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?
 
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?
The problem is the iPad Mini is a POS, it's slow, loses wireless signals and is barely legible. Spend too much time on one of these little horrors and you'll go blind.

I bought one a couple of days before going over to America because I wanted something light and I knew about the poor resolution, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The Genius nearly fainted when I told him to wrap it up, he started stuttering, he said, "but you've been rubbishing it for ten minutes" and I said, "yeah I know, but it's light, and I'm going overseas". I also think I was the first one that first day to buy one, it was the funniest thing I've seen, the guy really was stuttering.
if you compare the Mini to almost anything else, it has the worst screen.
 

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Oh, I noticed Steve Irwin's father is using what looks to be a Surface RT, unless Bindi got him a Pro from America.

Also this will have zero impact on Surface Pro sales, completely different markets, toy market vs business market.
 

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We're living in an age where 10 inch tablets are too big.... :shock:

That's really messed up. If you think about, PC computing started out with like, these little monitor, I think they were about 10 inches or so. As time went on, they went to 12, 15, 17, 20, 22, 23, and more inches especially with LCD technology. It used to be bigger was better, but when PC computing went from the desktop to laptop, bigger stopped being better and smaller was better. Honestly, I'd kind of like a 17 inch touch enabled ultrabook PC... Now that PC computing is shifting some from laptops to tablets, smaller is even better. Ten inches? Too big, eight is ideal. But then there are smartphones, smaller isn't better for most. Bigger is what is better. That went from 3 or inches to almost 5 and even 6.

I think the general consumer public should understand WHAT THE DEVICE WAS BUILT TO DO. A smartphone shouldn't at all be used as a PC replacement or tablet PC replacement. It's so idiotic to meet people that literally live on their smartphone. Really right now?
 

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There's no point in saying the general public needs to understand your point of view, they already understand what they want and that's evident in the sales.
 

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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.
 

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I think the general consumer public should understand WHAT THE DEVICE WAS BUILT TO DO. A smartphone shouldn't at all be used as a PC replacement or tablet PC replacement. It's so idiotic to meet people that literally live on their smartphone. Really right now?

If they had to carry two things around like a laptop and a phone, that would make them responsible for two things. And sure enough they be talking on the phone walk off and leave the laptop for someone else to steal it.
I know a couple of people that use a smartphone now because of that very mindset. They walked off and had a laptop stolen while using their phone. And so they bought the smartphone. Which also to stay pocket.
 

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I think the general consumer public should understand WHAT THE DEVICE WAS BUILT TO DO. A smartphone shouldn't at all be used as a PC replacement or tablet PC replacement. It's so idiotic to meet people that literally live on their smartphone. Really right now?

If they had to carry two things around like a laptop and a phone, that would make them responsible for two things. And sure enough they be talking on the phone walk off and leave the laptop for someone else to steal it.
I know a couple of people that use a smartphone now because of that very mindset. They walked off and had a laptop stolen while using their phone. And so they bought the smartphone. Which also to stay pocket.
That's some people, not everyone. Most people I know keep on top of their laptop. But I can see how that happens though, ideally you'd want to put some security safeguards in place for that.
 

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I know a lot of people that use their smartphones for just about everything while travelling. Ever heard of Tapatalk (for (iPhone and Android only)? It's designed to allow smartphone users to more easily engage with forums. These are the sorts of developments that people want and are interested in and they work with the smaller form factor devices that people want.
 

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I know a lot of people that use their smartphones for just about everything while travelling. Ever heard of Tapatalk (for (iPhone and Android only)? It's designed to allow smartphone users to more easily engage with forums. These are the sorts of developments that people want and are interested in and they work with the smaller form factor devices that people want.
But yet, if you look at the trend with smartphones, bigger screens are more desirable over smaller ones, so they end up being almost the size of an ipad mini.
 

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But yet, if you look at the trend with smartphones, bigger screens are more desirable over smaller ones, so they end up being almost the size of an ipad mini.

Yes, and that's where there appears to be some convergence at the moment and possible balancing.
 

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I'm not sure a lot of people understand the modern tech world on this forum. A modern smartphone is basically a computer and you can do anything with it that you can do on a PC, except for a few specific things.
I've travelled all around Australia 16000 klms with my smartphone being my main computer. Using it as a navigator, finding camping grounds, places to eat, places of interest and booking camping grounds.

Every now and then I used it as a hotspot for my Netbook, but that was hardly ever, I found the phone to be main computing device.

I also use tablets, hate saying it, but iPads. The 10" iPads really are too big when you're travelling overseas, okay if you want to lug a backpack around all day, but you're better off with a phone or even better a 7 or 8 tablet. The iPad Mini is actually a tad large, and a better idea would be something like the Nexus 7.

