Tech Nerd: Windows 8, Surface, iPad Mini and 4th Gen iPad

What a week for tech.   If you’re like me, you should be very excited of the new things that are coming our way with all these gadgets and tech.  Windows 8 is looking as a very exciting new way of interacting with our computers and tablets challenging the likes of Android, iOS, OS X and Windows 7.      Microsoft’s new tablet, Surface, is also looking to put up a fight against the undisputed champion of the tablet world, the iPad.   The often rumored iPad Mini is now out of the box and is looking to put more money in the pockets of our friends in Cupertino and with the recent surprise announcement of a fourth generation iPad, we know that Apple is serious about fighting the competition hard.

My personal thoughts on these new surprising developments are pretty obvious, Apple doesn’t want anybody threatening their business.   In an unlikely move, Apple showed us what they think about the Surface by releasing an underwhelming early update to its iPad family.   What they are calling the 4th generation iPad is just an iPad 2 with a retina display and a faster processor.   Yeah, the A6x is just a speed burst for their already fast iPad 3 (The new iPad).  I happen to think this is a very bad move by Apple.  First we have the lightning connector that everybody is whining about.  Nobody likes that they have to buy a new adaptor in order for their iPhone 5 to work with their old accessories.   Giving the new iPad the same connector will give limited options for new customers, for old iPad users who wish to upgrade it will immediately make their old accessories obsolete.

The new front facing HD camera and the speed burst just makes the previous version of the gadget outmoded.    Normally Apple has a 1 year cycle for their products in order to give them a speed burst.  They totally redesign their products in a two year cycle.  I was actually expecting them to announce a new redesigned faster fancier iPad this February, but no!  They felt that Microsoft has a great product under their sleeve and needed to act fast in order to slow down what may be a fast start for the software giant.    This is totally unlike Apple has acted in the past.  Can it be that they’re actually feeling the heat for the first time?  It was also a low blow for their loyal customers who actually plan how they’ll spend their hard earn money on their products.   Can we expect a new redesigned iPad in early February next year?   Makes you think.

The iPad Mini looks to be a really cool addition to the slate family as its size and performance should beat the hell out of the small tablet market.   Its also very pretty to look at and should be a product with an actual different purpose than the full sized version.  They differentiated  it sufficiently in order for the customer to really think about buying the full sized or the small size version.   The iPad mini doesn’t have a retina display and sports the old A5 processor in the iPad 2.  So in other words, its more of a scaled down version of that version than the newer one.   Power users will want the new fourth generation slate instead of the small underperforming one.

Windows 8 is getting mixed reviews here and there.   Some say that its very innovating but confusing.    Others think that its a cool alternate to Android and iOS and that its very cool to have the same OS in your tablet than in your computer.  The problem lies in the different versions and how it still doesn’t have a real identity.   With two versions of Windows 8 available you get the sense that people will eventually get confused in what to get.  Why not have a single version with a single price?  If you’re claiming to have a unified system, why sell two different versions?  Doesn’t make any sense.   The other thing is that the new Windows 8 UI isn’t every where on the system, one part runs with the new rules (which are pretty confusing for long time windows users) and other apps use the old system.   So you have a new paint job on top of the old Windows 7 for some apps.   Thats the problem.