The iPad Mini (stylized and marketed as iPad mini) is a mini tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 23, 2012, as the fifth overall generation of the iPad line and the first to feature a reduced screen size of 7.9 inches, in contrast to the standard 9.7 inches. It features similar internal specifications as the iPad 2, including its display resolution.
Speculation about the iPad Mini began as early as April 2012, as competition rose from 7″ devices such as the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7. Rumors initially suggested it would feature a 7.85″ display at 1024×768 pixels. It was originally thought to be announced at the Apple Special Event on 12 September 2012.
The iPad Mini Has been compared to the Google Nexus 7 and AmazonKindle Fire HD It was released today in the UK.
iPad Mini: Build
Lighter and thinner than we’d thought when watching the Keynote, the iPad Mini fits comfortably in one hand, with the reduced-size side bezels giving seemingly more screen real-estate than the Nexus 7.
Apple had built the iPad Mini from the ground up. The rounded edges are reminiscent of the widely loved iPhone 3G and it feels durable enough to sling in a bag.
It’s 7.2mm thin (23% thinner than the big iPad) and 308g (Wi-Fi-only model) light. The volume and screen-rotation lock buttons have moved to the right-hand side and the headphone socket is placed on the top, rather than the bottom, where stereo speakers and the new Lightning connector can be found. Reading a book works well – especially with the updated iBooks continuous streaming feature – because of the reduced weight and size. It’s a definite competitor to the Kindle in this regard.
iPad Mini: Screen
The LED-backlit screen looks fantastic on the 7.9-inch display. Colours are vivid, text is pin sharp, web pages render quickly and, because there’s almost a 4:3 ratio going on, you get a lot of content on page. It feels squarer than the bigger iPad, but definitely works as, arguably, a better mobile experience than its bigger brother.
Screen resolution is 1024×768 resolution at 163ppi – same as the iPad 2 – so apps all work without any letter-boxing. Great news for T3: iPad Edition readers – you’ll be able to download and view the interactive issues immediately. Videos and photos look great and you can fit 25 app icons on every page (including the shortcut bar)
iPad Mini: Camera
The back-facing 5MP iSight camera is similar to what we’ve seen on bigger iPads. Taking pictures or video is easier with one hand, purely because of the Mini’s size. In the wild, it’s much more manageable than the iPad. Still shots that we took were ok, but 1080p video is more impressive. With stabilisation kicking in, plus integration with iOS 6, getting video content online will be easy.
But in most usage, the iPad mini display is way more than good enough. It makes video playback look tremendous and you can zoom in on widescreen movies so they fill the screen – something Amazon’s LoveFilm app doesn’t permit. Open iBooks or the iPad Kindle app and the display makes print look sharp, crisp and highly readable.