I've seen plenty of people at Airports lugging a 17" laptop around, they're usually tethered to a pole sucking up airport power, it's the most ridiculous sight I've ever seen.

At the moment I think it's still better carrying two devices, but I can see people being satisfied with just a phone or a phablets.

The world is moving fast, every year I carry a new gadget overseas, usually lighter and faster each time. My wife is on my back again right at this moment wanting to go to Spain and Portugal. So I could be looking for a new gadget very shortly or buy one overseas.

I don't know what's going to come out on top, or whether it will be a variety of devices. I'd hope to see the Surface Pro for business people and then a variety of devices below that for more casual users. Also even a bigger Surface Pro for specific purposes.
 

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There are some things the smartphone form factor is good for, and things the tablet PC/laptop PC form factor is good for. I don't prefer to do serious stuff on my Windows Phone because it's handy, if it's just filling in some numbers into an Excel sheet or a Word document, OK. But if it's like doing internet research, browsing, or hardcore tasks, a smartphone just does not cut it for me.
 

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The reality is that the vast majority of people use Android/Apple tablets and the like because they are not interested in doing serious stuff, the devices are social tools. I went to a wedding recently and one guy there was using his iPad to video the wedding. I thought it kind of weird, but then I've seen videos taken with the iPad and they aren't too bad, if you're not into cinematography, and they are immediately viewable and can be easily sent to facebook or whatever.
 

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The reality is that the vast majority of people use Android/Apple tablets and the like because they are not interested in doing serious stuff, the devices are social tools. I went to a wedding recently and one guy there was using his iPad to video the wedding. I thought it kind of weird, but then I've seen videos taken with the iPad and they aren't too bad, if you're not into cinematography, and they are immediately viewable and can be easily sent to facebook or whatever.
That right there, videos and pictures with an ipad..... :doh:How is that any easier than using a smartphone? You can't put it in your pocket. Or, at least you can stuff it in your pants...
 

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    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
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    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
That right there, videos and pictures with an ipad..... :doh:How is that any easier than using a smartphone? You can't put it in your pocket. Or, at least you can stuff it in your pants...

As I said, they can immediately view the results on a large screen and show their friends, edit, send it to the interwebs or whatever. It's not something I would do, but millions do just that and with the 7" form-factor tablets, they are easier to use in similar situations. And with the cameras in these devices becoming better and better all the time, P&S cameras are rapidly falling out of fashion.
 

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The reality is that the vast majority of people use Android/Apple tablets and the like because they are not interested in doing serious stuff, the devices are social tools. I went to a wedding recently and one guy there was using his iPad to video the wedding. I thought it kind of weird, but then I've seen videos taken with the iPad and they aren't too bad, if you're not into cinematography, and they are immediately viewable and can be easily sent to facebook or whatever.
It's not that they're not interested in doing serious stuff, it's just they haven't really had the ability, and in some cases okay they don't really need to.
I can absolutely assure you that most people would love to be able to do serious stuff, it's just that they can't. I might be wrong but I think over the next couple of years you'll see many, many people jumping onto Surface Pro and even Surface RT as well as gadgets made by the OEMs.
 

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The reality is that the vast majority of people use Android/Apple tablets and the like because they are not interested in doing serious stuff, the devices are social tools. I went to a wedding recently and one guy there was using his iPad to video the wedding. I thought it kind of weird, but then I've seen videos taken with the iPad and they aren't too bad, if you're not into cinematography, and they are immediately viewable and can be easily sent to facebook or whatever.
It's not that they're not interested in doing serious stuff, it's just they haven't really had the ability, and in some cases okay they don't really need to.
I can absolutely assure you that most people would love to be able to do serious stuff, it's just that they can't. I might be wrong but I think over the next couple of years you'll see many, many people jumping onto Surface Pro and even Surface RT as well as gadgets made by the OEMs.

Actually, yeah... Some people I've come across that live on their smartphones tend to be the type of people that freak out when their PC goes haywire and don't know what to do or what any technical term is other than 3G/4G LTE.... Sounds a tad awful, but it's kind of true from my experience.
 

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    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
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    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
The reality is that the vast majority of people use Android/Apple tablets and the like because they are not interested in doing serious stuff, the devices are social tools. I went to a wedding recently and one guy there was using his iPad to video the wedding. I thought it kind of weird, but then I've seen videos taken with the iPad and they aren't too bad, if you're not into cinematography, and they are immediately viewable and can be easily sent to facebook or whatever.
That right there, videos and pictures with an ipad..... :doh:How is that any easier than using a smartphone? You can't put it in your pocket. Or, at least you can stuff it in your pants...
All those people are doing is saying look at me I've got an iPad, absolutely ludicrous. I was sitting in a pub one night and this woman pulled out her iPad and was pretending to be looking at it from all these weird angles, but really just saying look at me I've got an iPad.
 

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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.
 

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