birdwatching okay: iPad Mini Review: Apple?s tiny tablet is a winner

Friday, November 30, 2012

iPad Mini Review: Apple?s tiny tablet is a winner

After spending nearly a month with my iPad Mini, the verdict is in: It?s an absolute winner.

I promised to review various parts of the iPad Mini throughout my experience with it, and I?ve gotten some interesting feedback. Some readers have emailed me telling me that the screen is horrible, it?s too small and that it?s too expensive for what you?re actually getting.

Let?s address these issues:

Screen Resolution is Great

Is it a Retina display? No. Is it sharp and crisp, though? Hell yes.

Ever rip a photo off the internet, and then try and stretch it out? It becomes pixelated and hard to decipher. Do the opposite, and the photo should become a bit more crisp. That?s the case with the iPad Mini.

It?s the iPad 2 screen ? which wasn?t a problem for anyone, until Apple announced the Retina display ? but crammed down into a 7.9-inch screen. As a result, text and photos are plenty crisp.

Will a Retina display version, which most people are predicting will happen next year, be better? Of ?course it will be. But was the iPhone 3G better than the original model? Was the 5 better than the 4?

Was the iPad with Retina display better than the iPad 2? Yes, yes and yes. It?s still an iPad, it just has updated features.

For this blogger, the screen is not an issue at all.

Is the iPad Mini too small?

Another complaint I received was that the iPad Mini was too small. I argue that it?s the perfect size.

Use an iPad Mini for a week without looking at your old, full-sized iPad. When you return to that full-sized iPad, you?ll be shocked.

It?s so much heavier, more difficult to hold and clunky feeling.

Sure, if you have a fourth-generation iPad with Retina display, you have a beautiful tablet that?s really powerful. It?s great for watching movies and TV shows and reading.

But the iPad Mini just seems more practical. It can easily be held with one hand, which is perfect for reading. It?s a perfect coffee table companion, light and fast enough for quick reference. And I?ve even watched a couple TV shows in bed with it.

At two-thirds of a pound, the iPad Mini is a winner.

The iPad Mini is Too Expensive

I won?t argue with my critics here. At $329 for 16 GB, it?s pricey. I bought a 32 GB model for $429.

Luckily I sold my 32 GB iPad 2 on eBay for $400. So in reality, I only paid $30 for my iPad Mini. That?s a great price.

Apple should have priced this tablet at no more than $300, but I?m sure they overpriced it now, so they don?t have to raise the price later when the Retina model shows up.

Can?t you hear Tim Cook now? ?And it?s the same exact price as the current model.?