So, who ordered an iPad mini last night?

[OWC Jamie]

Curious I have to say, I really like the black model, looks awesome Proof will be in the use of course.

[Black]

It wasn't me.

[magicmikey]

I ordered one as soon as I got up this morning (6:30 a.m. Eastern time.) I was surprised to see that the initial supply of white ones was already sold out so I bought a black one. (I hadn't made up my mind which color I wanted when I went to order so this made my decision easier!)

I've been waiting for the Mini for months! I loved using a Kindle Fire for my calendar, Web surfing and storing/displaying photos. The size was just right for me to carry all the time. The larger iPad just didn't appeal to me as much.

For those who wonder, yes I think it's over-priced and yes I wish it had a newer processor and a higher resolution display but that's the way it is. The display has the same PPI as the Kindle Fire (I had the original Fire) so the display will be at least as good as what I'm used to. I also know Apple will likely make those changes in the next version but I needed this now.

The Kindle Fire was taking care of my needs (although not nearly as smoothly as I expect the iPad Mini to) but I had two issues with it. The biggest was that I couldn't use my Square credit card reader with it. I was using an iPod Touch to take credit card payments for my photography so I wanted that ability in a tablet. The Touch worked but it was a little small for that kind of thing. (It also turns out I could no longer use my 2nd generation iPod Touch with Square. Their most recent update requires at least iOS 5 and the 2nd gen. Touch can't be updated to iOS 5. Square now requires you to use the latest version so that was out.)

This issue was also the reason I didn't go with the Nexus 7. It won't work with the Square card reader. If it did, it would have been hard for me not to go that route, especially when it is rumored that the 16GB Nexus 7 will be selling for $199 shortly.

My second issue with the Fire was how imprecise it was. I got tired of tapping a link on a Web page only to have a different link highlighted nearby!

I'm really excited about the iPad Mini. I've been using Macs since the early 90s so I prefer the easy integration between the iPad and my Mac. (Synchronizing my calendar on the Fire was interesting. I had to buy Calengoo so that I could sync to Google Calendar and then I had to sync Google Calendar to iCal. It worked but it will be nice to be able have the same calendar app on my tablet as on my Mac!)

[bobalu]

Ordered one first thing this AM, black w/32GB. Sure did hurt to look at the final cost though. A few pennies less than $500 with tax, recycling fee, and 30 pin adapter.

[pinkoos]

Yeah, I was really surprised to see the white/silver sell out so quickly. Some online blogs report that they sold out in 20 minutes.

Anyway, I ordered a 32GB black at around 5:45 this morning (I get up at 5AM so I didn't get up specifically to order).

I figured I'll go ahead and order it so that I'll have it. I'll check out the actual display ones at the Apple Store on launch day and if the non-retina display is a deal-breaker for me, I'll just return mine unopened (though I could even open and use it and return without a restocking fee at the retail Apple Store).

If the non-retina display is NOT a deal-breaker, then my retina 32GB iPad 3 with all it's big, heavy hotness will go up on Craigslist.

[datbeme]

My second issue with the Fire was how imprecise it was. I got tired of tapping a link on a Web page only to have a different link highlighted nearby! wrote:

What a silly concern.

Just kidding, that's got to be the most frustrating shortcoming a product could have. People always rave about the Logitech Harmony One remote, but I couldn't get past how inaccurate the freakin' touchscreen was. Unacceptable!

[NewtonMP2100]

....had an encounter last night with something mini but unfortunately it wasn't an iPad mini......

[magicmikey]

pinkoos wrote:
...I'll check out the actual display ones at the Apple Store on launch day and if the non-retina display is a deal-breaker for me, I'll just return mine unopened (though I could even open and use it and return without a restocking fee at the retail Apple Store).

If the non-retina display is NOT a deal-breaker, then my retina 32GB iPad 3 with all it's big, heavy hotness will go up on Craigslist.

It would have been much more difficult for me to go with the regular display if I was already used to a Retina display but I hadn't had the pleasure of using an iPad 3! As a photographer, the increased sharpness and detail would be hard to give up but, since I don't know what I'm missing, this should be fine for me! The Kindle Fire display looked really good (especially at that price point.)

[Sam3]

NewtonMP2100 wrote:
....had an encounter last night with something mini but unfortunately it wasn't an iPad mini......

I'm sorry to hear that. Better luck next time. :devil:

[magicmikey]

datbeme wrote:
[quote=My second issue with the Fire was how imprecise it was. I got tired of tapping a link on a Web page only to have a different link highlighted nearby!]

What a silly concern.

Just kidding, that's got to be the most frustrating shortcoming a product could have. People always rave about the Logitech Harmony One remote, but I couldn't get past how inaccurate the freakin' touchscreen was. Unacceptable!
I've even read that it's a little bit of an issue with the Nexus 7 keyboard. This column really reaffirmed my desire for an iPad Mini:
http://www.zdnet.com/ipad-mini-is-more-t...000006354/