OK. My humble technophobic DP and I spent some time today, Black Saturday
browsing the shops for tablets and smart(ipants) phones. So until I have my Nexus+Mobile data actually in hand for comprehensive usability trails, this is an update to my prior posts on the screen usability quotient of the two devices (iPad Mini & Nexus7) compared.
-----
1) I hate to admit it, but the iPad Mini text on screen at default size is barely legible (even with my purpose made prescription eye-wear) and there is definitely some disconsolateness between screen and small type faces on this device. This predicament is totally absent from the higher resolution density Nexus7.
It pains me to report that, considering the high hopes that Apple had for the iPad Mini as Nexus7/ KindleHD 'killer'. Currently, it is not.
Fortunately, for those not placing text readability at the default size too high on their priority lists,the Mini is a fabulously full featured little brother to the ipad 2 (also sans Retina).
2) Further. Something about the ipad Mini screen reflectivity is exacerbating the readability of small text in high reflection environments. I'd love to hear about and see some qualitative side-by-side evals in a shaded outdoor setting.Why Apple did not include a relatively cheap double AR coating is a mystery to us.
3) Finally. Though I find the thinner ipad Mini , oh so groovy for being thin, I sense that hand hold-ability is not as 'secure' as with the Nexus7.
Just for grins, My esteemed colleague and collaborator andrewwynn, has agreed to let me paste in the exchange between himself and I on this topic.
Enjoy at will
__________
Key- Zep= Zephyrnoid / AWR- andrewwynn
AWR:There are three distinct grades of iDevice apps.
1) made specifically for iPhone
2) made specifically for iPad
3) universal that bundles both in one
iPad apps won't run on iPhone
iPhone apps usually look like **** on iPad though on retina iPad they can run retina iPhone apps "double sized" however they are almost always a bad trade off. (Very inefficient use of space)
If you used iPad vs iPhone app you will know what I'm talking about. Example: on iPad the settings app shows the setting choice (eg blue tooth) on the left and on the right the settings for that choice. On the iPhone as soon as you pick a setting sub choice the list disappears and you only see the pref pane. This is common among all iPad vs iPhone apps. Another example is angry birds. On iPhone app even on iPhone 5, the scale is zoomed in to make the real size bigger even though you can zoom out to see everything.
iPad apps in general are far easier to navigate and are more productive. They also sell for a premium so people like me and 100,000,000 of us have lots of iPad apps (I probably have 100-150 iPad specific apps) and the very logical choice of using the iPad shape was really the only logical choice even if its not ideal to carry around. It was the clear choice if they wanted to stick with the iPad name. If they chose to go with iPod Maxi and grew the size up from iPhone 5 pixel count that would have been a viable option but the UI scales up for **** while iPad UI scales down just fine.
The weight is a big thing. Ip 4 over twice the weight of the mini. Regardless if fits in a pocket it is very portable where the iPad 4 is only portable compared to laptop.
Zeph:> Further, as tablets make the transition from being mostly 'thin clients' to being serious hubs for ubiquitous computing, they will have to be able to act as HD monitors for video in addition to the rest of the stuff that smartphones currently do.
> There again, the 5"-7" diagonal is the sweet spot for external video monitors.
AWR:Even though 1024 not technically HD the majority of "hd" content isn't that high. I'm confident that the "new iPad mini" (idiots on calling the 3 the new iPad ) will have even higher than retina dpi. 167x2. 2048x1536
Zeph: As the video you cites points out, the ipad Mini is NOT really as comfy to hold in one hand as it the Nexus7.
AWR:Except what everybody fails to note is that the new iOS is designed to ignore a non-moving thumb so you just hold it with one thumb right on the display
Zeph: Finally. I'm betting the farm that when a retina display ipad Micra is released ( April) it will be the width of the Nexus but still with more screen to it.
AWR:They won't release a different shape screen 0% chance. Because of the iPad software base they will stick with 4:3 ratio even if they double the density.
