First iPad Mini Reviews: "Shockingly Nice to Hold", Non-Retina Display, Pricier than Rivals

[28monkeys]

I'll be poorer by $399 once it released.

[Hawkeye411]

Originally Posted by Radio

I'm still not sure if I should sell my iPad 3 for this smaller version...
Decisions
Radio

You should buy the mini and own both. Why not?!

[thedeejay]

Originally Posted by rusty2192

So where can we find your write up from your hands on with an actual device? I mean, you have used one to be so sure, right?

Here, let me clarify what he meant. He meant the reviews are biased, which they are a little. The meaning of biased can be found by typing "Define: biased" in google.

[Orange Crane]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye411

You should buy the mini and own both. Why not?!

Right? That's what I'm doing. iPad 3 is awesome.

[swarmster]

Originally Posted by tech4all

The only thing you gain is a rear camera.

lol, what? Your sensibilities and the things you value in a product (especially a luxury item like a tablet) are completely alien to me.

(But that's okay because we're different people.)

[penajmz]

Anyone who doesn't care for one that's fine. You don't HAVE to buy everything Apple makes. What I don't understand is the need to come to this site and post that you don't want one. Anyways....

I for one cannot wait for mine to be delivered Friday.

[Asclepio]

apple pay for those advertising... oops "reviews"

[KPOM]

Nice reviews. It appear's Aesop's laws still apply 25 centuries later. Quality > Quantity.

[Navdakilla]

Reviews are loving the apple products.. did we think they were going to be any different?

[kcamfork]

Nobody said it wasn't going to be a good tablet. But it is still over-priced. So-- a big fat "no thanks".

[MartiNZ]

It seems so amusing that everyone is worried about the screen when it is higher DPI than the iPad was until "the new iPad" earlier THIS YEAR ... and the iPad 2 is still being sold, why is better than that now suddenly unacceptable?

The mini has made me interested in an iPad for the first time, and these pictures only increase that interest. A shame there is no 7.x" WinRT tablet .. and apart from anything else the surface ain't reaching NZ until next year if at all; gonna make the decision all the more a no-brainer, I do just want to see the mini in person first.

Also exciting: the mini charges off the 5 watt charger like the iPhone .

[coldmack]

IMHO the 7in market is still not that good. The ipad is too much of a compromise with it's low res display, and slightly older hardware(they should have given it the A5x). Holding it also seems to be a bit of a hit or miss.
The Nexus 7 is build is questionable, with a screen res that is acceptable, but color, nits, and contrast could be better. The app store is also lacking tablet apps. Price is right though, but that's not surprising since is using the dated Tegra 3.
Kindle is screen is better, but again your stuck with Amazon's customization, ads, and app store, which is only really worth it for the free app of the day. Sure you can root it, but that still doesn't fully solve the lack of apps. Again cpu could be a bit better.
The only real 7in tablet that sort of had me interested was the HTC Flyer/Evo View, as it had a digitizer(though it's N-Trig and not the better wacom, but still better than nothing). The key faults were the lower res display, single core cpu, and no pen silo.


My perfect tablet would actually be either the Flyer with updates specs(i.e. S4 Pro cpu), full size sd(vs micro on the current), and retina display. Or an updated iPad Mini with the iPad 4 internals, and a wacom digitizer.

[kcamfork]

Originally Posted by penajmz

Anyone who doesn't care for one that's fine. You don't HAVE to buy everything Apple makes. What I don't understand is the need to come to this site and post that you don't want one. Anyways....

I for one cannot wait for mine to be delivered Friday.

Because we can.

[macguy360]

Originally Posted by I8P'CS

Wow some biased reviews. I guess some don't want to be band from Apple events or want Apple to mention them in the key note. Point blank its a nicer design but specs wise and no retina is a rip off.

No kidding. I am blown away by how many people are in love with Apple products no matter what they release. The mini is about $100 overpriced and will have a hard time competing with the Kindle HD, Nook HD and Nexus all of which have better resolution than the mini and cost less.

[mantan]

Originally Posted by belltree

My points:

• Form factor looks great, very appealing and easy to hold.

• No retina is not a show stopper but will likely appear in the next iteration in 2013 so no point in buying now. I will wait and see what happens next spring or fall.

• The price is the real show stopper here. Insane pricing. The 16GB price should be for 32GB. Only then would I consider purchasing this device despite my strong desires for it. That said many will open their wallets and blow their $$ on this device and that's what Apple wants.

Same thought here. I really wanted to love this product...but I'm not dropping $500 (after tax)for a 16 gig LTE just to see a Retina one come out next spring or summer.

[FlameofAnor]

Apple....... "We don't make crap".

[unobtainium]

I can't justify owning (any) iPad again, unless I get rid of my MBP. Having a laptop, an iPad, and an iPhone is just overkill in my opinion. They're all mobile devices, and one of them will inevitably be extraneous. The iPhone is super-portable, the MBP is super-powerful. The iPad is a compromise on both fronts, so it got sold.

That said, I'd buy an iPad if I ever ditched my MBP for an iMac. I could see it making a semi-suitable substitute in that case.

[macguy360]

Originally Posted by MartiNZ

It seems so amusing that everyone is worried about the screen when it is higher DPI than the iPad was until "the new iPad" earlier THIS YEAR ... and the iPad 2 is still being sold, why is better than that now suddenly unacceptable?

The mini has made me interested in an iPad for the first time, and these pictures only increase that interest. A shame there is no 7.x" WinRT tablet .. and apart from anything else the surface ain't reaching NZ until next year if at all; gonna make the decision all the more a no-brainer, I do just want to see the mini in person first.

Also exciting: the mini charges off the 5 watt charger like the iPhone .

The reason everyone is upset about the resolution is because the mini is priced too high for the quality of the product. Why spend $329 on the mini when you could spend $379 for a retina iPad.

[gnasher729]

Originally Posted by Namjins

I love the up vote on this.

You know that you can vote for your own posts? (That's why I have an up vote already).

[nuckinfutz]

Thinking long and hard about a LTE iPad mini.

[unobtainium]

Originally Posted by Asclepio

apple pay for those advertising... oops "reviews"

They really don't.

I like your name though.

[Digipimp]

i dont know whether to get rid of my 3 and get a mini or not. im still slow at deciding. i know that my 3 feels great to hold and use without any cover on it and if it were only a little smaller i'd imagine using it twice as much instead of my phone. so we'll see if i can make up my mind soon.

[ECUpirate44]

It's like a netbook. Smaller, lighter, underpowered, and doesn't do anything "better" than it's big brother.

[TechieGeek]

Originally Posted by Rocketman

As for this Mini not having a Retina display, I suppose you want that before it can be technically hatched, and also at the same time, at a $100 product discount. Um, no. Apple is already the volume producer early mover! Stop whining!

Amazon managed it. Google managed over 300ppi with stunning displays on their Nexus 7 and Nexus 10.

Apple could have done it if they wanted to

[lxaplfrk]

I have been waiting for the iPad mini for years... the only thing is what color should I get??? its obvious the white is the most popular but i have always hated white front bezel... i wish they would have left the rear aluminum just like the white one