Apple iPad Mini Review – Harshad Singla

Apple has never been known to abide by industry trends; instead, they have always been known to be trend setters more than followers. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are three very good examples of products that have sparked innovation in their respective segment. However, last month, it seemed as if Apple was finally playing catch up when they launched the iPad mini. The 7-inch tablet segment received a big boost after Google launched the Nexus 7 at a very aggressive price. On the surface, the iPad mini seems like a shrunken down version of the iPad and in a way, it is just that. However, in order to keep the pricing competitive, Apple has had to cut some corners which you may or may not like.

iPad mini have the same design language as iPhone 5 with the same glass and metal design. In terms of specifications iPad mini has a dual-core A5 processor it will be available in the both WiFi and WiFi + Cellular configurations, The cellular version looks almost identical to the WiFi version but will have an antenna on the top and a nano SIM card tray in the side.

The iPad mini features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150 Mbps, which Apple says is twice the Wi-Fi performance compared to previous the iPad models. The iPad mini is available in a Wi-Fi version and a cellular one, which are world-ready with built-in support for most wireless standards, including LTE and DC-HSDPA. Using the Personal Hotspot feature you can share a fast cellular data connection via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB with up to five other devices such as the Mac Book Pro, the iPod touch or another iPad.

The iPad mini features support for the Lightning connector, which Apple states is smaller, smarter, and more durable than the 30-pin connector. Lightning connector accessories are available to support cameras, SD cards, and VGA or HDMI digital video.

Beating underneath all this glass and aluminium is the same A5 SoC we’ve seen in the iPad 2. This consists of dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 chip along with a Power VR SGX543MP2 graphics chip. The SoC still manages to pack a punch for most apps but newer ones that are designed for the faster Retina iPad and above tend to frame a lot, especially games. For example, Desert Zombie looks really good but every now and then, you’ll notice some lag as the frame rate drops quite a bit. This hint of lag is also sometimes noticeable in the UI. iPad Mini has also all the necessary and advanced features like Face detection, Auto focus, HD video recording, Video stabilization, Photo and video Geo-tagging, mail attachment support etc.

Media playback is good with a good pair of headphones. The new music player is quite nice although we do feel that in their quest for a minimalistic look, the player controls and other menu options are a little too small, especially on such a large screen. Audio through the rear speaker is also nice and loud should you feel the need to entertain some of your friends.

– Discussed by Harshad Singla & Himanshu Goel {Part of Reliable 4 You – team}

Specifications of Apple iPad Mini :-

Colors For iPad Mini : Apple iPad mini will be available in two colors

Black & Slate (Black front and Slate back)

White & Silver (White front and Silver back)

Price of Apple iPad Mini :-

The 16 GB iPad mini Wi-Fi only version is available for Rs 21,900(INR) while the 32 GB and 64 GB versions costs Rs 27,900(INR) and Rs 33,900(INR) respectively. The iPad mini Wi-Fi + cellular version costs Rs 29,900(INR) for the 16 GB version, and the 32 GB version is priced at Rs 35,900(INR). The high-end 64 GB iPad mini Wi-Fi + cellular version sells for Rs 41,900(INR).

Thanking You,

Reliable4you.com