They Could have used the 16:9 like new iPhone and that would have had the possibility of being far better: the problem being that iPad software won't work at that scale and iPhone software doesn't scale up. Moving to a larger tablet with 19:9 would require an ADDITIONAL version of programs. As much as that would have been worth doing. Ain't gonna happen.
Zeph: If Apple is smart, they'll include an SD card slot for memory boost as well.
AWR:Will never happen. Never ever. Not sure how they get away with it but apple's cash cow is selling 16gb of ram for $100. They are not going to change that.
Zeph: Most of the complaints I've heard with respect to the mini, have to do with screen reflectivity impacting readability.
AWR:It is some ignant ass [expletive-deleted]! I've hated the non ar coated glass on ALL products. After 17 years or so they finally put AR glass on the iMac (75% reduction in glare). In the laptop department until now ONLY the MacBook AIR has AR glass and is very decent. I don't know if the new retina model has it.
Zeph: That's very important! Though the refractive index of the glass surface impacts real sharpness, if the added glare results in a diminished user experience, then the net net is less readability in all but a totally dark room with black face-paint on the user
AWR:The significance of the glass is when properly assembled you get FAR better contrast (black actually black) and no haze from the wear of the plastic.
Zeph: multi-coating would counter the glare but at a higher per unit cost.
AWR: The [Expletive Deleted] have no excuse for not AR coating the glass. Purely bean counting at the worst.
A decent screen film will negate the glare problem. I used the power solutions AR screen on my iPhone 4S and it was near perfection. I have zag "smudge" screen on my five (ps version wasn't out yet) and it is nearly perfect. (Introduces a tiny bit of specks that the ps didn't and its a bit rubbery)
Zeph: Finally. Apple is simply moving too fast with connectivity protocols. The cycle from Thunderbolt to Lightening was too short and geez, who needs yet more freaking adapters???
AWR: Those are apples and oranges. Thunderbolt for monitors and hard drives. They would have put tb on iphone if it wouldn't have cost too much and added too much volume and mass. The old connector is total **** and deserves a slow painful death.
The only thing that pisses me off is the NAME. It's not fast or bright: nothing to bind to the moniker. I'm pissed they ever took off FireWire which was awesome. Usb 2 sucks ass.
Zeph: I realize that Apple is a fit and finish king, but the stuff about more apps is simply silly
AWR: No about "more apps" it's about compatibility with existing apps
Zeph: I'm looking for a pocket-able and yet larger than ipod touch tablet that can extend the functionality of my laptop for business applications on the go. Sometimes fit and finish simply aren't worth the extra money when you know that when Apple finally gets the features set right and the bugs out, it will blow the Mini away.
AWR: They will almost certainly come out with mini retina which will allow the old mini to be sold at I'm betting on $279 unless they bump the price on retina up to say $349 then the non retina $299.
Because of the 4:3 ratio of ALL iPad apps there is zero chance of a different ratio attached to iPad.
You and I would be thrilled to see an iPod MAX. A 16:9 scaled up iPod but I don't see it happening.
On conclusion the other major benefit of iOS vs all others is the control UI performance.
I've used a dozen different touch screens and they are ALL SUB Standard compared with the apple hardware. This is ESPECIALLY noticeable on the utterly worthless track pads on laptops. The apple trackpad is perfect (for tracking: the whole thing is a button not so great).
When I use ANY other phone or tablet I can instantly feel the lack of tracking quality. It's like im using gloves. Apple blows them away.
So, from my perspective every time I touch the display it "feels icky". It's the touch equivalent of having dirty glasses.
I'm not trying to defend apple for their myriad dumbarse decisions. I would have preferred a 16:9 tablet but I'll happily buy the mini because my 100s of programs will run on it.
I may end up with the full size model due to the insane screen quality and the speed because I use iPad for circuit simulation.
[or] I may put the $ toward my next computer upgrade and get the mini.
Tax refund check going for either iMac or 13" MacBook retina or Mac mini (insanely fast insanely small)
