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iPad Air

Z

Zutroy

Member
Was gonna buy a Smart Cover but the grey back looks like it'll scratch as easily as my 5 so I might get a case instead.
 
D

dallow_bg

nods at old men
MThanded said:
Honestly the fact that it is still in stock for in store pickup is making it hard for me to not buy this today. However, I need to be patient. Dropped the cash on the ps4 this month. iPad Air can wait...

I'm a slave to this tech.
Click to expand...

Yeah.... everything is coming out at once.
 
P

Pachimari

Member
Oh man I'm in a dilemma. I payed $612 for my iPad Mini 32GB WiFi at launch and now I can only sell it for $312, that sucks.

I probably can't live with 16GB so iPad Air is out of the question, as I have 1GB left on my current Mini.
 
M

maruchan

Member
Just went to target to pick up the air pad 16gb for 479. Oh man what a difference to my 1st generation ipad, the weight and size.

now to put my 1st gen ipad on ebay,
 
S

solarus

Member
I'm still really bummed that they did not opt for 2gb ram, there is literally no excuse other than keeping very high profit margins, with anand reporting increased memory usage for 64bit apps, 1gb ram is just outdated now. It makes me think I'll sell my air next year just for the upgrade to 2gb ram in the air 2, crazy when the nexus 10 will come out with 3gb ram (plus kitkat has a much lower memory footprint than previous android versions). Apple is real lucky that they still have all the apps I want, better build quality, battery life, smoothness and responsiveness etc because the prices are quite harsh now that the competition has stepped it up, 32gb needs to become the base model next year for how much you pay. /rant
Still really excited for my air nonetheless, ever since I got the first ipad it's been one of my most used and favourite devices ever and that doesn't seem set to change anytime soon.
 
L

LeleSocho

Banned
Sorry if i said it again but this thing is FAST, I swear to god not even my MBP opens some pages this fast leave alone the iPad3.

The A7 really is something else.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
solarus said:
I'm still really bummed that they did not opt for 2gb ram, there is literally no excuse other than keeping very high profit margins, with anand reporting increased memory usage for 64bit apps, 1gb ram is just outdated now. It makes me think I'll sell my air next year just for the upgrade to 2gb ram in the air 2, crazy when the nexus 10 will come out with 3gb ram (plus kitkat has a much lower memory footprit). Apple is real lucky that they still have all the apps I want, better build quality, battery life, smoothness and responsiveness etc because the prices are quite harsh now that the competition has stepped it up, 32gb needs to become the base model next year for how much you pay. /rant
Still really excited for my air nonetheless, ever since I got the first ipad it's been one of my most used and favourite devices ever and that doesn't seem set to change anytime soon.
Click to expand...

I really doubt that 1GB of ram costs Apple very much when they buy in iPad sized quantities. More than likely they left off the extra ram to save substantially on battery life. I am still not sure what performance differences I would see with an extra 1GB ram except more GIFs loading faster on NeoGAF.
 
S

solarus

Member
Deku Tree said:
I really doubt that 1GB of ram costs Apple very much when they buy in iPad sized quantities. More than likely they left off the extra ram to save substantially on battery life. I am still not sure what performance differences I would see with an extra 1GB ram except more GIFs loading faster on NeoGAF.
Click to expand...
Hmm I forgot about the impact on battery life, however anand noted they understood keeping 1gb for the 5s but expected the air to transition to 2gb.
The tricky part is you don’t really need all that much more memory. Unfortunately as with any dual-channel memory architecture, you’re fairly limited in how you can increase memory capacity and still get peak performance. Apple’s only move here would be to go to 2GB, which understandably comes with both power and financial costs. The former is a bigger concern for the iPhone 5s, but on the iPad Air I would’ve expected a transition sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...
 
M

Mercury Land-Snake

Member
Anastacio said:
Oh man I'm in a dilemma. I payed $612 for my iPad Mini 32GB WiFi at launch and now I can only sell it for $312, that sucks.

I probably can't live with 16GB so iPad Air is out of the question, as I have 1GB left on my current Mini.
Click to expand...

You paid $612 for a 32gb wifi mini? What? Should have been $429+tax, nowhere near $612.
 
S

solarus

Member
Mercury Land-Snake said:
Seriously, I'm still 100% on board for the retina mini. Hurry up Apple!
Click to expand...
Using my og mini right now and the form factor is so damn comfortable and perfect, I wonder if I'm making a mistake moving back to it's bigger brother. I really hope the new form factor and weight reduction balance it out, larger screen would be better for pdfs, although my mini has been fine for that.
 
M

Mercury Land-Snake

Member
solarus said:
Using my og mini right now and the form factor is so damn comfortable and perfect, I wonder if I'm making a mistake moving back to it's bigger brother. I really hope the new form factor and weight reduction balance it out, larger screen would be better for pdfs, although my mini has been fine for that.
Click to expand...

