iPad Mini vs Nexus 7 vs Kobo Arc

If you were to buy a general use small tablet, which model would you buy?

The iPad Mini has the most comprehensive ecosystem but is the most expensive. The Kobo Arc is the cheapest, but because it uses a skinned Android OS, will have the slowest OS update frequency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._pixel_density

Skip the Kobo.

The iPad Mini and Neuxs 7 are pretty much the best two 7 inch tablets out there. Both will get software updates promptly.

Now it all depends on the eco systems. If you have other Apple products and enjoy seamlessness, get the iPad. It's by far the easier of the two to use and has higher quality content on it (apps are better, plus itunes store)

That being said, Nexus 7 is good if you like to mess around. Endless customizations, but it isn't a very simple OS to use. There is a learning curve. If you can get past that, Nexus 7 is awesome.

Don't let the Apple/Android haters sway you to one side. Go play with both and see what you prefer. They are both fantastic tablets.

Honestly, I really don't understand the appeal of a 7 inch tablet though. Most of our cell phones are already approaching 5 inches for screen size. 2 inches bigger for the tablet is hardly better for general media consumption or web surfing. The 10 inch tablets are significantly better IMO.

I'm a specs:value guy, but I had never looked at the Nexus or the Mini to compare them. I did as a result of this thread and found that I would choose the Nexus hands down.

Nexus Quad core vs Mini dual core
Nexus 1280x800/216ppi resolution vs Mini 1024x768/163ppi.
Nexus Wifi 16GB is $200 vs Mini $330.

I don't care ab eco-system. I have an Ipad 2, two iMacs, an AirTunes and an iPod something or other coming from Santa. By specs, the mini is just a small iPad- and I have one of those. I can't get a quad core processor in any Apple tablet.

Having said all of that, I think the 7" market tablet will eventually go the same was as I see the Phablet going. It already did go that way after Dell failed to find a market for it. I think both are a solution looking for a problem that they just can't quite define. Bring on the 15", 17", or 19" i5/i7 AIO/tablets. The desktop and the laptop form factors are dying, but people still want their size and the enterprise needs the power.

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

I'm a specs:value guy, but I had never looked at the Nexus or the Mini to compare them. I did as a result of this thread and found that I would choose the Nexus hands down.

Nexus Quad core vs Mini dual core
Nexus 1280x800/216ppi resolution vs Mini 1024x768/163ppi.
Nexus Wifi 16GB is $200 vs Mini $330.

I don't care ab eco-system. I have an Ipad 2, two iMacs, an AirTunes and an iPod something or other coming from Santa. By specs, the mini is just a small iPad- and I have one of those. I can't get a quad core processor in any Apple tablet.

If specs were everything, then why does almost every Android phone/tablet exhibit UI lag and other performance issues, while iOS doesn't?

Apple A6X is much more powerful than the quad-core Tegra 3 in the Nexus 7

http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/13...-on-the-market

Having said all of that, I think the 7" market tablet will eventually go the same was as I see the Phablet going. It already did go that way after Dell failed to find a market for it. I think both are a solution looking for a problem that they just can't quite define.

I agree. They're gonna go the way of the netbook. 7 inch tablets are simply useless. 10 inches is a better size

Bring on the 15", 17", or 19" i5/i7 AIO/tablets. The desktop and the laptop form factors are dying, but people still want their size and the enterprise needs the power.

Have you seen the new Vaio Windows 8 AIO/tablet thing? Looks pretty slick

http://store.sony.com/c/VAIO-Tap-20-...J2_SERIES_PAGE

20 inches

Auto union - totally agree. Buying a tablet based on specs is like buying a vehicle based on horsepower. There is a lot more involved than comparing chips, hence why Apple has somehow made a faster more powerful processor/UI with apparently lower specifications. At this point it comes down to what your intended uses are for it and how it needs or doesn't need to integrate into your ecosystem....

As someone who owns the Nexus 7 I disagree with you all about it's "uselessness".

It became by far one of the most used piece I have. It's size is large enough for internet browsing, forum reading and small to medium replies. perfect for emails. Excellent for movies and e-book readings.

I have watched many movies and TV shows on it. The best thing about it's size is that if you are a "take a book to bed and read" at night before going to sleep, that thing is perfect. A full size iPad is just too heavy to hold up in front of your face. And since it's that small to hold in one hand, but large enough to watch an HD (720p) movie, it is very useful. Incidentally, all of this year's Dexter and Homeland episodes I watched on this little gem.

I agree that spec (speed of cpu) is not as important these days when most have sufficient processing power (both iPad Mini and Nexus 7). But you can't ignore the screen resolution. The screen is what you are staring at the whole time and there is a HUGE difference between the iPad 163 pixels per inch to the Nexus 216 PPI. That's almost identical to MacBook Pro Retina display at 220/227 PPI.

Android? This one comes with Jelly Beans 4.2 for tablets. It's not your usual Android for phones. It's very intuitive.

IMO, it comes down to the display. And if he doesn't already have a tone of stuff on Apple "ecosystem" and doesn't feel that he can cut off of that environment, then go Nexus. If he is already invested in Apple, then iPad, but just know that the display resolution sucks, and every tech publication tells you that.

