iPad mini: What's hot, what's not

Finally, the smaller version of the iPad is here. Apple uncloaked the coveted iPad mini yesterday at a high profile event that also saw the new Mac. The iPad mini is smaller than the usual iPad but a tad larger than other 7-inch tablets available in the market, with a 7.9-inch multi-touch display. Apple has dominated the larger tablet market with its 9.7-inch iPad, iPad 2 and the new iPad models, and the company is now poised to rule the 7-incher market flooded with Android tablets. Here’s what we found what’s hot and what’s not about theiPad mini.

What’s Hot
More viewing space yet sleek and lightweight
The iPad mini will woo you with its sleek attire. It is just awesomely thin at 7.2mm, which makes it as slim as a pencil. The iPad mini is also extremely lightweight at 0.68 pounds, which means you can easily slip it into a purse or bag. It also makes it easy to hold and use with one hand. It has a 7.9-inch screen, which is 0.9 inches more than the usual 7-inchers and the total screen surface area is 29.6 square inches. This offers more viewing space, which is said to be roughly 35 percent more than other tablets, and yet weighs less than its main competitors – Kindle and Nexus 7.

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Stylish
Apple devices have an elegance to them, and the iPad mini takes it a step higher. The device looks stylish with the same anodised edges you’ll find in the newly launched iPhone 5. The casing is available in two colours – white with silver-backing and black with slate-tone backing.

Camera
If you see most of the 7-inch tablets available in the market, their manufacturers haven’t given much emphasis on the camera abilities. However, the iPad mini embeds a 5 megapixel rear camera with 1080p HD video capabilities and also a front facing FaceTime HD camera (720p recording).

Wi-Fi + Cellular
Most of the 7-inch tablets have only Wi-Fi capabilities. The iPad mini gives you the option for Wi-Fi plus Cellular, which means you can slip it into a small bag or purse serving as a perfect ‘phablet.’

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What’s Not
No Retina display
We’ve seen most of the recent iDevices don the Retina display, but the iPad mini may disappoint you as it gives the Retina display a miss. The iPad mini features the same resolution as the iPad 2, which is 1024 x 768. Although this may not make a considerable difference, we didn’t expect Apple to step down the display quality.

Last-generation A5 chip
Apple has updated its new iPad with the A6 chip. The latest A6 chip, also integrated in the iPhone 5, helps it deliver up to twice the CPU and graphics performance compared to the A5 chip. However, the iPad mini isn’t powered by the A6 chip and rather runs on the A5 chip, which is found in the iPad 2.

Price
The iPad mini is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage capacities in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular versions. The Wi-Fi only iPad mini in 16, 32 and 64GB capacities will be available for $329 (approx Rs. 17,678), $429 (approx Rs. 23,052) and $519 (approx Rs. 27,888) respectively. The iPad mini with Wi-Fi + Cellular will be offered for a suggested retail price of $459 (approx Rs. 24,664) for the 16GB model, $559 (approx Rs. 30,037) for the 32GB model, and $659 (approx Rs. 35,411) for the 64GB model.  Now, if you see, the starting price of the iPad mini is $329, which is almost $100 more than the starting price of the Nexus 7 and Kindle.

iPad mini pre-orders will begin on October 26 through the Apple Online Store in select countries. The price is one of the vital deciding factors while purchasing a device, but even the hefty price tags haven’t kept Apple loyalists from embracing iDevices. The battery life of the iPad mini could have been better, but then, the trade-off is its size and weight.

What do you think about the new iPad mini?