Apple officially unveiled its iPad mini today. Pricing starts at $329. It’s small. It’s beautiful. It’s still undetermined whether you need to purchase one.
Here are the details:
Size and Wieght
- 7.9 inches tall
- 5.3 inches wide
- 0.2 inch thick
- 0.68 pound
Display
- 7.9 inch LED backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
- 1024-by-768 resolution at 163 pixels per inch
Design
- Black and White models
- Ultra rounded edges
- Updated Smart Covers
Technical
- Dual-Core A5
- 10 hour battery life
- Lightening Connector
- Bluetooth enabled
- Facetime HD front-facing camera. Facetime video calling over wi-fi or cellular.
- 5 mega-pixel camera.
Pricing
- 16GB: $329
- 32GB: $429
- 64GB: $529
Google’s Nexus 7 Android tablet has 1280 x 800 resolution on a 7″ screen, while the iPad mini has 1024 x 768 resolution. According to Phil Schiller, the iPad mini display is 49% larger in portrait, and 67% larger in landscape. Google’s Nexus 7 is cheaper though, pricing at $249 for the 16GB model, versus the iPad mini coming in at $329.
It amazes me how much technology Apple has gotten into such a small, well designed space. However, the decision between the iPad mini and Google’s Nexus 7 Android tablet is tight. It wouldn’t have been at a $249 price point for the mini, but that’s not the case. The category is a game changer. Whether or not the iPad mini is, is up to the consumer.
Sure, it doesn’t have a sharp Retina Display, and its hardware is admittedly dated, but it’s one of those devices that you need to touch and feel to truly appreciate. Once you use the iPad Mini for a day, it’s almost impossible to go back to anything bigger.