But the real question that you didn't say anything about is, What do you plan to do with it? What would you want to use it for?

Originally Posted by MatWiz

Android? This one comes with Jelly Beans 4.2 for tablets. It's not your usual Android for phones. It's very intuitive.

It's not very different from 4.1 JB. 4.2 is also known as one of the most buggy Android releases for a while now. (http://bgr.com/2012/11/19/android-4-...nius+Report%29)

IMO, it comes down to the display. And if he doesn't already have a tone of stuff on Apple "ecosystem" and doesn't feel that he can cut off of that environment, then go Nexus. If he is already invested in Apple, then iPad, but just know that the display resolution sucks, and every tech publication tells you that.

Agree. As someone who does own a Retina Macbook Pro and an iPad 3, it's pretty dumb that the iPad Mini has no retina screen. The Nexus 7's screen is very good.

It does all boil down to what OP wants to do with it. Couch web surfing? both, but Nexus 7's screen is better. Tinker with it, etc? Nexus 7 Media? iPad mini

Android is not very good for media consumption. Stock music/video player is terrible on a plain Android product and there is no good software to manage your media (like iTunes). If you torrent DIVX/MKV files off the internet, Android can't really manage them well either, but the iOS app store has a bunch of players that can play them pretty well.

However, if you just stream music off Pandora, etc and stream video off Netflix, Hulu, etc, it's a wash. Both are pretty equal due to platform-specific apps.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

Apple A6X is much more powerful than the quad-core Tegra 3 in Nexus 7

This is a botched comparison. You can't get the A6 in a Mini. The Quad core in the Nexus is faster than the Mini's A5.

Originally Posted by Emilner

Auto union - totally agree. Buying a tablet based on specs is like buying a vehicle based on horsepower. There is a lot more involved than comparing chips, hence why Apple has somehow made a faster more powerful processor/UI with apparently lower specifications. At this point it comes down to what your intended uses are for it and how it needs or doesn't need to integrate into your ecosystem....

Buying a tablet is a completely different comparison to buying a car. Horsepower may *feel* like processor speed, but it's not. The processor IS the most prevalent key spec in tech. In a tablet or notebook, that is followed closely by the GPU. The two are the center of the device universe- especially as more and more of the OS relies on the CPU. If an automobile's horsepower also determined the speed at which the driver could see in front of him, take a left turn, and work his radio, THEN the comparison between horsepower and GHz/cores might hold. But it doesn't.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

It's not very different from 4.1 JB. 4.2 is also known as one of the most buggy Android releases for a while now. (http://bgr.com/2012/11/19/android-4-...nius+Report%29)

Sounds a lot like iOS 6, eh? And don't forget iOS5. Aaaand iOS4. I suppose some folks see a buggy Android release as news while it's SOP for others.

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

Sounds a lot like iOS 6, eh?

Sounds better than Google forgetting the month of December

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412287,00.asp



That being said, I haven't updated my iPad to iOS 6

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

This is a botched comparison. You can't get the A6 in a Mini. The Quad core in the Nexus is faster than the Mini's A5. Buying a tablet is a completely different comparison to buying a car. Horsepower may *feel* like processor speed, but it's not. The processor IS the most prevalent key spec in tech. In a tablet or notebook, that is followed closely by the GPU. The two are the center of the device universe- especially as more and more of the OS relies on the CPU. If an automobile's horsepower also determined the speed at which the driver could see in front of him, take a left turn, and work his radio, THEN the comparison between horsepower and GHz/cores might hold. But it doesn't.

What you are missing is that specs do not determine speed. Case in point is Apple's latest A6 chip. It specs lower than the competition but has tested significantly faster. Much of an electronic device's speed is related to software and how that software takes advantage of certain aspects of the hardware. The analogy to buying a car based on specs is spot on..

Originally Posted by Emilner

What you are missing is that specs do not determine speed.

Nissan GTR is a good example. On paper, it might have less power, but it smokes cars that cost a good amount more than it.

Case in point is Apple's latest A6 chip. It specs lower than the competition but has tested significantly faster. Much of an electronic device's speed is related to software and how that software takes advantage of certain aspects of the hardware.

Exactly. I don't understand why Android fans are so hung up on how many cores and how much ram, etc their devices have. My Galaxy S3 has a dual-core 1.5 ghz Snapdragon S4 with 2gb of RAM. And it operates no where as smooth and lag-free as my "inferior-specced" iPhone 5.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

Nissan GTR is a good example. On paper, it might have less power, but it smokes cars that cost a good amount more than it.

Wait. What? Does spending more on something mean more performance or not? And if it does mean that then what again is the parallel between the cheaper-than-others Nissan GTR and a more-expensive-than-Nexus iPad Mini?

Again. The comparisons here are just very confusing.

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

Wait. What? Does spending more on something mean more performance or not? And if it does mean that then what again is the parallel between the cheaper-than-others Nissan GTR and a more-expensive-than-Nexus iPad Mini?

Again. The comparisons here are just very confusing.

