tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post1754109634240947408..comments2024-03-18T22:39:50.137-07:00Comments on A Kindle World blog: Kindle News: Reaction to Amazon's main-page ad comparing Kindle Fire HD 7" to iPad mini 7.9" - Update#2 on Nov. 2.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-84826652484805641632012-11-03T07:13:56.482-07:002012-11-03T07:13:56.482-07:00Blackbeard, thanks for taking the time for your th...Blackbeard, thanks for taking the time for your thoughts on this.<br /><br /> I did a longish post on all this just awhile ago. You'll find parts of it interesting and disagree with other parts. But it's interesting to see that many of those who really love the look and feel of it are nevertheless not "at home" with the compromise (though it was probably necessary for timing's sake) and are recommending people wait until the next one.<br /><br /> I still feel that those who love the apps and the general look and feel of Apple products really have no choice but to get this or wait for the next one... Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-80717067349047499262012-11-03T04:38:13.551-07:002012-11-03T04:38:13.551-07:00I'd like to respond to a bunch of comments her...I'd like to respond to a bunch of comments here in total.<br /><br />The speakers. Yes, the specs don't say stereo. However from a hardware standpoint if you've got two speakers, I see absolutely no reason to not make them stereo. Even with the lack of channel separation, it will sound better. And yes there really are two speakers in there. Arstechnica reported on a teardown of it here:<br />http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/11/teardown-ipad-mini-is-more-like-a-big-ipod-touch-than-other-ios-devices/<br /><br />The screen. I actually don't have a problem with it, but that's a matter of personal requirements. Design choices are all about compromise. Note that the mini, like other iPads, has 10-hour battery life (and it really can last that long or longer depending on use). Given that the battery in the mini is much smaller than the regular iPad, and given that the screen is the major power draw, I'm quite sure they used the screen they used so as not to compromise battery life. Mobile usability is all about battery life, and if I had to choose between a higher-resolution screen or a longer-lasting battery, I'd take the battery. That's why I read on a Kindle and not a Fire or iPad. If you doubt what I've said about the screen and battery life, consider this. I have a first-generation iPad and I do heavy audio streaming with it via Airplay. I'll fire up Pandora on the weekend when I'm working around the house and use Airplay to send it to my sound system. I also stream radio stations this way, and the iPad is like a remote control for me. So when it's doing this, the screen is off except for when I'm interacting with it for the audio, or I hear a piece of music I like and want to hop over to Amazon to throw it in the cart. It's taking an incoming wifi stream, processing it, then sending it back out the wifi for Airplay. Not an insubstantial amount of work. 5 hours of this will only use 10% of the battery, and the drain is linear. After 10 hours I've used 20% according to the battery indicator. This means I can continuously stream audio for 50 hours. I don't think I have to convince anyone that if I have the screen on, it won't last that long. So I reiterate, I'm quite sure the screen choice was a power tradeoff.<br /><br />About the spec comparisons to other tablets. I think this is the wrong approach. As we've seen in the publishing market, the choice of ecosystem is just as important, if not more important, than the choice of device. Each of the brands has their own take on operating model. Amazon has very clearly stated that their product is a content consumption device for Amazon content. They have also made clear that they have very low margin on the Kindles as a result, since they expect to make up the difference in content sales. This is not the operating model for the iPad, and the price reflects this. I never buy books or movies or music from Apple, yet I do use it for those things (except books) and get a tremendous amount of use out of the iPad, and therefore think the price under this operating model is perfectly reasonable. With that in mind, considering the mini within Apple's product lineup, it's priced right. Those who want an iPad but don't need a larger screen or a the Retina display can now save some money.Blackbeardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-17090062198573370792012-11-02T20:50:13.235-07:002012-11-02T20:50:13.235-07:00Interesting they don't say stereo speakers aft...Interesting they don't say stereo speakers after all that brouhaha.<br /><br />Re Apple TV -- I had, in my features comparison table, that you could use Airplay to mirror video to an Apple TV. <br /><br /> I did that because it was NOT particularly equivalent to a direct HDMI output to any old HDTV set by anyone, of course. Also, if you have a TV on a local network that's set up to use the WiFi, then you can use that also. But that was just too If If If to be equated with a simple, direct, microHDMI-out on the table.<br /><br />Amazon has such an emphasis on Prime and so much of its Prime now has HD versions of each movie or tv show, it figures that they put that feature in (which the Google Nexus doesn't have either). I love travel documentaries so it's been a boon for my own eyes. It's disappointing to see the SD versions. We can get so easily spoiled... <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-13594820019212894932012-11-02T20:37:16.683-07:002012-11-02T20:37:16.683-07:00Tom. Just got back. It makes sense there'd b...Tom. Just got back. It makes sense there'd be no GPS in the wifi-only models but they leave the option for all of those to get instead the 7.9" version with 3G/4G in which case they can claim the option. <br /> The Kindle HD 7" doesn't have that option although the 8.9" one does. <br /><br /> Re HD and movies, I watch a LOT of this on the KFHD because I have Prime, Netflix and Hulu Plus and love watching them this way (while doing other things), and I also watch shows I missed, on Network TV re-run sites, and the HD makes a big difference for me. Just more pleasure. What a world :-) <br /><br /> Where it makes a real difference or one that's more meaningful is in the small font areas of webpages as read on a small 7" though. <br /><br /> So, Apple actually finally changed the specs page? Good, because they can't blame Amazon or any of us for depending on their specs page in the first place. Which they tried to do by allowing adherents to act as if Amazon had 'lied' or had just 'assumed' for no reason that they had only 'a speaker' as the other iPads all do. <br /><br /> And of course they said nothing about it during the announcements because there's not enough to say since, as one commenter put it, if your nostrils were your ears you'd be able to appreciate the stereo speakers that are an inch apart :-)<br /><br /> Yes, re ineffectiveness during landscape viewing, which is how the movies are viewed.