iPad Mini vs Nexus 7: inch makes all the difference, says Apple CEO
Tim Cook and the mild-mannered inch
To Apple CEO Tim Cook, an inch is everything.
Apple’s iPad Mini has an 8in display - its closest Android-based rivals all have 7in screens. A big difference, says Cook.
"We would not make a 7in tablet," he told financial analysts and journalist eavesdroppers during a conference call last night. "We don't think they're good products."
Why? Because, he said, there’s not enough display space on the smaller tablets. That extra inch makes for a much more usable touchscreen, apparently.
We’ve argued that the larger panel’s 1024 x 768 resolution puts the Mini at a disadvantage to other tablets’ 1280 x 800 panels because it makes for a less pleasant reading experience, and reading - not just e-books but web pages, email, chat messages, magazines, game info screens - is the activity tablet users perform more than than any other.
Having that extra inch only serves to reduce the Mini’s relative display pixel density - its ‘retina-ness’, essentially - even further.
Cook also dismissed Microsoft’s Surface tablet as “a fairly compromised, confusing product”, though he admitted he hasn’t had played with one yet. But his take is that it’s trying to hard to be a PC and a tablet.
“I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats,” he said, “but I don’t think it would do all of those things very well.”
Tablets, he reckons, will outsell PCs, a claim he’s made before.
“It is already extremely compelling for many customers to choose a tablet, in particular an iPad, over a PC,” he said. “When you look at the PC market, there is an enormous opportunity for Apple there.” ®
COMMENTS
Not sure it's a good analogy
"I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats"
Personally I think a car that did that would be pretty innovative and amazing.
Re: Read many long, skinny books do you?
Well, now, it's interesting you should raise that....
In the UK, most paperbacks come in one of three sizes, all of which are, pretty much, 16:10 aspect ratio (they vary a little around that, one format is exactly 16:10, one is 16.1:10, another is 15.3:10, but close enough). The Nexus 7 is 16:10.
So, do go on with your assertion as to how the iPad's 4:3 is perfect for reading on?
GJC
Slow news day?
Apple CEO Shock! Bigs-up inferior mini tab vs. far cheaper main competitor!
Just as well that wasn't a bus, I'd be chewing tarmac...
Usual guff.
That inch does make all the difference, it's made his product too expensive and yet again Apple are relying on the fanboys to buy this crap rather than really innovating and pushing the envelope for consumers.
I notice they are already saying stock will be limited, seriously how long before people see through this total charade.
Missing the point ..
.. the reason the Mini doesn't have a Retina display is so that the Mini 2 can get one!
Duh!
I know Apple treats their fanbois like eejits, but even eejits need SOME excuse to piss away sackfuls of cash. Holding back obvious features for the next upgrade has worked so well with iPods, iPhones and iPadMaxis. Remember the original iPhone? It's spec was like 2 to 3 years behind the competition on release so Apple-ites had no trouble justifying the 3G upgrade when that came out.
