News
iPad mini unboxing, comparison gallery posted
By Phil Dzikiy
News Editor, iLoungeGoogle+
Published: Friday, November 2, 2012
News Categories: iPad
iLounge has posted a complete unboxing and comparison gallery for Apple’s new iPad mini to Flickr. Photos of the new pint-sized mini showcase both of its colors and packaging, in addition to size comparisons with the iPod touch, iPhone 5, and full-sized iPads. The photos also show that Apple included the 5W USB Power Adapter with the iPad mini, rather than the larger 12W Adapter that was previously suggested to be inside.
Our First Look at the new iPad mini is here. A comprehensive review will be posted in the near future.
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1
My review:
Battery life - Excellent. At least the same if not better than iPad.
Size - Perfect. Easy to type on, easy to hold in one hand, and there’s zero hand fatigue. Plus it fits in my pant pocket!
Performance - Snappy. I experienced no lag or issues. Sure the A6 chip is supposed to be twice as fast, but I have no complaints about this A5X speed.
Sound - the best I have heard in an iOS device so far. I’m sure the stereo speakers help. However the speakers are so close together it doesn’t really sound stereo, just better and louder.
WIFI - awesome. I have full signal strength almost nonstop. This is likely due to the dual band WIFI. It makes a difference. The reception on my iPad pales in comparison.
Gaming - in my opinion this is the ideal size and weight for gaming. It feels perfect in landscape mode when playing Angry Birds. One minor complaint is your hand covers the speakers while in landscape mode but it’s not a deal breaker. Hard core gamers might complain that the memory and processor are too weak for complex games, but it’s fine for me and my simple games.
Screen - this is the most difficult aspect to judge. Overall it looks great. It’s obviously not Retina, but the quality varies and also depends on personal opinion. I think pictures and video look near-Retina. Text is not as sharp. But it is very good. I have no complaints but sure Retina would have made this device a perfect home run. I’ll get the Retina version when it comes out next year but I’m more than happy with this non-Retina screen until then.
Build - It’s beautiful and well-crafted. Bravo Jony Ive.
Camera - it’s the same 5MP as iPad 3. There’s no flash but pics look great.
Extras/apps - it has Siri. It does not Passbook (oddly). It supports all the same apps as iPad. You can also use iPhone apps too but they don’t look as good. I’m disappointed it doesn’t have the panorama feature, but this is a minor loss.
Cost - based on all the pros I mentioned it’s well worth $329, at least for me.
Conclusion - it’s revolutionary and a must have. The only shortcoming is the lack of Retina display. But as I said, it’s not a deal breaker in my opinion (and I am super picky). The most striking aspect of the mini is it’s comfortable and light size. And even though it is basically a small iPad 2, this feels like an entirely new experience. Size matters.
Posted by Spaceways on November 2, 2012 at 11:52 AM (PST)