iPad Thinking about exchanging iPad 3 for iPad mini

[MeSue]

Originally Posted by afv011

I"m not commenting on your DISLIKE, but on your BATTERY issues. Is that not allowed?

Yes, it's allowed and I'm sorry for getting defensive. Unfortunately, my experience does not correspond to what was shown in the charts you linked to.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by MeSue

Okay, then let me make myself clear, hopefully, this time. I bought the Nexus 7 to see if I would like Android OS and to see if I would like a smaller tablet. I found that I did like a smaller tablet, especially for reading (though I prefer a 4:3 aspect ratio over the 16:9 ratio of the Nexus 7--I don't watch videos all that much). However, I found that the display was not as good as what I was used to with my iPad--it washed out when viewed at an angle. And, yes, sometimes I would prop the tablet up on a stand and it is not a straight angle. Also, the battery life was very poor compared to what I get with my larger iPad. Even keeping wifi turned off most of the time, the battery drained very quickly, and all I was using it for was reading. There was rarely a time I would get a low battery warning after one full day of heavy use with the iPad, but it happened often with the Nexus. I felt that many of the apps were not as good as the iPad versions. I felt that scrolling was not as smooth as it is on the iPad. I felt that the Android OS required too much tweaking. There was a time when I used to love tweaking. I guess I have outgrown it. I found the buttons hard to locate by feel. Until I got a case, I was always picking it up upside-down because there was no home button to orient to.

I used the N7 almost exclusively for reading with Moon+ Reader. Occasionally I would check emails or read Facebook, but most of the time I kept WiFi off because the battery drained so quickly.

In other words, the typical Android experience. No matter how much someone may dislike Apple, they have learned to avoid all those pitfalls decribed above on their products.

[Turtle91]

I certainly enjoy a product that "just works" - especially when I give it as a gift to those less technically oriented|gifted. But it can get frustrating when I do want to "tweak" something and I can't...
There has to be a happy medium between Apples "lock everything down to a rigid structure to 'make it work' " and androids|linux "anything goes (but may not go anywhere)" philosophy.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by MeSue

Unfortunately, my experience does not correspond to what was shown in the charts you linked to.

I suspect murraypaul is correct that the brighter backlight may be skewing those reported results, and your experience is probably more typical (assuming that typical folks have the sense not to use full brightness when not needed). Lighting is a huge power suck.

[Tacty]

to be honest, all lcd screens looks washed out or whatever under different angles...mine ipad 3 screen is looking darker/washed out when tillted up or down or left or right...i think there is no ideal solutions whatever you get..as for battery, i dont know about nexus but mine no name android tablets are a joke regarding battery life...they went from full to zero after one day or day and a half standby, just by doing nothing (with wifi off)...mine numbers after last charge with ipad 3: 15 hours of using time, 4+ days of standby, wifi is always on...android should learn a thing or two about it...

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by Tacty

mine ipad 3 screen is looking darker/washed out when tillted up or down or left or right

I can't confirm this at all with my iPad 3. The screen remains perfectly legible, no matter how I tilt the device or from what angle I look at it.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by MeSue

Earlier in this thread I said I didn't like the N7 screen, so someone pointed me to a review about how great the screen is. Then I said I found it has poor battery life, and someone pointed out a series of charts about its battery life. I felt like I was being jumped on just for having the opinion that the iPad is better, for me, than the N7.

Sorry if I gave you that impression, Sue. The irony is that I was trying to be helpful.

If it turned out you'd noticed an issue with the Nexus 7's screen which others had not, I thought you might want to see tests in order to determine what the problem really is (the battery test shown in another member's post was taken from that same article).

The tests I've seen report excellent viewing angles, which is consistent with a standard IPS panel. If you've noticed bad viewing angles in everyday use, I'd like to know more about that.

Also, if Asus began using different panels after the initial run of N7s and you happened to buy one with an inferior screen (such as a TN panel), I wouldn't be surprised if hundreds of thousands of people were extremely keen on getting as much confirmation as possible. I've often thought about buying a Nexus 7 myself, and wretched viewing angles would dissuade me from making the purchase.

The same could be true WRT battery life. As I'm sure you know, one issue with Android is that one has to be vigilant about the Google Play apps one downloads because Google doesn't police them as Apple does. If one's Nexus 7 contains lots of apps that are constantly running in the background and using Wifi, then battery life can become abysmal.

If your experience with battery life has to do with a specific cause, it would be in future buyers' interests to figure out what it is.

These are issues which might not affect your preference for the iPad, but they could affect others' decision to buy a given tablet.

[MeSue]

I wouldn't describe the N7 screen as "wretched," I'm just less impressed with it compared to the iPad screen. The battery life I explained more about in another post. I keep sound turned off and WiFi off most of the time, and I don't use that many apps, so it's a mystery to me. It also drains a lot more than iPad does in idle/standby state.

[kyteflyer]

And who else has heard that there is (maybe) to be a new iPad 4 with 128GB storage, on February 5? Apparently Apple made an announcement. I hope this means that a 64GB Mini with retina might be in the offing. They need to get a HD screen into the mini and they need it not to suck sales awauy from the larger device... could this be a marketing ploy? I hope so. I want a Mini, and I want the same quality screen as on my ipad3.

reference for the announcement: http://www.iclarified.com/27071/appl...w-128gb-ipad-4

[tomsem]

Yeah, I would wait for the next Mini, with retina, or the rumored iPad 5 (not the just announced 128GB model) with mini-bezel. I doubt we'll have long to wait, unless you think a few months is 'long'.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

I want a Mini, and I want the same quality screen as on my ipad3.

If the iPad mini goes Retina, its screen will be much better than even that on iPad 3 or iPad 4, or on the iPhones. That's because there will be as many pixels on the iPad mini as on the big iPad -- but on a significantly smaller screen, which will result in an even sharper picture.

Originally Posted by tomsem

I doubt we'll have long to wait, unless you think a few months is 'long'.

I'd say October is a realistic release date. While waiting 8 more months perhaps isn't "long", it's not exactly "short" either. I could use an iPad mini right now, but refuse to shell out $330 in 2013 for a non-Retina screen.

[WT Sharpe]

I've heard March, November, and I believe July as the date that Apple will release the Retina iPad Mini and the iPad 5, although the recent release of the 128 GB iPad 4 kind of puts that March release in doubt. As of this writing, I'm planning to update whenever the next generation does come out from my iPad Original Flavor, but I won't entirely rule out going with something non-Apple if I find something that does what I want it to do.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

...if I find something that does what I want it to do.

And what do you need it to do?

[WT Sharpe]

Run my favorite app (WritePad) the way it runs on my iPad.

Plus, I'm not a big fan of Windows 8.

[jswinden]

As far as battery life on Android goes, the tests are not very realistic. I've owned four Android tablets and one Android phone. All do well when new and before you install a bunch of apps, but many apps behaving badly results in sub par battery performance. Android devices do a horrible job of battery management and since many apps for Android are so poorly written they cause many battery usage issues. At best Android devices are flaky when it comes to battery usage. My iPad doesn't seem to have these issues nor does my iPod touch 5, but the earlier iPod touch generations were as bad as Android on battery usage. My point is that a device might test out well on battery usage but if in real life it gets terrible battery life due to issues with the OS then the battery tests are total rubbish. I don't care for Apples closed system, but at least the high fence they built around their system does a good job of keeping out the riff raff programmers whereas Androids lack of any fence lets them in with open arms.