Phil Schiller holds up the iPad mini
If the best camera is the one that’s with us, the camera phone wins for me (iPhone in particular, but I’m excited for all models). But let’s take a departure for a second, because just minutes ago Phil Schiller announced the new iPad mini.
// 7.9 inch diagonal screen
// A5 dual core chip
// Facetime HD
// 5MP iSight Camera
// LTE wireless + 2x faster wi-fi
// lightening connectioin
// 10 hour battery life
// starting at $329
What will this do for us photographers? Here’s my quick thoughts:
// advertising photogs – stoked, but not all that much changes.
// wedding + portrait photogs – stoked, but not all that much changes.
// journalists + editorial creatives – revolutionary. iPhone camera + small device has been a treat for ALL photographers, but the new iPad mini seems to run double for journalists because it’s handheld with a great camera and actually a surface you can compose a story on… Ever seen people taking photos with an iPad? Sort of goofy. Or seen a journalist composing a press-ready story? Also sort of goofy. IMHO, this new iPad might not be for everyone (although all us geeks and fanboys will get one for the thrill…) but it really seems to fill that void for the journalist – shoot photos and compose. Just a thought.
Wireless tethering to one of these bad boys would be boss for some on location shoots. I have used the ipad 2 with the sd reader to review photos with some head shot clients on location a few times and it worked well.
—-Hey adobe how about we get a mini lightroom for a mini ipad?—
@chase we all know you have the connects to pull this off
This looks great for when your out the house. Will it fit in a coat pocket? Like others have said its more for notes and taking photos on the go. I would still use my big ipad for consuming content at home. Still £100 more that a Nexus 7. Would have liked it a little cheaper. But its Apple and the build quality will be great.
George, your are missing the same point here. When you compare an Apple PC with a Windows PC, they can often run the same software (making the comparison somewhat useful). When comparing Android tablets with iOS tablets, the comparison is often quite pointless. The Android OS still lacks in the software department (especially when it comes to photo apps). Before someone starts a flame war, I use both iOS (at home) and Android (at work) and they both have their merits.
Chase, I second Dave’s question. Now that two apps that I never thought would update (Mill Colour and Swankolab) have been revised, please show me that three is a charm. 😉
Thanks for the update Chase. I’m a bit perplexed as I was looking for the retina display and an 8mp camera.
retina display would render all the current apps out of date for ipad – not a good move. we will see it come down the pipeline in the future, but not for a bit
I think not including a retina display was more towards to the idea of insuring a future (successful) update to the mini was possible. Imagine in 6-12 months (or whatever turn-around time) Apple coming out with a new mini…with retina display! A tactic that has been used on previous Apple products (although not limited to Apple of course).
And then think of the ‘awesome factor’ when they also announce an 8mp camera with that retina display in the Mini 2.
Damn now I got to hold off and wait a year for the mini with retina because I already saw the two side by side and it’s noticeable. Damn apple.
“retina display would render all the current apps out of date for ipad”
Not a problem. There are already retina display apps for the full size iPad 3rd and 4th generation. As the current iPad mini has the same screen size in pixels as the iPad 2, a future retina iPad mini would share the same pixel dimensions, and the same apps, as the already existing 3rd and 4th gen iPad.
I agree with Mark, the current iPad mini is not retina for price and profit reasons. Next year I expect a retina mini at or near the current mini prices, and the current mini to stay in production and drop in price.
Sorry, I meant I love the concept of a “scrapbook” kind of device to keep notes and thoughts – not the concept of photos and videos on a tablet! Der!