IPAD MINI REVIEW: FIRST COMPLETE IPAD MINI REVIEW:
Recently, there was such a flurry of rumours about Apple products today announced. People began to complain, they say, there is no plot, why do you spoil all impression? But the presentation in the California Theatre has shown that „There is life in the old dog yet“! The company not just shoot, it surprised with a unimaginable number of products. It has justified the hopes and no reason to hide, that confirmed about 10000 rumors in a web. The safety in the company became weaker than Jobs was there, but the intrigue of presentations is saved. There was no doubt- iPad mini.
And what! It is- fourth-generation iPad with no cosmetic upgrades, only hardcore - almost all inside is different. 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, super-slim iMac, the new generation of drives, Mac mini. It‘s a explosion of the brain! Stop a little! Let‘s stretch a joy. Let's start with the tablet and how Phil Schiller violently recommended removing Nexus 7 and other Android-tablets.
Yes, it‘s small, yes but successful.
You know, for the first time in my memory Apple hardly mocked its competitors. Phil Schiller started to do it after the announcement of iPad mini. What presents this handsome?
Most rumours are true. The shape of device, materials of the housing, completely black version with slate back panel and a classic white. But forecasters missed a little with display. Instead of 7.85-inch Apple has chosen 7.9-inch and a resolution is 1024x768 pixels (163 ppi), as in iPad 2. Of course, we would like Retina, but the current filling of the tablet simply will not work with such resolution.
The fact is that the tablet fundamentally is built on the „software“ iPad 2. It is based on all of the same system on a chip Apple A5, which is equipped with two cores Cortex-A9 1GHz, and even by modern standards powerful GPU PowerVR SGX543MP2 . But to work with Retina in the third generation iPad have equipped twice efficient GPU.
However, there are other differences than size. For example, the camera FaceTime HD (1,2 megapixel, 720p video recording, BSI) - yes, the same as in the iPhone 5. Also, the rear camera has a 5-megapixel sensor, the same as in the third-generation iPad (f/2.4, the lens of the five elements, infrared filter).
Wi-Fi module has been improved and Apple use the same in all the updates, with the support of the 2.4 and 5 GHz. Cell module is similar in iPhone 5, means that it is supported by most of the world frequency ranges LTE, CDMA, GSM and HSPA +. Traditionally, there is Bluetooth 4.0
Battery 16.3 Watt/hour is very thin. On assurance of Apple, it is the thinnest battery ever developed by the company. It supports a tablet till 10 off line operation.
The whole "technical beauty" is packed in a very slim, only 7.2 mm (200x134, 7x7, 2 mm). To compare, the thickness of the iPhone 5 is 7.6 mm, iPad third generation - 9.3 mm, the previous record holder in this parameter is Samsung Galaxy Tab 7,7 - 7,8 mm. Moreover, the tablet is not only thin, but also light - 308 g! This is also a record for the nearly 8-inch tablet. Google Nexus 7 with 7-inch display, weighs 340 grams, the afore mentioned Galaxy Tab 7,7 – 335 g. Do not forget, iPad mini completely all made of metal, even the hardware buttons are of metal.
Accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, digital compass - everything is there. In 3G/4G-modeli also is GPS-and GLONASS receiver and tray Nano-SIM. By volume of the equipped space everything remained as before: there are models with 16, 32 and 64 GB of flash memory. Lightning plug is also there. Speaker, by the way, remained a one. What for the second perforation on the bottom edge is not clear, as the microphone is placed on top.
Do you know what the most important feature of small iPad compared with the older brother? Phil Schiller said at the launch: "It can be held in one hand." Then began the real derision of Google Nexus 7!
iPad Mini against other "aka" tablets
A lot of time Apple chief specialist dedicated to compact tablet Apple and Google Nexus 7 during the presentation of iPad mini. Of course, he was talking about all the 7-inch tablet in general, but the soft keys are used only in decision of Internet companies, and the focus was on them.
Schiller began from display, exactly about its area. At first view, the difference between 7 and 7.9 inches is small, but the area is much different: 21.9 against 29.6 square inches. Thus, the total area of the display in iPad mini is 35% more than in any 7-inch tablet.
If we talk about useful area of the screen for web surfing, the difference will be even more significant, but there is already effective feature of Android tablet and the presence of screen buttons in Nexus 7, which "eat off" part of the useful space. In portrait mode useful area in Safari on iPad mini is more for 49%. Attention! In landscape mode for 67%!
But we can say a few words in defence of Nexus 7. It has higher resolution at smaller diagonal, resulting in Google tablet more pixel density - 216 ppi against 163 ppi at the iPad mini. In addition, Apple somehow kept silence about the type of matrix in its new device.
Let‘s continue mockery from Android, rather, Android tablet, which Schiller hit on hurtful place - the range of adapted software. Next went further mockery of competing platforms. More than 275 thousand adapted programs for iPad, which will work without problems on iPad mini is not a joke. In turn, the majority of Android applications flaunt telephone interface and at the end at the 7-inch screen look is not very presentable (tested on a personal experience of the author.)
In general, such a cheerful hitting understandable. Steve Jobs once referred to 7-inch tablets as "dead born product", and then – what? Apple has launched such. We had to show that it is necessary, useful and well-designed device. Actually, Schiller did. But what thinks Jony Ive the senior specialist in Apple industrial design about the Android-tablet
When, how much?
IPad mini release will be on November 2 this year in several decade countries at the same time, it's just a Wi-Fi model. Version with cellular modules we have to wait for two weeks more, until 16 November.
What‘s about prices, they are the same as we have recently published: from $ 329 per junior Wi-Fi model to $ 659 for the older model with a cellular modem.
Do not forget that this is U.S. prices without tax. In Europe, the U.S.dollars magically transforms into Euro plus 10-20% tax.
One More Thing
Do you remember the recent rumours about an accessory for iPad mini? This really is! It‘s a small Smart Cover with a little modified design. Large aluminium hinges were removed and the magnets equipped into the edge of the cover. Thus it became a little more compact, and the design looks more monolithic.
There are several colour options: black, gray, pink, green, blue, bright red Product Red. All covers made of polyurethane. What about functionality- it is exactly the same as that of the original Smart Cover. Price in the U.S. is as a larger polyurethane model - $ 39.