Q: When is a 7" tablet not a 7" tablet? A: When Apple fanatics say it isn't

vitocorleone · Jul 10, 2012, 12:51 PM

http://daringfireball.net/2012/07/this_ipad_mini_thing

Now, as far as I know, a 6.5" knife can be typically referred to as having a 6" blade. A 37.3" TV screen is referred to as a 37" screen. But a 7.85" Apple tablet (rumored) is, according to one of the biggest Apple fanatics of all time, not a 7" tablet.

Huh? Apparently the legacy of Steve Jobs is stronger than logic or common sense... ?

Yes, yes, it has more area than something that may be 7.0", but that doesn't change reality of how these things are referred to by everyone else.

But, then, maybe it's just me. What do the Apple fans on this board think?

Hidavi · Jul 10, 2012, 01:13 PM

I always thought that 13.3" = 13", 15.4" = 15" AND 17.3" = 17" (in the laptop world) because they were mathematically rounding (n.R = n+1, R>=5 and n.R = n, R<5)

So if you round 7.85" , you get 8"

aviphysics · Jul 10, 2012, 01:43 PM

A 7.85" tablet has 25.8% more surface area than a 7" tablet. That seems like a substantial difference to me.

Zero · Jul 10, 2012, 03:32 PM

Credibility bypass at "For another thing, I and others have heard from Cupertino-area little birdies that what Apple has been working on in the lab is a smaller iPad, not a bigger iPod."

Because you know, the iPad is a giant iPod touch.

BackToPC · Jul 10, 2012, 06:24 PM

Reality Distortion in full effect

vitocorleone · Jul 10, 2012, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hidavi

I always thought that 13.3" = 13", 15.4" = 15" AND 17.3" = 17" (in the laptop world) because they were mathematically rounding (n.R = n+1, R>=5 and n.R = n, R<5)

So if you round 7.85" , you get 8"

You can round up, sure. But it's also not wrong to round down.

Hidavi · Jul 10, 2012, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitocorleone

You can round up, sure. But it's also not wrong to round down.

But the standard is to round using the previously mentioned convention.

FX-Overclocking · Jul 11, 2012, 12:10 AM

I'll take that extra .85 inch any day

**DaJMasta** · Jul 11, 2012, 12:48 AM

A: When it's an 8" tablet.

Rounding to the nearest integer makes a lot of sense to me. Rounding up is also pretty common (My 32" TV has a 31.5" panel, for example).

I wouldn't call a 7.85" tablet a 7" tablet (it would be noticeably larger), just as I don't call my phone's 4.65" screen a 4" screen.

That blog entry is also trying to emphasize the fact that it's a tablet class device and not one that's comparable to a phone sized handheld, so it makes sense that they've picked rounding up (it also makes sense because it is mathematically more accurate).

If I was going to pick something in that article to complain about, it would definitely be the rumored 1024x768 resolution. 4:3 and low res for an 8" (or 7") screen is a lackluster resolution after all the touted benefits of "retina" displays and the competing sized devices that are at least 720p.

Anyways, rounding to the nearest whole number makes a lot of sense to me, it's what I was taught was rounding (unless to 5s, 10s, etc) in elementary school.

vitocorleone · Jul 11, 2012, 02:03 AM

Guess I'm the only one that doesn't like rounding off important features - especially rounding up to make them sound better (which is a typical sales gimmick), especially when the person/company doing the selling is picking how things are rounded and to what degree.

So I guess if Apple made a car with 175hp and they decided to round up to 200hp it'd be ok? After all, they've decided to round to the nearest 100 to make it easy to understand, just like fans are getting people to round 7.85" to 8" (rather than, say, 7.9" - which would be a step in the right direction because it still conveys that it is less than 8" but also bigger than most 7" screens, though it's still also technically a 7" screen since the number starts with a 7).

Go Apple!

I'll go back to my cave now and let the math rainbows continue.

Hidavi · Jul 11, 2012, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitocorleone

Guess I'm the only one that doesn't like rounding off important features - especially rounding up to make them sound better (which is a typical sales gimmick), especially when the person/company doing the selling is picking how things are rounded and to what degree.

You're always going to lose accuracy by rounding. Better to lose that .15" than .85" especially for marketing. The result of their rounding is closer to the truth than yours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitocorleone

So I guess if Apple made a car with 175hp and they decided to round up to 200hp it'd be ok?

No, because nobody does that

aviphysics · Jul 11, 2012, 01:04 PM

No matter what, the current convention is way better than the old CRT convention of including the bezel. That #$%#%$ pissed me off.

aviphysics · Jul 11, 2012, 01:08 PM

Ok, finally took the time to skim the link and concluded that Victor is just Trolling. What the blogger said is completely reasonable and in no way obfuscates the facts.

