Surprise!

iPad Mini

Apple surprised me with an update to the iPad mini. It was rumored that an updated version would be released this year and then it came.

I ordered one and it is coming next week. Right on time for my birthday.

I use my current Mini a lot. The size and weight are perfect for me. I use it for reading, some media consumption and play a few games on it. I purposely removed all productivity apps on it. All notifications are disabled and background refresh is off too. It is the perfect wind-down device.

Some were disappointed that they are still using the old form-factor with large screen bezels and no Face ID, but that suits me fine. I would have upgraded to an iPad Pro mini too, but this is what they made.

I am particularly excited for the better screen and pencil support. As luck would have it, I own a Pencil gen 1. It came with my iPad Pro 12 which is on full-time Space Station duty. Maybe I can phase out my paper notebook now. We’ll see.

The internet was rumbling a bit about the odd state of the iPad line up. I can understand that. Apple is known for product line ups which fit particular use cases. You want small and light, you get an Apple Macbook. You want to do video editing on-the-go, you get a MacBook Pro. The use cases for the iPad line-up isn’t that clear. I can’t escape the feeling that Apple is transitioning their line-up and we’re in the middle of it. It’ll become clear where they’re heading in a year or two.

For now, I am excited for my new iPad Mini. I can’t wait to start playing with it.

Wow! It’s expensive!

Ipad Pro

One of the things Apple and I seem to agree on in life is that the iPad is the mobile computing futu…

Not all laptop users are created equal

Ipad Pro ad & mom

Apple is running ads for the iPad Pro called “5 reasons iPad Pro can be your next computer”. I wish…

Best gadget of 2018

Nintendo Switch

If I had to nominate the best gadget I bought in 2018, it’s the Nintendo Switch. I love it because i…

Voice interfaces are here to stay

Alexa

Last month, Nielsen published a piece of research on the use of voice recognition systems. Below an …