Apple kicked off its event today with its usual big number announcements. The mega tech company touted that it has sold 100 million iPads, received 200 million iOS 6 downloads, 300 billion iMessages sent, along with 36 billion iOS apps downloaded. In addition, Apple issued upgrades to all its Macs (except for the Mac Pro) and revealed the long rumored iPad mini. The iPad mini sports a 7.9-inch 1024 x 768 resolution display, a dual-core Apple A5 processor, optional LTE, a 5-megapixel iSight camera, 802.11n Wi-Fi, the new Lightning connector, and a claimed 10-hour battery life.
Now let’s get to the interesting trash talk, shall we? Phil Schiller, an Apple senior executive, compared the device to Google’s Nexus 7 tablet. And boy did he have a lot to say. First, he mentioned how Apple’s tablet is lighter and thinner than Google’s tablet in spite of having a display area that’s a third larger. He then went on to talk about the mini’s bezel being smaller and made of aluminium. Schiller also said the Nexus 7 “feels like a toy” when compared to the little brother of the iPad. But the Apple exec hit the search giant below the waist when he started to talk about apps.
Phil Schiller went in great detail on the quality of tablet specific applications tailored for the mini’s almost 8-inch display. Dude hit the nail right on the head when he said “these aren’t scaled out mobile apps, these are powerful apps.” It was a slap to the face to Google’s whole ideology of how apps should look on Android tablets. Let’s just go back in time, last year to be exact. The father of Android, the man himself Andy Rubin, in an interview with Walt Mossberg of All Things D said “I don’t think there should be apps specific to a tablet.” Whether he misspoke or not: his point was made. That point being Android isn’t going to developers and directing them to focus on making separate applications for its tablets tablet specific applications, at least for the time being.
Besides all the talk about the differences of the two slates, Apple flaunted its one true advantage today: apps. Many who own the Nexus 7 — including myself — say it’s a good tablet, but the only sore spot is the lack of apps tailored for it (read our 10 must have Nexus 7 apps). In the end, I hope Andy Rubin and company will get its act together and step its game up, because tablet specific applications DO matter. However, if Google doesn’t change its ways, Apple will eat their lunch once again in a space it so desperately needs.