My biggest issue with the bigger iPad isn't even weight, it's thumb typing in portrait and landscape. It's so much better to type on a mini, with the full size iPad you sometimes have to use the split keyboard or stretch your thumbs. I also like the fact that the mini is ultraportable and is a great size for reading in general. I still use my laptop a lot, so I don't need a huge screen on a tablet. I consider an iPad mini to be like a super Kindle, which is exactly what I want.
 
S

solarus

Member
Mercury Land-Snake said:
My biggest issue with the bigger iPad isn't even weight, it's thumb typing in portrait and landscape. It's so much better to type on a mini, with the full size iPad you sometimes have to use the split keyboard or stretch your thumbs. I also like the fact that the mini is ultraportable and is a great size for reading in general. I still use my laptop a lot, so I don't need a huge screen on a tablet. I consider an iPad mini to be like a super Kindle, which is exactly what I want.
Click to expand...
THIS, can't believe I forgot to mention that. Thumb typing on the mini in portrait and landscape orientation is so good. The super kindle comparison is really spot on, they nailed the size of this thing. Still I'm gonna go ahead back to the bigger size this year, it'll be a change I guess and at least I'll know for sure which form factor i prefer now that they have similar weights.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Mercury Land-Snake said:
My biggest issue with the bigger iPad isn't even weight, it's thumb typing in portrait and landscape. It's so much better to type on a mini, with the full size iPad you sometimes have to use the split keyboard or stretch your thumbs. I also like the fact that the mini is ultraportable and is a great size for reading in general. I still use my laptop a lot, so I don't need a huge screen on a tablet. I consider an iPad mini to be like a super Kindle, which is exactly what I want.
Click to expand...

Actually. The smaller bezel has solved this for me completely, I can reach the middle of the keyboard np now.
 
M

Mercury Land-Snake

Member
Aiii said:
Actually. The smaller bezel has solved this for me completely, I can reach the middle of the keyboard np now.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that should help greatly no doubt. Still typing in landscape is probably the same as it was on previous full sized iPads. I'd imagine the mini is still better to thumb type on overall.
 
C

chickdigger802

Banned
solarus said:
Using my og mini right now and the form factor is so damn comfortable and perfect, I wonder if I'm making a mistake moving back to it's bigger brother. I really hope the new form factor and weight reduction balance it out, larger screen would be better for pdfs, although my mini has been fine for that.
Click to expand...

apple store has og mini and air on display, i still liked the mini better. It really was the only thing holding me back from getting an air today lol.
 
M

Mercury Land-Snake

Member
solarus said:
THIS, can't believe I forgot to mention that. Thumb typing on the mini in portrait and landscape orientation is so good. The super kindle comparison is really spot on, they nailed the size of this thing. Still I'm gonna go ahead back to the bigger size this year, it'll be a change I guess and at least I'll know for sure which form factor i prefer now that they have similar weights.
Click to expand...

The difference in size and weight is minimal now, especially since the iPad Air's 1lbs is distributed over a larger surface (and the mini is now .75lbs). They should both feel very light in the hand. The mini just feels compact but not too small that it becomes useless, just an utterly perfect size for a consumption tablet IMO (especially if you're taking it with you everywhere like I do). The iPad Air makes more sense if you're using it as your main computing device for the most part. For me, it's still a secondary device that I want to kick back with at night or at a coffee shop and the smaller form factor and easier thumb typing makes it a superior device for this IMO.
 
K

kr2t0s

Member
solarus said:
THIS, can't believe I forgot to mention that. Thumb typing on the mini in portrait and landscape orientation is so good. The super kindle comparison is really spot on, they nailed the size of this thing. Still I'm gonna go ahead back to the bigger size this year, it'll be a change I guess and at least I'll know for sure which form factor i prefer now that they have similar weights.
Click to expand...

Oddly enough I like typing in portrait with the iPad air (split keyboard) better than the iPad mini. Something about the weight distribution - it's hard to describe. With the mini i felt like it was top heavy but somehow with the air - how my hands grasp the edges, it doesn't feel like it's going to slip out of my hands.

That being said - typing in landscape with all 10 fingers on the iPad air is so much better than any other solution.
 
L

leng jai

Member
The Air is beautiful and infinitely better than the 3. The 1GB of RAM has put me off though - it would have been a nice distinction for the hardcore users who were deciding between it and the Mini.
 
V

Vyer

Member
Woot.

oWuNFGM.jpg
Click to expand...

So, having owned an iPad 3 and mini, I have to say the weight difference is definitely noticeable. Coupled with the redesigned frame it really does feel a lot like the Mini. Though the weight obviously isn't quite 'there' yet in terms of being on par with the mini, it's substantial how much of a difference half a pound makes.

