iPad Mini facts and figures

[rpm]

These are the principal features, pricing and availability of the new iPad mini tablet computer, sales of which started in Australia on Friday:

-- the iPad mini has a 7.9-inch (20.06-centimeter) touchscreen when measured diagonally, smaller than the 9.7-inch (24.6-cm) display on the original iPad

-- the iPad mini weighs 0.68 pounds, 53 percent lighter than Apple's third generation iPad

-- it is 7.2 millimeters (0.28 inches) thick, 23 percent thinner than the original iPad and thinner than a pencil

-- the iPad mini has 10 hours of battery life, the same as the latest iPad

-- the iPad mini runs on Apple's latest operating system, iOS 6, and features a dual-core A5 chip

-- it has a front-facing HD camera and a 5-megapixel camera on the back for taking still pictures and recording 1080p HD video

-- it has built-in stereo speakers.

-- the iPad mini with Wi-Fi connectivity and 16 gigabytes of memory costs $329, the 32GB model sells for $429 and the 64GB version for $529

-- the 16GB iPad mini with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity costs $459. The 32GB model costs $559 while the 64GB version is $659

-- Apple began taking pre-orders for the iPad mini from October 26. Sales of the Wi-Fi model started Friday in Australia and will also be on sale in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

-- Apple said the iPad mini with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity will start shipping a couple of weeks after the Wi-Fi model

 

[Azbubu]

I see on the homepage that there's one up for grabs. Why the change back from pink to yellow though?

 

[cerebus]

I see on the homepage that there's one up for grabs. Why the change back from pink to yellow though?

There is??? I'm swearing off mybb competitions to let some other poor suckers win for once but mmm so tempting....

 

[Azbubu]

There is??? I'm swearing off mybb competitions to let some other poor suckers win for once but mmm so tempting....

 

[cerebus]

/rocks back and forth


must not enter
must not enter
must not enter

 

[clasqm]

Oh, go ahead and enter. Then, when you win, you can just give it to me and we'll both feel good.

 

[Dave]

Got my iPad Mini today, (well 2 actually, long story, but it was because the UPS driver was late). I had preordered a black one from Apple last week, and we only had black as the choice for delivery today. By the time I had to go out this afternoon it still hadn't arrived and I discovered that there was available stock in town so I detoured past and picked up a white one. Even in store the white was scarce, they had 5 white and about 30 black left.

Got home, still no UPS with my black order, so white one unboxed and restored with my 9.7 iPad backup. Had a play, and wow, this thing is well made, it is hard to describe how thin and light it is. Screen is good, better than iPad 2, and perfectly acceptable for browsing, ebooks, PDF magazines, even photos look impressive on the screen.

Key input is leagues ahead of any non iPad I have used, unlike the other 7" competition the keyboard and text selection is precise, close to perfect, really hard to fault.

Build and finish are just exceptional, it feels like its one piece of glass and aluminium fused together, I cannot fault it.

The UPS driver eventually arrived after 17:30, supposedly they have had a busy day delivering these, he said he had 24 on his delivery route alone.

After having a good compare, I decided I was going to keep the white (the fact it comes from the retailer with a free 2 year guarantee helps) as the white with the polished silver bezel edge looks just like the iPhone 5, classy and expensive. It feels more expensive in build quality than even the big iPad.

Then the problem happened, the Mini has one terrible fault, everyone who handles it wants one, I had promised my big iPad to my wife, she now wants the black one I was going to send back to Apple, tells me to sell the big iPad. My daughter gets in from work and has a play and........yes, proclaims the Mini is exactly what she wants for her birthday, (in 2 weeks) and now the normal iPad is "so old fashioned" and "too big and heavy for a girl" (turning 19, not 9).

Overall, totally impressed, this is the ultimate portable tablet, at least until the next one next year.

 

[ajules]

Got my iPad Mini today.

Overall, totally impressed, this is the ultimate portable tablet, at least until the next one next year.

Do you have the iPad3?If so is it not a significant adjustment reading on the iPad mini screen?
I think the next generation iPad mini is going to be a killer.I hope I have the will power to hold out till then.

 

[Dave]

Do you have the iPad3?If so is it not a significant adjustment reading on the iPad mini screen?
I think the next generation iPad mini is going to be a killer.I hope I have the will power to hold out till then.

I did have one, but the whole retina hype passed me by, I sold it in August so can't do a direct comparison. The only iPad in the house now is a 2.

To my eyes, the Mini display is smooth and seamless, photos look excellent, I've had the Mini up to about 5cm from my face and its still hard to see individual pixels in a photo. For example, in the pic above, I can zoom into the white bezel and from almost on the nose, I can't see pixels. Colour is also excellent (better than the Nexus7 I had, which was almost washed out in comparison).

 

[Dave]

Some example screenshots, if they help, number 1 is a chapter heading page from a book being read in the Google Play Books app (the free credit from the N7 was still useful after I sold the N7 ).

A page from the book

A magazine cover in .pdf format

 

[Azbubu]

Would you say the book is better than the series? Not sure I want to read it since I've already watched them.

 

[Dave]

Would you say the book is better than the series? Not sure I want to read it since I've already watched them.

Just started the book, initial thought is the book is better, the humour seems easier to translate into words rather than the slight idiocy that they added to the series.