This appears to be the offending script.

Quote:

For one thing, the rumored device has a very specific screen size: 7.85 inches diagonally, 1024 × 768 pixels. That’s far closer to 8 inches than 7. In fact, it’s closer to 8 inches than the 9.7-inch iPad-as-we-know-it is to 10 inches — so if you want to round to the nearest integer, it would be more accurate to call it an 8-inch iPad than a 7-inch one.

Elysian · Jul 11, 2012, 06:31 PM

I don't really understand the contraversy here... the iPad isn't a 10" tablet, it's a 9.7" tablet... I've never thought of it as a 9" tablet or a 10" tablet, only a 9.7" tablet... rounding in this instance doesn't make much sense... My 42" TV isn't considered a 40" TV because it's closer to 40 than it is to 50...

Hidavi · Jul 11, 2012, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian

I don't really understand the contraversy here... the iPad isn't a 10" tablet, it's a 9.7" tablet... I've never thought of it as a 9" tablet or a 10" tablet, only a 9.7" tablet... rounding in this instance doesn't make much sense... My 42" TV isn't considered a 40" TV because it's closer to 40 than it is to 50...

You don't round whole number double digit display sizes because it would be a very gross inaccuracy...

ViN86 · Jul 11, 2012, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zero

Credibility bypass at "For another thing, I and others have heard from Cupertino-area little birdies that what Apple has been working on in the lab is a smaller iPad, not a bigger iPod."

Because you know, the iPad is a giant iPod touch.

Of course not, it's magic. The iPod Touch isn't.

Elysian · Jul 11, 2012, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hidavi

You don't round whole number double digit display sizes because it would be a very gross inaccuracy...

You don't round any display sizes.

Hidavi · Jul 11, 2012, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian

You don't round any display sizes.

I don't, but manufacturers do. 31.5" displays get rounded to 32". I don't think there are any true 32" displays. 17.3" and 15.4" displays get rounded to 17 and 15 respectively. There are tons of examples.

I think its a marketing rule to keep people's brains from overheating

Elysian · Jul 11, 2012, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hidavi

I don't, but manufacturers do. 31.5" displays get rounded to 32". I don't think there are any true 32" displays. 17.3" and 15.4" displays get rounded to 17 and 15 respectively. There are tons of examples.

I think its a marketing rule to keep people's brains from overheating

Any time I've looked at laptops the exact size was listed...

Hidavi · Jul 11, 2012, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian

Any time I've looked at laptops the exact size was listed...

Hmm, I recall the same for laptops, but I've seen sites that just list them as whole numbers.

aviphysics · Jul 12, 2012, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hidavi

Hmm, I recall the same for laptops, but I've seen sites that just list them as whole numbers.

Normally when I see this, it is people talking about the class of laptop not the manufacturer.

Sometimes I will see a ad using language similar to "14" class laptop" or "smallest 14 class laptop" etc. In this case I think it makes enough sense, because they are just trying to give people a general idea of what sort of product it is.

Ciera · Jul 12, 2012, 09:21 PM

wow, what a pointless and stupid thread. facepalm.jpg

Jul 10, 2012, 12:51 PM	#1	Advertisement (Guests Only) Login or Register to remove this ad
vitocorleone Radeon Arctic Islands Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Seattle Posts: 9,415	Q: When is a 7" tablet not a 7" tablet? A: When Apple fanatics say it isn't http://daringfireball.net/2012/07/this_ipad_mini_thing Now, as far as I know, a 6.5" knife can be typically referred to as having a 6" blade. A 37.3" TV screen is referred to as a 37" screen. But a 7.85" Apple tablet (rumored) is, according to one of the biggest Apple fanatics of all time, not a 7" tablet. Huh? Apparently the legacy of Steve Jobs is stronger than logic or common sense... ? Yes, yes, it has more area than something that may be 7.0", but that doesn't change reality of how these things are referred to by everyone else. But, then, maybe it's just me. What do the Apple fans on this board think? __________________ "Healthy democracies don’t decay overnight. They gradually rot from within, with termites like Trump undermining their foundations." - John Cassidy, The New Yorker

Jul 10, 2012, 01:13 PM	#2
Hidavi I'm Way Up Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: THE BIG APPLE Posts: 26,568	I always thought that 13.3" = 13", 15.4" = 15" AND 17.3" = 17" (in the laptop world) because they were mathematically rounding (n.R = n+1, R>=5 and n.R = n, R<5) So if you round 7.85" , you get 8" __________________ *Now Playing:* Joe Dever's: Lone Wolf (NS) Final Fantasy World (PS4P)

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Jul 10, 2012, 01:43 PM	#3
aviphysics Atari 800 FTW Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Livermore Ca Posts: 8,137	A 7.85" tablet has 25.8% more surface area than a 7" tablet. That seems like a substantial difference to me. __________________ THG is to computer hardware what MTV is to music.

