Tuesday’s Tech Take: Do We Really Need the iPad Mini?

October 30, 2012 Kimberly Engel Techy Waffle 2


The iPad Mini isn’t breaking news, that’s for sure. What I’m unsure of, though, is why I’ve read so much about it, and continue to whenever I look for my feed of tech news every day. Maybe it’s just me, but I just don’t get the iPad Mini. The iPad, that I get. The iPhone, or smart phones in general? Those I get too. Even Kindles and every other form of e-readers, but that’s because all of these mentioned items served a real purpose when they were released to the general public. They provided the need amongst consumers that their counterparts couldn’t.

The iPad serves the computer needs we want on the go, as e-readers offer the book worms in us the libraries we need to survive in the 21st Century, just as smartphones serve our need for information anytime, anywhere, and all within the palms of our hands.

The iPad Mini though? I just can’t understand, but I’m not trying to say I don’t understand the value of an iPad or of an iPhone. Yet why do we need a smaller iPad that fits into one hand, or a larger iPhone that we can’t fit into our pocket or use as a telephone?

And why is the Mini so expensive? $330 US dollars? You can get a Kindle Fire for a lot less. Or you could just stick with your iPhone 5 which will do everything for you in one hand, too.

I know it’s pretty, I know it’s cute, and I know that a lot of Apply fanboys and fangirls are going to get it. But from the bottom of my heart, I can’t help but call Apple’s iPad Mini the very definition of shenanigans.

About Kimberly Engel 90 Articles
Hailing from America, Kimberly is a recent graduate of Fordham University, who has lived in New York her entire life. She spends most of her time in confliction because of her obsession with technology, especially Netflix, but also her desire to prevent Orwell's 1984 from coming true in this lifetime and the next. You can follow her on twitter @kengel

2 Comments

  1. Personally I welcome the iPad mini. I’ve not got a kindle as I’ve been waiting very patiently for apple to release a “kindle sized” piece of kit for my handbag. I have an iPad. I use it more than my MacBook or my Mac for everything…..the downside….. I’m not so girly I carry a bucket bag about to carry my iPad everywhere as its not always feasible….cue me using my iPhone and wishing it was just that little bit bigger. The way you can get say Cosmopolitan magazine normal size and handbag size, I like the choice of a large or handbag sized iPad. I know it wasn’t on Steve Jobs agenda, but I think for woman and children this is a great marketing ploy from Apple. There isn’t any need for it, but there is a niche in a way, it’s all about choice. I’ll be interested to see who actually does buy this new product and why…..

  2. You make a very fair point that’s hard to argue with, Kay! The price, though, is what really bothers me. It’s nearly twice that of an Amazon Kindle which I have issues with. What do you think?

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