It's fast, of course, but I haven't done any heavy duty test when it comes to multiple tabs and refreshes, though honestly that's not something I do a lot of anyway. I'm glad to have back the gestures and the addition of Safari gestures in iOS 7 is very welcome.


So far I'm pretty happy with it and I'm looking forward to trying some of the apps on the bigger screen again.


Mercury Land-Snake said:
My biggest issue with the bigger iPad isn't even weight, it's thumb typing in portrait and landscape. It's so much better to type on a mini, with the full size iPad you sometimes have to use the split keyboard or stretch your thumbs. I also like the fact that the mini is ultraportable and is a great size for reading in general. I still use my laptop a lot, so I don't need a huge screen on a tablet. I consider an iPad mini to be like a super Kindle, which is exactly what I want.
Click to expand...

Yeah, as mentioned, it might be the smaller bezels, but typing on this feels a lot more like typing on the Mini than my old iPad.
 
G

Guess Who

Banned
Went to my local Apple Store, they were all out of white/Verizon/64gb models to replace mine with, so I'm stuck with one with a screwy screen for a few days until they get a replacement in for me. :(
 
P

PFD

Member
Crazymoogle said:
Montreal store has/had a huge amount of stock. It was really organized; staff basically wandered the line to hand out stock cards so they knew how much they had. Anyway, lineup is gone and they're still doing sales. Decided to join the white LTE bandwagon. For some reason the Apple staff are cracking down hard on not using the official names though; heard the words "Space Grey" and "Silver" a bazillion times.

Strangely enough I guess sales broke their Macs because they could only process hardware orders normally. All accessories had to be purchased using EasyPay.
Click to expand...

Which Montreal store? The one on St. Catherine? Because I went there after work at 6pm and it was a clusterfuck. Their internet was down, and they had to process all orders manually which takes a long time. Consequently there was a long line, extending to the sidewalk outside the store. I had to wait like 45 mins.

Speaking of colors, the employees were saying white/black, though at one point one employee said "... which is silver I guess, I dunno why we call it that lol" referring to the white.

Also, the guy who processed my order was rather inexperienced with iOS. He made a mistake when entering my email, and then he tried to move the cursor back but didn't know how to (hold + drag). I was baffled. He tried for a bit, then ended up starting over.
 
K

Ken Masters

Banned
Been messing with this black 32GB LTE Verizon for the hour or so, absolutely love it, still can't get over light it is after been using an iPad 3/4 for the last two years, and the bezels being cut down helps with size when throwing it in the bag
 
deafmedal

deafmedal

Member
Was gonna wait on the mini, but my wife's techno lust got the best of her... she ran to Target at 8 this morning and picked up a 16 gig... she wanted a 32. I told her I'd check it out when I got home and if it was acceptable we'd get her a 32 later.

She'll be heading to Best Buy after dinner lol! Thing is light, now if the damn apps would hurry up and sync so I can give her a go :)
 
J

Jafku

Member
Ken Masters said:
Been messing with this black 32GB LTE Verizon for the hour or so, absolutely love it, still can't get over light it is after been using an iPad 3/4 for the last two years, and the bezels being cut down helps with size when throwing it in the bag
Click to expand...
It really is jarring how light it is compared to my iPad 3
 
C

chickdigger802

Banned
Question. I was surprised that the UI wasn't super smooth at the apple display unit. It was a bit framey. Like scrolling around the home screen. It was fine in safari and other apps though.

Is it like that on y'all's?
 
K

Ken Masters

Banned
chickdigger802 said:
Question. I was surprised that the UI wasn't super smooth at the apple display unit. It was a bit framey. Like scrolling around the home screen. It was fine in safari and other apps though.

Is it like that on y'all's?
Click to expand...


You mean just swiping between pages? It's smooth as can be, unless you're talking about something else
 
P

PFD

Member
chickdigger802 said:
Question. I was surprised that the UI wasn't super smooth at the apple display unit. It was a bit framey. Like scrolling around the home screen. It was fine in safari and other apps though.

Is it like that on y'all's?
Click to expand...

I haven't noticed UI stutters, but Anandtech touched on this a little in his review, and mentioned the UI framerate going below 30 fps occasionally. He said it's most likely a software issue that should be fixed eventually.
 
Y

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
chickdigger802 said:
hmmm thats a bit of a bummer. Any of yall have any hard crashes/freezes yet?

5S owners been complaining all month about those.
Click to expand...


Didn't 7.0.3 mostly fix those?


Played with the Air at Best buy a bit. The security system is too cumbersome to get a great idea of the weight savings, but i simply don't use my ipad in a way that the weight would make a large enough difference to make the upgrade worth it. Anybody with an ipad 1/2/mini has every reason to upgrade though.
 
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