AppleInsider Staff
The first iPad mini reviews hit the web on Tuesday, and as expected, many award high marks for the tablet's build quality and components, but warn the price and lower resolution screen may be deal-breakers for some.
I’ve been testing the iPad Mini for several days and found it does exactly what it promises: It brings the iPad experience to a smaller device. Every app that ran on my larger iPad ran perfectly on the Mini. I was able to use it one-handed and hold it for long periods of time without tiring. My only complaints were that it’s a tad too wide to fit in most of my pockets, and the screen resolution is a big step backwards from the Retina display on the current large iPad.
No, this isn't Retina, but maintaining the same resolution as a 10-inch display shrunken down to 7.9 means a necessary boost in pixel density: 163ppi. That's a nice increase over the iPad 2's 132ppi, but it still falls short of the 264ppi of the fourth-generation iPad — not to mention, the iPhone 5's 326dpi.
This isn't just a shrunken-down iPad. This is, in many ways, Apple's best tablet yet, an incredibly thin, remarkably light, obviously well-constructed device that offers phenomenal battery life.
Minor quibbles aside, the iPad mini stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of design, the caliber of its components, and the solidness of how it's been built. But it also has another quality, one that's nearly as important: the device has personality.
I am a firm believer in “you get what you pay for.†The iPad mini is a perfect example of that. If you want to save $50 and buy a cheap-ass tablet, go ahead. If you want quality the iPad mini will be waiting for you when you come to your senses.
Preorders for Apple's iPad mini sold out less than three days after going live last week, however consumers eager to purchase the new device will have a shot at picking one up at a brick-and-mortar Apple Store on Friday.
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130 Comments
I don't understand the 'too expensive' comments. Compared to the rest of Apple's iPad lineup, it isn't. It's better in every single way than the ipad 2 that retails for $399, and $70 cheaper. It's built extremely well, has a better screen, better cameras, new dock connector, smaller, lighter, more portable, etc. Apple never had the intention to compete in the price gutter against $200 tablets. This is an extremely useable, well built, high quality device that has access to the best tablet ecosystem on the planet. But now, you can get into that for $329 instead of $499 which is pretty huge. No other 7-8 inch tablet is in the same league. You get what you pay for, and I think for most people this is the best value proposition for any Apple product to date.
Moments after I held the iPad mini at Apple's event in San Jose, I hurriedly wrote that it made other tablets in this class feel like toys. Perhaps I was a bit hard on the competition in the heat of the moment, but I will say that there isn't a single product in the 7-inch tablet market that comes close to the look, feel, or build quality of the new iPad. It is absolutely gorgeous to see, and in your hand has the reassuring solidness of a product that's built to last.
If the iPhone 5 is reminiscent of jewelry, the iPad mini is like a solidly made watch.
In fact, the iPhone 5 and the mini have a lot in common. They both share a metal housing (in silver or black) that's lean and smooth, with that reflective, chamfered edge that runs around the border of the display. The iPad mini's paint job is similar to the iPhone's, but smoother, and on the black version I tested has a glint of blue and purple to it in certain light. It looks dangerous, and it feels great.
[quote name="Slurpy" url="/t/153919/ipad-mini-review-roundup-amazing-build-quality-impressive-battery-life-high-price#post_2223307"]I don't understand the 'too expensive' comments. Compared to the rest of Apple's iPad lineup, it isn't. It's better in every single way than the ipad 2 that retails for $399, and $70 cheaper. It's built extremely well, has a better screen, better cameras, new dock connector, smaller, lighter, more portable, etc. Apple never had the intention to compete in the price gutter against $200 tablets. This is an extremely useable, well built, high quality device that has access to the best tablet ecosystem on the planet. But now, you can get into that for $329 instead of $499 which is pretty huge. No other 7-8 inch tablet is in the same league. You get what you pay for, and I think for most people this is the best value proposition for any Apple product to date. [/quote] And compared to other tablets it's only about 20% more expensive for about 40% more display area and a magnitudes better ecosystem, fit and finish. I agree with the comments from Loop Insight, "If you want to save $50 and buy a cheap-ass tablet, go ahead. If you want quality the iPad mini will be waiting for you when you come to your senses." and The Verge, "The iPad mini hasn't wrapped up the 'cheapest tablet' market by any stretch of the imagination. But the 'best small tablet' market? Consider it captured."
Nice tablet, but... The A5 is now 3 generations behind other iPads, the iOS UI is more than dated at this point, the display is not even close to the resolution/quality of other 7 to 8 inch tablet devices (or even most modern smartphones) and the price is 'a bit much' for anything but the base model, especially the US $130.00 additional just for GPS/Cellular radios. When it comes down to it, the iPad Mini is just another variation on the same 5 year-old iOS theme, which for many will be enough, but it does beg the question: Is Apple Just Running Out of New Ideas?
The A5 is now 3 generations behind other iPads
One.
Only to trolls. And why should Apple care what they think?
The Verge gave it a 9. And the butthurt Fandroids are out in droves, whining and crying in the comments like the morons and ignoramuses that they are.
The reviews are all pretty much saying that it's a great tablet! You get what you pay for. This is going to sell like hotcakes! If for whatever reason, you believe that it's too expensive for you, then just go and buy something else, problem solved! This was never meant to be a "cheap" iPad, it's merely a smaller iPad. Apple should never cater to the "el-cheapo" crowd, as that is a terrible business model. Apple should just continue to concentrate on making great products.