[cujobob]

I have to take issue w/ some of the previous comments, despite being a big Apple fan.  Unless it comes out that the % of Nexus 7 units shipped with issues is significant (say over 5-10%), I'm going to take reports of QC issues w/ Nexus 7 with a grain in salt. 

Secondly, returns & warranties exist to cover these contingencies.  I'd prefer to save a LOT even if I get a bad unit & return / replace w/ a fully functioning one.

Apple, on the other hand, to charge 50-90% more should have a product which is not only best of breed but a substantially more luxurious product.  Neither of these seem to be true w/ the Ipad Mini. I.e. poorer resolution, slower processor, etc.  Feel is OK - mainly because it's thin - but not some revolution.  Probably asking too much from a tablet.  But at that $, at least include some nice accessory or some extra, like a "luxury" brand would.

Some comments re: Nexus 7 after playing with it a day or two:

Pro : great screen, snappy processor / performance, built in speech to text pretty decent, and finger-swipe keyboard vs hunt & peck nice.

Con : organization is still to messy : too many ways to do the same thing.  It's a learning curve vs the iOS which is pretty easy & intuitive for all.  Fortunately you can reorganize the start screen w/ out too much hassle. 

Doesn't seem to have "universal" copy & paste : e.g. I could find a way to copy from Google maps, but then couldn't past into email (?).

Re: QC issues with Nexus 7. The consumer reviews from various websites I browsed while in the market for one made it seem to be a VERY high rate of failure. They had a massive amount of screen issues and PSU issues, as well. As I said, I would have purchased one as a gift if the reviews were a little more favorable.

[cujobob]

How is it that statements like "Apple has the best tablet OS" and "rarely has QC problems" can be made, supposedly as fact? I just had the hard drive in my iMac replaced by Apple (for free, not saying they didn't do the right thing), but it still runs very hot, and this is also the second one as the first one had a bad screen. Then there's the exploding phone batteries... All companies have QC problems, so what is the justification for the statement? As far as the OS, that would be a matter of opinion but I think Android is a much better user experience.

I can't seem to remember how to multi-quote, so forgive me for that..

Apple having the best tablet OS is widely perceived as fact because they have the most apps, each app is purposely built for one platform, the learning curve for iOS is extremely low and much easier to pick up, it isn't as vulnerable as Android, etc. etc.

As for the QC issues statement, they come out very well in all of the studies I've read. I've had my own issues with Apple products, but each was taken care of and very quickly. I've had more issues with HTC products, Toshiba products, Asus products (screens on laptops), etc. Samsung generally seems to put out a good product but they aren't the only Android device-maker.

That's cool if you prefer Android's UI...some people like their widgets and a few of the customizeable things they can do which can't be done on iOS. Generally, equivalent apps are preferred on iOS and this is pretty well known. When they create an Android app, they have no idea what device it will be used on. They don't know the size of the screen, battery life, memory, processor speed...really, anything. Fragmentation is a huge issue for Android to overcome and really what holds them back.

Buying a cheap tablet could leave you SOL should you need after-purchase support. Warranty claims aren't always as easy to go through as they should be.

[jarcher]

Sorry cujobob, gonna have to take issue w/ your points based on personal experience.  Can't be accused of being an "Android Fan-Boy" either as I have just recently gotten the Nexus 7, but have thousands of dollars of Apple gear.

QC: 

Imac : After 4 years the internal DVD drive on my Imac failed despite light use.

Iphone 3G : After installing iOS5 the performance came to a screeching halt.

Iphone 4G : The microphone worked intermittently, then not at all, close to the 1 year warranty expiration.  Apple did step up to the plate & exchanged it for another.

Mac Mini + Apple TVs : fortunately no problem yet, though all are under 2 years old.

Nexus 7 32GB 3G: 2 weeks.  Plastic creaks a bit at the mid left side.  Cost me almost half of a comparable Ipad Mini.

I don't think it's credible to make a blanket statement that all after sales support for non-Apple tablets is going to leave the owner "SOL".  Sure, Apple has good technical support - but it should as it makes you pay dearly for it, both for the standalone extended service & in the higher prices for it's product. 

As previously mentioned, even if I had an unlikely total catastrophic failure of the Nexus 7, I could turn around and buy another one the same day & still would cost less than the comparable Apple Mini.  This is of course assuming ZERO warranty coverage, which is not the case.


Security :

Iphone : just install away. No info about what the app is accessing or doing, aside from description and users comments on app store.

Nexus 7 : a full disclosure before installing any app of exactly what information it accesses or sends.  Also the option to monitor behavior, and will warm you if an app is not operating the way it should be.

App Quality / Quantity :


Ipad : yes, numerically more, but not of the ones that anyone really cares about.  The #'s game is pointless. 