He made a reference of power. An engine in a car has the same roll as a processor in a tablet. Sorry for your confusion...

It will be for my wife. No tinkering. For reading and media consumption.

At home, we already have a bunch of Apple devices. I am typing this with an iPad2. We have Airplay speakers.

On the other hand, the Nexus 7 is much cheaper.

Btw, I like the 7 or 8" form factor. The one thing I don't like about the iPad2 is its weight.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

Android is not very good for media consumption. ... If you torrent DIVX/MKV files off the internet, Android can't really manage them well either, but the iOS app store has a bunch of players that can play them pretty well.

I doesn't sound like you are up to date or very familiar with the Android environment. MKV, H264, etc is my prefered video file format, and what I mostly watch on my Nexus. Take a look at this player, the MX Player, that's the one I use.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...51bGwsMSwyLDNd

You said previously not to listen to the Android vs. Apple fanboys, and yet you are providing bad information about the "inabilities" of Android which are incorrect.

Originally Posted by MatWiz

I doesn't sound like you are up to date or very familiar with the Android environment.

I've probably owned more Android/iOS devices than most people on this forum, so hardly.

MKV, H264, etc is my prefered video file format, and what I mostly watch on my Nexus. Take a look at this player, the MX Player, that's the one I use.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...51bGwsMSwyLDNd

Ahh, MXPlayer It won't stop crashing on my S3 running plain Jelly Bean or even my old HTC One X.

There's a VLC beta out for Android also, but it's a complete pile of crap.

Originally Posted by ed325i

It will be for my wife. No tinkering. For reading and media consumption.

At home, we already have a bunch of Apple devices. I am typing this with an iPad2. We have Airplay speakers.

On the other hand, the Nexus 7 is much cheaper.

Btw, I like the 7 or 8" form factor. The one thing I don't like about the iPad2 is its weight.

There is a learning curve associated with Android. If you want to save money (and your wife can get used to Android), then Nexus 7.

If she can't and likes your iPad 2, then I guess to keep her happy, you have no choice

Originally Posted by Emilner

The analogy to buying a car based on specs is spot on..

Well, it's not for me because that's not how I buy a car, but it IS how I buy electronics. I want the best spec'd TV and could care less about the menu's I'll only use to set it up and reset the clock. I want the best combination of sound processing, inputs, outputs, and other features from my amp. I want the most lumens from my flashlights. But I rocked a 3.0 X5 for 7 years instead of the big V8 because it got the job done and met my other desires for the vehicle.

I think the big difference here is the absence of emotion when buying a product. In the end, my choice is based on whether or not I can do what I want with either product and where the value of either choice lies against those requirements. I am not one to get so wrapped up in the emotion of a purchase that I allow my own perception of diminished value. That's why if I can buy a better spec'd piece of equipment for nearly 1/2 of the other and still do what I need to do... I'm buying the $200 Nexus.

Originally Posted by ed325i

It will be for my wife. No tinkering. For reading and media consumption.

At home, we already have a bunch of Apple devices. I am typing this with an iPad2. We have Airplay speakers.

On the other hand, the Nexus 7 is much cheaper.

Btw, I like the 7 or 8" form factor. The one thing I don't like about the iPad2 is its weight.

You don't need to tinker. That's another misconception about the Android. Just because it gives you OPTIONS to tinker, that doesn't mean that you have to. You can use it just the way it is. Just install whatever apps you like to, and that's it. You don't need to modify anything.

If she likes to read books, this is the app I'm using, it's phenomenal and can play any e-books or text formats.

Moon Reader. https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...9vbnJlYWRlciJd

PS. If it's for reading, then by all means, you want the better resolution screen, so she doesn't get eye strains.
.

Originally Posted by ed325i

It will be for my wife. No tinkering. For reading and media consumption.

At home, we already have a bunch of Apple devices. I am typing this with an iPad2. We have Airplay speakers.

You're dead man if you buy the Nexus.

I have a Nexus 7 (and a Galaxy S3 for that matter), and I far prefer the iPad. The Nexus 7 (with both 4.1 and 4.2) feels underpowered and slow and it tends to struggle with battery life.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

Ahh, MXPlayer It won't stop crashing on my S3 running plain Jelly Bean or even my old HTC One X.

There's a VLC beta out for Android also, but it's a complete pile of crap.

Again, you are the one who put out the call for not falling into the Android vs. Apple fanboi stuff, and you are the only one who keeps trashing the Android.

The MX Player never crashed, not even once, on my Nexus 7. On the contrary, the MX Player is making a very nice use of the hardware acceleration of the Nexus processor.

I didn't notice any bugs on the new 4.2 version.

OK, I wanted to provide the OP with first hand information about the Nexus 7, but this is turning into a silly fanbois debate, so I'm out of here.

OP, good luck with whatever you're purchasing. If you want any specific information about Nexus 7 then you are welcome to PM me.

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

You're dead man if you buy the Nexus.

By the way- I typed that on an iPad. Seriously- the women in my life are kept quiet by Apple products. You might think that this goes against my value proposition. It doesn't. Apple products buy me shutty. Shutty is freakin' priceless.