“Seeing is believing”, or so the saying goes.

Last week, I was in Berlin, walking from the Parliamentary Society building back to my hotel. On the way was a building (no idea what - some new construction - it isn’t even in Google Maps yet) that was completely “clad” in an Apple iPad Mini Ad! I’ve never seen anything quite this extreme (and probably extreme expensive) before.

Here, too, there is an iPad Mini being held in a slender hand. It once again brought to mind my fantasies of replacing my iPhone with an iPad Mini with 3G and a simple mobile phone.

But something about the picture of the hand holding the device struck me as odd. For one thing, you can’t see all of the hand - the palm for example is mostly covered by the device. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it, but if you’re at Berlin Hauptbahnhof these days, just go out the back and look right!

The next day, I stopped by a popular electronics dealer on my way from an appointment and had the opportunity to see the thing live for the first time. And things clicked into place: I’m now entertaining the idea that the photos of the iPad Mini being held are photoshopped.

There is a break in the continuity of the bottom of the hand (ending in the pinkie) that gives the opportunity of taking two pictures of the device being held - one showing the ends of the fingers, the other part of the palm and the thumb - and splicing them together to generate the picture you’ll find on Apple’s website (and various ads, such as the building next to Berlin’s HBF).

Either that, or the person holding the device is a pianist that is used to playing Liszt, which I’ve read requires exceptionally long fingers to hit all the notes.

In either case, after seeing the iPad Mini live, I’ve come to the conclusion that the thing is just way too big to be carried around and handheld to take over the online-functions I currently do with an iPhone.

*** Update Jan 16, 2013 ***
I was in Berlin again yesterday and took a picture of the Building I described above (sorry, the quality isn’t particularly good):

Tags: Markets, Hardware

Let me propose a concept that, for an Apple fan, is probably bizarre at the very least:

With the iPad mini available in a 3G/4G version, you might consider getting rid of your iPhone (or at least not buying a new one) and opting for a mobile phone with good reception…

Here’s my reasoning: the reason I don’t want to do without my iPhone is not for it’s “phone qualities” (which I think even hardcore Apple fans are likely to hum and ho about). It has to do with all the great apps one needs when on the road, from Google Maps (yep - haven’t upgraded to iOS 6 yet!), Tripadvisor, Email, Message, etc. etc.

Now, as a 40+ mid-lifer, I’m starting to have issues reading the screen (without glasses). The on-screen keyboard is a pain in the butt and the realestate of the display is just too small for a number of applications, including trying to find out where you are in a city and where you’re going.

Should my company iPhone 4 (which is likely one of the first ones to be sold in Europe) fail me, instead of getting a 4S (iPhone 5 is not an option for me), I would likely pick up an iPad Mini instead. To call people, I would use my trusty old Sony-Ericsson Z600, which syncs with the Address Book app via Bluetooth (at least it did with Lion - hopefully that is still available in Mountain Lion).

The result: a bigger screen with a lot more realestate, a device that can be slipped in a pocket and yet held with one hand, with full integration into the Apple iCloud services, with data available anywhere there is reception, using the SIM card I currently use with a MiFi device (with a lot more volume available per month than my iPhone) and a small phone with excellent reception.

Your thoughts?

Tags: Markets, iPad, iPhone, Hardware