Today in Tech: iPad Mini; Mahalingam on Margins; Microsoft Surface Reviews

iPad Mini In an interview to CBS earlier this year, New Yorker editor David Remnick spoke about his plans for the magazine. “Soon you’ll be able to read it entirely on your handheld", he said. “Is that the absolute best way to read it? For some people it may be. I’ve seen people read a Dickens novel on their 3-inch handheld. God love ’em.”

This kind of adaptability have dispelled narrow theories about the ideal display size or even its direction. Before tablets became popular there was a theory that screen sizes will get smaller - as it did from cinema, to television, to computer monitors to handheld devices. Now of course, everyone recognizes that there's no clear trend, and the big lesson is that there’s a market for every size.

So, it came as no surprise that Apple finally jumped into 8 inch tablet market by launching iPad Mini. (After all, it already has devices with screen sizes ranging from 2.5 inches to 27 inches.) The reaction to iPad mini has been good. According to IHS iSuppli, it could help double the market for 8 inch tablets.

There’s another interesting aspect to this phenomenon - the ease with which people switch from one screen size to another. We all do it with some applications, such as mail, calendar, bookmarks etc. Reading books in multiple devices is rare, but it’s picking up fast. There will be more of this.

Here’s a video from xbox that gives a glimpse of what is likely to be a common experience in a not too distant future.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBGkSuaqWEE[/youtube]

Mahalingam on margins
In Financial Express, N Mahalingam, CFO of Tata Consultancy Services gives a two minute lesson on the interplay between the hiring and margins. Here’s the key part.

As far as Indian salary is concerned, the driver would be to control the kind of pyramid I have. If there are more experienced ones, then it will increase the costs. These things cant be controlled overnight and take time.... For overseas deputation, I will have to control my onsite- offshore mix. At the same time, it is also dependant on the ‘protectionist’ attitude of the market. .... Last comes the business with the sub-contractors, which we need to, somehow, reduce because it is always more expensive to have contractors than your own people. If you have a goal focused on career development, then it is better to have your own employees deputed.

The full interview is here

Microsoft Surface - Reviews
The first set of reviews are, well, mixed.

• Overall it’s quite good; certainly better than any full-size Android tablet on the market. And once the application ecosystem fleshes out, it’s a viable alternative to the iPad as well. - Wired

• Microsoft’s Surface is a tablet with some pluses: the major Office apps and nice, optional keyboards. If you can live with its tiny number of third-party apps, and somewhat disappointing battery life, it may give you the productivity some miss in other tablets- AllThingsD

• The promise of the Surface was that it could deliver a best-in-class tablet experience, but then transform into the PC you needed when heavier lifting was required. Instead of putting down my tablet and picking up my laptop, I would just snap on my keyboard and get my work done. But that's not what the Surface offers, at least not in my experience. It does the job of a tablet and the job of a laptop half as well as other devices on the market, and it often makes that job harder, not easier. - Verge

• The Surface is a nice tablet. The design and aesthetic are pleasing, the feel in the hands, particularly of the kickstand and magnetic cover connection is excellent. But is it worth buying on the day of release? The big problem Microsoft has is that right now it doesn't matter how good Surface is. The decision on whether or not to buy depends not on Surface itself, but on Windows RT..... If you are confident that the ecosystem will flourish—and fast—and don't mind the inability to use legacy desktop applications, then Windows RT is worth considering. - ArsTechnica

Also of interest

• New Technology Makes Texting Easier - WSJ
• Facebook Q3 Earnings, Revenue Just Above Street, Stock Soars - Forbes
• Microsoft's newest weapon in China piracy fight - Reuters
• EBay Teams Up With FedEx on Shipping to Compete With Amazon - Bloomberg

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.