Review: Small But Mighty – iPad mini
It’s the best iPad Apple has ever made, but does it outjump its cheaper competitors form Google and Amazon?
It’s no surprise that, with the march of consumer technological evolution, products are either getting smaller, thinner or lighter. Or all three. Wowed by such marvels, some of us pack overnight bags and camp outside shops to get the first taste of these ground-breaking gadgets. However, while the iPad mini didn’t receive the kind of fanfare usually reserved for the latest iThing, its reduction in size makes it the best iPad Apple has ever made. Here’s why…
The main sticking point with tablets – especially the larger-size iPad – is that, while they’re a cool thing, their usefulness and purpose aren’t realised. In the home, the majority of use falls around internet surfing, Facebooking, newspaper/magazine reading and digital recipe following. In fact, many only use their iPads in the home, simply because of the size, weight and not wanting to carry a £500 piece of tech in their bag. The Mini not only addresses these issues, but improves on an already successful product.
The amount of R&D that goes into any Apple product is extraordinary and the results are the most obvious differentiation between the competition. The Mini is not only thinner than its closest rivals – the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Fire HD – but is also the best built; sturdy enough to take a knock but dazzlingly pleasing on the eye with its ‘chamfered’ edges and industrial craftsmanship.
At 308g (WiFi- only model), it’s light enough to hold in one hand for extended periods of time (a 
thankful improvement over its bigger brother) and, at 200mm high, 134.7mm wide and 7.2mm deep, the Mini is ‘just’ about compact enough to fit in a back pocket.
The LED-backlit screen has been scaled down to 7.9-inches (the Nexus 7 and Fire HD are seven inch) and Apple has been clever to allow all existing iPad apps to fit the screen perfectly, so no unsightly distortion or letter-boxing while you play Angry Birds. The screen resolution is akin to the iPad 2 (1024×768 – 163ppi), so not ‘Retina’ like the latest iPads or iPhones, and less than the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD, which both trump it at 1280 x 800 pixels (216 ppi). However, because of the more condensed screen, blurring isn’t a problem and reading is perfectly acceptable.
The Mini’s real selling point over its competitors is how the 4:3 ratio display (compared to 16:9) gives you an excellent amount of screen real estate. Combine this with the super-slim side bezels and it feels like you’ve got all of your content and the whole internet in your hand. Blend this with the physical size of the device and web browsing, photo viewing, reading and general use is a more pleasurable experience on the Mini than any other iPad to date.
The camera is acceptable, with the rear capable of taking five-megapixel shots. However, video is excellent – the Mini can capture video-stabilised 1080p footage from the rear and 720p on the front (for Skype-ing). Don’t bother in low-light, though – it’s still the scourge of mobile photography.
The Mini contains the same processor found in the iPad 2, iPhone 4S and iPod Touch. The Google Nexus 7 boasts a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 and a dual-core 1.2GHz chip is packed inside the Amazon Kindle Fire HD. Away from the stat sheets, however, there’s not a great deal to tell them apart in terms of raw performance. The Mini is superb for games, though.
Apple offers up the Mini in three storage sizes – 16, 32 and 64Gb – and two editions – Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G. Battery life is the best since the iPad 2 (around nine to 10-hours constant use) and the Mini comes with Apple’s new ‘Lightning’ connector, which replaces the now-dated 30-pin slot. For those (many of us) that have music docks with 30-pin connectors, you can buy an adapter.
A great addition is the Smart Cover, which not only makes the Mini feel like a lightweight paperback, but protects the screen and acts as a kickstand.
So, like any Apple product, buying one purely comes down to whether you’re willing to pay for the brand and craftsmanship. Its closest competitors are almost £100 cheaper and offer similar functionality. However, starting at £269, the Mini is the cheapest iPad you can buy, which is a big enough draw to see it appearing in many a Christmas stocking.
Whether you buy it over a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD comes down to your perception of value and image. But, with all considered, we’d say the Mini was the best of its breed.
iPad Mini price:
£269 (Wi-Fi, 16GB),
£349 (Wi-Fi, 32GB),
£429 (Wi-Fi, 64GB),
£369 (Wi-Fi + 3G, 16GB),
£449 (Wi-Fi + 3G, 32GB),
£529 (Wi-Fi +3G, 64GB)