Quality : took some time for native ipad apps to appear (vs itouch / iphone ones), but I guess some ipad apps could be considered to be better designed for the ipad vs android - but not all or even most.

Android : Google Play + Amazon + perhaps other stores.  You at least have more than one source and some competition built in there.

Operating system : I won't lie & say the Android one is easier, but once you put your favorite / most used apps on the home screen, functionally there isn't much difference.  And of course if you do want to really customize things, you have more options.

So in sum : I'm sorry that some reviews wanted to accentuate the negative & repeat QC issue claims, and that this has scared you away from non-Apple tablets.  But w/ the Android operating system having now far surpassed the iOS one in terms of #'s of users, I think it's time to pay attention & take the leap as more & more personal computing is going in that direction. And w/ the price gap being what it is, I think the risks are marginal.

[silver_strings]

My cousins gf got one, I felt the price is exagerated for that little tablet

[jarcher]

Going to an Ipad Mini after all.....now I get to eat humble pie - again......

Ultimately it was easy to take pot shots at the Ipad Mini because of the lower screen / processor specs + pricing, but the proof is in use, and now having used the Nexus 7 some 6 months I understand the trade offs Apple made when they designed the Mini.

To wit: a higher rez screen would seem to consume substantially more power than the lower rez ones the mini uses.  They didn't just decide to go cheaper on the screen for no good reason.  I'm getting maybe 5 hours with the Nexus 7 at decent brightness w/ everything but the wifi turned off & soley doing web browsing + email.  Pretty different from listed battery life claims  - and again - this is a fairly new unit. And it does run hotter than ideal, which again I attribute to the screen.

More importantly, I'm really starting to feel that 8 inches for me is the minimum screen size.  A single diagonal inch wouldn't seem to make that much difference, but at this end of the scale, I think it does. I thought 7 might be better for single hand use, but not when it hampers readability.

There is also a weight advantage, particularly when you start adding a case etc.  The Nexus 7 with a case is still manageable, but ever little ounce does seem to count.

Lastly - and perhaps mostly - I'm getting frustrated with the user interface and the default Chrome browser in particular - and this is probably the most polished & least unfriendly non-Apple tablet OS out there.  Yeah, I know you can customize it and load a different browser.  I've tried experimenting w/ Firefox to get for example adjustable type font / sizing, etc.  Still it's not as polished even as the desktop browser version - and considerably slower (even then Chrome on Android).  Is it so hard to make a tablet browser responsive + easy to use with useful features such as reader only function or adjustable font / size?  I'm assuming the Safari Ipad browser doesn't suffer those problems.

So - over to the Ipad Mini it is - unless someone here responds quickly that I'm making a big mistake based on experience.  It'll be nice to have a big screen for my preferred "remote" itunes app as well.  And at $279 for the entry level refurbed one direct from Apple, not a painful transition. 

Anyone want to buy a nice fully loaded 32GB Nexus 7 w/ 3G?  The recently released & updated Nexus 7 is gonna kill my resale value. The reduced weight addresses one of my gripes - but comes at even more compromised battery performance.

P.s. There are always rumors of an impending Mini w/ the higher rez screen + faster processor.  Apple these days seems to be less dogmatic and more responsive to customer desires, even if perhaps it doesn't make total pure product sense.  That is : unless they can work miracles w/ the batter life, putting more power hungry screen doesn't exactly make sense.  But then again, for those who value that over battery life, perhaps.

[mcgsxr]

I bought an iPad mini for my daughter, she loves it.  She is basically a small platform gamer, and a surfer.  It works a treat for those applications, with minimal setup and is simple to understand and use.

I get that there are much more powerful units out there, but keeping in mind the desired use, it works great for her.  My other daughter hogs the full size iPad, and they are in heaven with their Minecraft and other games.

I use either for simple net consumption, but head for my work laptop for anything that resembles a long email or other types of work.

[embz]

I love my ipad mini, got it primarily to run Jremote and also teamviewer (remote desktop app used to control headless audio PC).  I find it very useful for computer audio and have never thought about using anything else.  The ipad seemed too big for my application. 

My kids are small 3&4 so they don't take it all day, but there are a lot of good apps for kids as well.  In a few years I have a feeling there will be another 2 ipad mini's in the household......

[AudioChick88]

Guys, this may sound like a stupid comment, but I love my mini.  Why?  Because I can fit it into my purse.  I already bought a bunch of apps on my phone, and can run them on my mini and read some books n other stuff.  For me, the mini could've been the same price as the regular, and I still would've picked a mini.  The regular iPad is too big/fat.  Most of my girl friends have either a kindle or mini because it's small and portable.  Size matters