The iPad Mini, ever inch an iPad, and it holds true to that statement as it competes with the other 7-inch tablets on the market. It has an industrial design and is full of the many features found on every iOS device to date, so let’s take a look at the 1st-generation iPad Mini in all its tiny tablet glory.
To start, the iPad Mini packaging will include the new Lightning cable and a USB wall-plug to make sure your new tablet stays charged as you need it. When first taking it out of the box, it is surprising how absolutely light this device is. When compared with the Nexus 7, it definitely feels to be the lighter of the two, which is not surprising since it is just a little over half a pound. It is also thinner than the Nexus 7 at 7.2-mm, and has a greater screen size of 7.9-inches diagonally. Such a form factor and amazing weight makes it perfect to stick in a coat pocket or purse without feeling the extra burden.
Internally, the iPad Mini is rocking the dual-core A5 chipset, like that of the iPad 2. Combine this dual-core power with the tiny tablet size and you will find it is a great device for mobile gaming. It also has an 720p HD front-facing camera for amazing Facetime calls and a 5-megapixel back camera for shooting 1080p HD video along with incredibly clear pictures.
When starting up the iPad Mini, you are greeted with the same process seen on every iOS device since iOS 5 was introduced to get you familiarized with your new Apple product and make sure everything is running smoothly for when you begin using it. It is great for if you already have/had an iPad and you want to keep all the same settings and apps, just restore it from the iCloud backup and everything is as good as new. If this is your first Apple tablet, simply set it up as so and you can start playing with it in no-time.
The biggest surprise that occurred while putting the iPad Mini through its paces was the stereo speakers found on either side of the new Lightning port. Every full-sized iPad before this, including the new 4th-gen variety, has carried a mono speaker design, so seeing/hearing stereo speakers on the iPad Mini is simply pleasant to the ears. It is also worth noting that the iPad Mini includes Siri upon starting up, which proves to be quite handy for launching apps quickly and finding out much needed information like “Where to hide a body?”
The only gripe to be seen from this review was the lack of Retina Display. Apple used the same resolution as the iPad 2, 1024-by-768, which makes it much sharper as this size than the iPad 2. But if you’re a stickler for pixels, you will find the text on the iPad Mini is not nearly as sharp as that of the Retina Display found on the 4th-gen iPad, iPhone 4/4S/5, and now the Macbook Pro 13/15-inch. This is such a minuscule detail among the amazing amount of incredible features that it is more about what you want to carry with you when deciding between the iPad and iPad Mini.
While many see it what Apple should have started with or just an excuse to compete with Android on another level, the iPad Mini is an incredible device that is more affordable and a bit more portable for consumers. Starting at $329 for a 16GB Wifi-only model, it is definitely a high-quality tablet for such a price tag. It is available with LTE support for $130 more, making it still cheaper than the base iPad model.
So what do you think of the iPad Mini? Have you had a chance to see one in person, or is this your first glimpse at your future tablet? Let us know in the comments.
Also Read: Top 10 iPad Mini Cases.