<br /><br /> This was true of the original Kindle Fire too. What a waste, to have them both on one short side. Thanks for the heads up - will modify the table page, while leaving in the history.<br /><br /> I did ask via Twitter, twice, if Apple/Schiller would be changing their own Specs page if what Schiller said in a casual 3-word email was true re the 'speaker.' Nice quiet change! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-60262571067602071022012-11-02T18:28:44.393-07:002012-11-02T18:28:44.393-07:00Note iPad mini does not have GPS in the wifi model...Note iPad mini does not have GPS in the wifi models. I think the lack of HD-ness is really not that big a deal. but then I don't like to watch 2 hour movies on a tablet. You can stream 1080p video to AppleTV and probably using a cable, direct to HDTV.<br /><br />Apple must have changed the specs page. It now says 'speakers' (plural), though the picture only points to one (but has a second similar grill 2 on the other side of the Lightening port). And just because there is more than one speaker, does not necessarily mean 'stereo'. With such close proximity there isn't likely to be much stereo effect, and in landscape viewing all the sound is going to come out of one side anyway.<br /><br /><br /><br />Tom Semplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05127272649086914117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-81769631484645055952012-10-31T23:38:21.571-07:002012-10-31T23:38:21.571-07:00What helped me wait was I wanted the 32GB KFHD 7&q...What helped me wait was I wanted the 32GB KFHD 7" and that finally arrived this last week. It acted like a stepping stone :-)<br /><br /> Magazines on the KFHD 7" are amazing but I think I'd enjoy them more on the 8.9" Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-83772637502885644542012-10-31T23:36:25.763-07:002012-10-31T23:36:25.763-07:00Junior Yearwood,
Yes. And I also put the 8.9&qu...Junior Yearwood, <br /> Yes. And I also put the 8.9" KFHD info into the features comparison table on iPad mini launch day for the same reason. We're in total agreement. On the other hand, the 8.9" starts to go toward 10" land and further away from the easy portability I like about the 7" KFHD but I'm getting one :-) I like my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 but seldom use it, relative to the smaller tablet. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-22418725504895436972012-10-31T21:08:17.978-07:002012-10-31T21:08:17.978-07:00Gary, that page merely points to the same specs pa...Gary, that page merely points to the same specs page that I pointed to in my footnote. Am wondering if you read the footnote and the link to my posting on the forum discussions about this. <br /><br /> The iPad mini specs page has an input/output category in which they describe a stereo headphone minijack (which could qualify as "it is stereo") but clearly refers to "Built-in speaker" (singular) in each of two different versions of the model. <br /><br /> I've updated the footnote with more info and am asking that Phil Schiller or team change their own webpage specs page if he's referring to speakers that they've not mentioned before. I also reference the two-grille combo seen in an iPhone also, noted by another forum poster, where only one houses a speaker, so they need to be clear.<br /><br /> You can go direct to the footnote and updated section of the blog entry at <a href="http://bit.ly/kwn1031a#footnote" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/kwn1031a#footnote</a><br /><br />Thanks for sending what you found.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-27352101529036507212012-10-31T18:53:27.295-07:002012-10-31T18:53:27.295-07:00It does turn out the the iPad mini does have stere...It does turn out the the iPad mini does have stereo speakers. I think it's the only Apple tablet with them.<br /><br />Gary<br />http://www.imore.com/ipad-mini-has-stereo-speakersGary LaPointehttp://garysaid.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-52422108198041379912012-10-31T14:16:28.446-07:002012-10-31T14:16:28.446-07:00Ha ha... I was just surfing around and took a look...Ha ha... I was just surfing around and took a look at these reviews. I can't believe there's still this much fascination. Thanks for writing about this.<br />Buy Baby Girls Layettehttp://www.monpetitbijou.com/store/cat/NBGOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-49502630729913136992012-10-31T12:55:58.277-07:002012-10-31T12:55:58.277-07:00Your TV analogy is spot on. Next time they announ...Your TV analogy is spot on. Next time they announce, I hope Amazon goes for a shorter lead time. The excitement of ordering has turned into plain old tiredness of waiting for my 8.9" Fire. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07207265117229855265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872447660964013545.post-27088250517007474602012-10-31T12:30:29.071-07:002012-10-31T12:30:29.071-07:00Great article. I made the point about the 8.9 Fire...Great article. I made the point about the 8.9 Fire HD being comparable to the Ipad mini in terms of size while being cheaper with MUCH higher resolution in a reply to an earlier blog post you made.Junior Yearwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09666899748706469583noreply@blogger.com