The iPad mini review you have been waiting for
Announced last week, Apple's iPad mini has made its rounds among tech journalists and the reviews have been mostly positive. Our colleague at CNET feels that its 7.9-inch display is "the perfect size, but at a price".
At US$329 for the basic 16GB Wi-Fi model, the iPad mini is significantly more expensive than its most prominent 7-inch rivals, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the Google Nexus 7, which both start from US$199.
In fact, as noted in our 7-inch tablet face-off, the iPad mini doesn't even have the most impressive specifications. Its A5 processor is the same as the older (and seemingly forgotten iPad 2), while its 1,024 x 768-pixel screen resolution is inferior to the competition, which typically measure 1,280 x 800 pixels. Amazon even plays up the failings of the iPad mini in a comparison with its Kindle Fire HD slate.
The iPad mini maintains the same 4:3 aspect ratio found on the iPad, which means that widescreen videos are letterboxed. You can't play high-definition (HD) videos in full glory on the iPad mini, as the screen doesn't meet the 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution required. Instead, the movies you buy from iTunes and other similar services, are scaled to fall in between standard- and high-definition.
But, as CNET noted in its review, the iPad mini scores highly in its design and build. The tablet is lighter and thinner than its competitors despite a larger screen. The iPad mini is easy to hold with one hand and "feels like a large iPod touch". The side bezels are also narrower and the device is solidly built.
The iPad mini also benefits greatly from Apple's huge app library, many of which are already optimized for tablets. However, it's not clear whether this advantage will last--Android recently tied iOS in terms of total app count. With the upcoming Nexus 10 set to join the Nexus 7, we may yet see more developers releasing tablet-friendly versions of their Android apps.
Along with Apple's latest iOS 6, you'll also get Siri on the iPad mini, a feature that's missing on the iPad 2, which uses the same CPU. Another puzzling inconsistency: The iPad mini doesn't have the PassBook app, which is found on the latest iPod touch.
CNET didn't have enough time to test the battery life thoroughly, but anecdotally, it seems to match Apple's claim of up to 10 hours uptime.
Should you go out and buy the iPad mini? CNET thinks that it's an "incredibly appealing" device, though it's not necessarily one that you'll need. What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.
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