where the display is holographic in front of you, and a keyboard layout gets projected onto the surface of where the smartphone is on and that is used to obviously type on.

Or even a tablet PC could do that....

 

[phillipduran]

Apple’s iPad mini has leapfrogged its bigger brother in terms of sales. If the latest figures and projections from NPD DisplaySearch are anything to go by it seems like the market has shifted and smaller tablets will take over in 2013.

“We now understand that Apple may be planning to sell 55M iPad minis (7.9”) and 33M iPads (9.7”) in 2013,”

The focus upon smaller screened tablets isn’t just from Apple’s customers. NPD figures looks at industry-wide shipments which indicate that “in the first month of 2013, tablet PC panel shipments shifted dramatically toward smaller screen sizes”.

Also NPD suggests that the mini tablets are about to get a shot in the arm with higher resolution displays.

Full size Apple iPad sales collapse as iPad mini takes over - Tablets - News - HEXUS.net

Where is that going to leave the Surface? I'm not surprised that OEMs have shied away from producing Windows RT tablets and will this have an effect on Windows Pro tablets?

For me, the smaller tablet wins the day. I have a large iPad and a Mini. The large one is collecting dust now. The mini is much easier to use and it doesn't sacrifice any of the experience.

 

[Coke Robot]

By this rate, we should start using 8 inch phones!

 

[phillipduran]

By this rate, we should start using 8 inch phones!

I can help but laugh every time I see someone talking on a Galaxy Note.

Make me think of Get Smart.

 

[whs]

Where is that going to leave the Surface? I'm not surprised that OEMs have shied away from producing Windows RT tablets and will this have an effect on Windows Pro tablets?

It will leave it between a rock and a hard place. Too big to carry in your pocket and too small to do any serious work. And also too expensive compared to other options.

 

[chrisa]

Where is that going to leave the Surface? I'm not surprised that OEMs have shied away from producing Windows RT tablets and will this have an effect on Windows Pro tablets?

It will leave it between a rock and a hard place. Too big to carry in your pocket and too small to do any serious work. And also too expensive compared to other options.

Have you not seen the absolute flood of Surface Pro-style tablets in the past month? Both Lenovo and Samsung are hip deep chucking models of all levels out the door. If you want to take a hit on resolution, you can get them for like $550. Just do a search on NewEgg for either 'Lenovo Tablet PC' or 'Samsung Tablet PC'. It'll be on the first page, sometimes about halfway down.. just look for the screens with the start screen interface.

But it IS a mobile device like any other, the only exception is that you can run your Real Software to do your Real Work mobily when you need to, like if on the road.

 

[Ray8]

Has Bill suddenly cloned himself, it's like an echo in here.

 

[whs]

Regarding Samsung, all I see on Newegg is one model for $1170 and one for $1364 - both with a 1.7GHz CPU. Even one of my laptops from 2007 is faster than that and was a lot cheaper.

 

[SIW2]

I think it likely there is a good market for what is essentially a 10 in laptop under 2 pounds, if it is a reasonable performer at a reasonable price. It is just a continued progression of smaller and lighter lappies as the tech allows.Seems likely people would want to get one of those next time, instead of another 14 or 15 in model

That has nothing to do with win 8 per se, except it ( or the next iteration ) will be on them - therefore it will sell just because it comes with the device.

I suppose a very few can afford the 11 in mac thing - Tim may make one even smaller still - but most won't be able to stretch to that. Therefore they get something they can afford - guess what - it has windows on it.

 

[Coke Robot]

Regarding Samsung, all I see on Newegg is one model for $1170 and one for $1364 - both with a 1.7GHz CPU. Even one of my laptops from 2007 is faster than that and was a lot cheaper.

I doubt your laptop would be faster than that CPU, it's probably an i series core and regardless of the clockspeed, it's probably faster at processing due to the hyperthreading and technology Intel has with those CPUs. Clockspeed doesn't matter too much these days with CPUs, it's how efficient it can processor with that speed.

 

[Coke Robot]

Has Bill suddenly cloned himself, it's like an echo in here.

So it's a bad thing that someone else comes in to say their opinion about small phablets, without being accused of something they're not?