Thoughts on all the new iDevices just announced today?

[nukediver]

Wow, is all I can say! I'm in the market for a new computer before the end of the year, and Apple just rolled out three new models that are making it difficult for me to decide. The ridiculously skinny new iMac is currently at the top of my list. And new iPads! Did anyone else just watch this unfold? I know there are other geeks on these forums besides me ;-)

[moriond]

I love it that Tom Bihn has already tweeted that bags for the new iPad Mini are in the works.

[nukediver]

Well, at least it was never a question as to where I'd purchase a bag/sleeve for a new iDevice :-)

[Frank II]

I think anyone who bought an Ipad 3rd generation a few months ago has to really be upset.

I just got a Google Nexus 7 and was waiting to see the new Ipad mini. I'm going to wait awhile and see how it's reviewed before I decide.

[lonestar6]

I have been debating on a small tablet, kindle fire, nexus 7, and waiting for apple to announce their smaller iPad. Guess I will have to make a decision now. If anyone has an opinion on these devices please feel free to share. Until then I will continue to obsess over my next TB purchase

[bchaplin]

lonestar6, I would wait for the new iPads to be out for a while so that you can go into a store and try one for yourself. But between the Fire and the iPad mini, I'd definitely recommend the latter. It can play Amazon videos and lets you read Kindle books, but the Fire doesn't have the rich app ecosystem and capabilities of the iPad.

[nukediver]

I think anyone who bought an Ipad 3rd generation a few months ago has to really be upset.

I just got a Google Nexus 7 and was waiting to see the new Ipad mini. I'm going to wait awhile and see how it's reviewed before I decide.

Yep, I bought an iPad 3, but I'm not seeing enough in the new iPad (4?) to make me jealous. At least not yet.

[lonestar6]

lonestar6, I would wait for the new iPads to be out for a while so that you can go into a store and try one for yourself. But between the Fire and the iPad mini, I'd definitely recommend the latter. It can play Amazon videos and lets you read Kindle books, but the Fire doesn't have the rich app ecosystem and capabilities of the iPad.

Yea!, I just finished reading the initial reviews and the mini is mighty tempting. What is the apple equivalent of TBAS?

[bchaplin]

Yep, I bought an iPad 3, but I'm not seeing enough in the new iPad (4?) to make me jealous. At least not yet.

Me neither. I'm quite happy with my iPad 3. It does everything I want, and it's really fast. I'm not tempted at all by the Mini because I need the size I have to comfortably read PDFs and watch movies, and I don't see what would be gained by upgrading to the 4.

[lonestar6]

Me neither. I'm quite happy with my iPad 3. It does everything I want, and it's really fast. I'm not tempted at all by the Mini because I need the size I have to comfortably read PDFs and watch movies, and I don't see what would be gained by upgrading to the 4.

I should mention my current 'pad' is a smartphone. From this perspective a 7" tablet is ginormous

[AVService]

I ordered 2 cases of the Mini iPads but I stick them in the wall where they will control your house.
Now I just have to wait and see if they are a slick as they should be?
I also have to wait for the new mounts to be made along with the new cables.
What is nice about them is the resolution of them matches the iPad 2 so the apps should just work out of the box.
What is not nice is the new entire ecosystem of cords needed that Apple forces you into.

The iPad 4,I haven't decided about yet but the Lightning connector aggravates me for sure.

The problem with the Macbook Retina and iMac for me is that the higher Resolution they make the screens the more worthless they become to me and many of us who need the screen elements to be bigger not smaller!
This is just an annoying"Feature" that is getting all too common and shows the market they are courting I think?

I am most excited with the new Mini which I use all the time as a tiny machine for all sorts of things. The more power they give them the better they get but the price seems to stay constant too,Win-Win!

[Frank II]

I have the Nexus 7 and like it. I've been comparing it to Ipad Mini to see if I want to get that instead.

What I like about the Nexus is that you don't have to go through Itunes to load books, music, video, etc. I can read Kindle books on the Kindle app. And, most of all, with a $3 app,and a $1 cable, I can attach flash drives or SD cards to the Nexus 7. While I can't download to the external drives, I can load them with books, audio, video, photos, etc and read from them. Right now I'm using a 32GB flash drive full of all different types of media. (Had I known this as available before I bought it, I would have gotten the 8GB version rather than the 16 GB one.

It surfs the web with Google Chrome browser and the onscreen keyboard is very responsive. It's only available with wifi, no cellular service. The nice thing also is when you call Google for support, you get someone in the U.S.

It uses a micro usb plug instead of a proprietary one like all things Apple.

On the downside, it doesn't have flash, has frozen a couple of times (easily fixed), and doesn't have some common apps.

I have an ipod touch and will soon get an Iphone 5. I figure between the Iphone and the Nexus I have all bases covered.

[bchaplin]

What I like about the Nexus is that you don't have to go through Itunes to load books, music, video, etc. I can read Kindle books on the Kindle app. And, most of all, with a $3 app,and a $1 cable, I can attach flash drives or SD cards to the Nexus 7. While I can't download to the external drives, I can load them with books, audio, video, photos, etc and read from them. Right now I'm using a 32GB flash drive full of all different types of media.

Sounds nice! If I hadn't already 'invested' in so many Mac apps and was starting out buying a tablet, I'd give both the Nexus and the iPad a serious look.

[WendyK]

Frank II, have you had any problems with your Nexus 7? I've been looking at reviews online and there are so many mentions of manufacturing defects and other issues.
I've been waiting for months for the iPad mini to be announced, but I must say I'm not very happy with the price and features when I look at what else is available in the tablet market.

[Frank II]

Wendy K....I've had two issues. The first required me to do a hard reset. I was guided through it via Google phone support. I did have to manually reload all of the "free" apps but paid ones came back automatically.

The second problem I had was one time when the unit didn't want to awake from being asleep. All I had to do was a soft reset--holding the on/off button for a few seconds. Similar to rebooting a computer. Only it's faster on a tablet.

Google just sent a new update and it seems to have improved the performance of the unit.

I was waiting to see the the Ipad mini and whether to get that and sell my Nexus 7. I'm going to stick with the Nexus 7. It does what I want.