iShieldz

Best. Screen. Protector. Ever.

 

No bubbles, good protection, easy to apply. And the dry auto application (yes, this is tech and no, its not porn) is amazing! Get from Emia Distribution.

iPad Mini

When Apple launched the iPad Mini, I thought back to Steve Jobs saying that 7" was a rubbish form factor. Maybe it was all the other kick-ass 7" tablets that made them build it ?

Whatever the reason, they did. And its pretty. Its literally like they shrunk the original iPad; it feels good in the hands, size is perfect, texture is great. So, on the plus side

• size is excellent
• lightning connector is brilliant
• price point is fair (I said fair, not cheap)

 

There are three caveats though;

• why did it need a nano-SIM, as opposed to the micro-SIM that they made ubiquitous two years ago or a normal SIM for the 20 years before that ?
• why not fit a retina display to it ?
• why does it feel so damn sluggish and often pause when running multiple applications ?

 

As usual, Apple has released a great market and effectively reinvented a segment they already dominated. I suspect that you'll see over time the 10" iPad market stabilise (not shrink) with substantial growth coming from the 7" market. I suspect they'll piss off tons of early adopters by releasing a retina-upgraded version of the display by June 2013, and then a jump/quantum change in September/October (processor bump, better cameras, etc). But for now, its a damn fine piece of kit.