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Jul 10, 2012, 03:32 PM	#4
Zero Sass hole Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Toronto Posts: 38,815	Credibility bypass at "For another thing, I and others have heard from Cupertino-area little birdies that what Apple has been working on in the lab is a smaller iPad, not a bigger iPod." Because you know, the iPad is a giant iPod touch. __________________ "Hi, please refrain from telling other forum members to "Go eat a buffet of dicks." in the future. Thank you. Regards, mad"

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Jul 10, 2012, 06:24 PM	#5
BackToPC Banned Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 689	Reality Distortion in full effect

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Jul 11, 2012, 12:10 AM	#8
FX-Overclocking Radeon Arctic Islands Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 12,092	I'll take that extra .85 inch any day __________________ --------------------------------------------- Ron Paul for Prez. --------------------------------------------- Persistence is the first, and the most important, condition for success. "There is all the difference in the world between treating people equally and attempting to make them equal." - F.A. Hayek

Jul 11, 2012, 12:48 AM	#9
DaJMasta Baffoonist Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Silver Spring, Maryland Posts: 14,491	A: When it's an 8" tablet. Rounding to the nearest integer makes a lot of sense to me. Rounding up is also pretty common (My 32" TV has a 31.5" panel, for example). I wouldn't call a 7.85" tablet a 7" tablet (it would be noticeably larger), just as I don't call my phone's 4.65" screen a 4" screen. That blog entry is also trying to emphasize the fact that it's a tablet class device and not one that's comparable to a phone sized handheld, so it makes sense that they've picked rounding up (it also makes sense because it is mathematically more accurate). If I was going to pick something in that article to complain about, it would definitely be the rumored 1024x768 resolution. 4:3 and low res for an 8" (or 7") screen is a lackluster resolution after all the touted benefits of "retina" displays and the competing sized devices that are at least 720p. Anyways, rounding to the nearest whole number makes a lot of sense to me, it's what I was taught was rounding (unless to 5s, 10s, etc) in elementary school. __________________ Desktop: Intel Core i7 7770k : 16GB EVGA DDR4 2400 : Gigabyte GTX 1070 Ti Windforce X2 : Gigabyte GA-H270-WIFI : AudioQuest DragonFly DAC : Samsung SM961 NVMe 1TB SSD : Corsair Builder 500W PSU : Samsung 1440p 32" Monitor : Klipsch Promedia 2.1 : Windows 10 Pro x64 Tablet: Microsoft Surface Pro 4 : Intel Core i5-6300U : 8GB DDR3 : Intel 520 Integrated : 256GB SSD : 12.3" 2736x1824 display : Windows 10 Pro x64 HTPC: Intel Core i3 3225 : HD 4000 integrated : 8GB Samsung DDR3 1600 : Gigabyte H77N-Wifi : 120GB Sandisk Extreme SSD : 80W power brick and picoPSU150 XT : Integrated HD Audio : Scepter 32" LCD TV : Logitech Z313 2.1 : Windows 7 Pro x64 http://www.medpants.com/

Jul 11, 2012, 02:03 AM	#10
vitocorleone Radeon Arctic Islands Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Seattle Posts: 9,415	Guess I'm the only one that doesn't like rounding off important features - especially rounding up to make them sound better (which is a typical sales gimmick), especially when the person/company doing the selling is picking how things are rounded and to what degree. So I guess if Apple made a car with 175hp and they decided to round up to 200hp it'd be ok? After all, they've decided to round to the nearest 100 to make it easy to understand, just like fans are getting people to round 7.85" to 8" (rather than, say, 7.9" - which would be a step in the right direction because it still conveys that it is less than 8" but also bigger than most 7" screens, though it's still also technically a 7" screen since the number starts with a 7). Go Apple! I'll go back to my cave now and let the math rainbows continue. __________________ "Healthy democracies don’t decay overnight. They gradually rot from within, with termites like Trump undermining their foundations." - John Cassidy, The New Yorker Last edited by vitocorleone : Jul 11, 2012 at 02:07 AM.

Jul 11, 2012, 01:04 PM	#12
aviphysics Atari 800 FTW Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Livermore Ca Posts: 8,137	No matter what, the current convention is way better than the old CRT convention of including the bezel. That #$%#%$ pissed me off. __________________ THG is to computer hardware what MTV is to music.

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Jul 12, 2012, 09:21 PM	#22
Ciera Bueno Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,487	wow, what a pointless and stupid thread. facepalm.jpg

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