My thoughts on the iPad mini
 

I have a nexus 7 and have been given a mini as a present.

Things I like, 4.3 screen ratio it's better for surfing, build, battery life. Smooth operation.

Things I don't like, screen quality not as sharp as I would like, lightning connector feels like it can break easily, doesn't fit in as comfortably in one hand. If I was buying myself in current market around the 230 pound mark would be nicer.

The nexus 7 is a far better machine for price and hardware and highly reccomend it however I am keeping the mini:eek:

For me it's a personal choice I just prefer the iOS, the apps and the 4.3 ratio is better for surfing than 16.9. I am surprised at this outcome. Apple haven't done a bad little machine here, yep thy could have done a lot better compared with the nexus hardware wise.

I spent about an hour on the ipad mini last weekend. I have an android phone and used my wifes ipad a number of times.

I totally agree with you about the aspect ratio, it just works alot better on tablets and after using it for a while makes the nexus screen look small (I've never liked the 16.9 in portrait). I also think that iOS our of the box is far cleaner and easier to use than android but that is a personnel preferrence.

I know people will hate me saying it, but the quality of the ipad mini is excellent.

I've got to replace my toshiba netbook soon and the ipad mini seems a good option.

I don't think many people can argue that both the iPads and mini sort of exude quality with the aluminium case - and reviews of the opposition (eg Nexus 10) all seem to comment on the plastic cases.

Whether this quality (and the slickness of IOS) is worth the extra is a personal decision!

Prehaps 16:9 doesn't look that big on a 7 inch screen. I went out yesterday evening with the intention of buying a nexus 7 but after seeing it in the flesh again it left me a bit cold. I'm not sure if I will get one now. I'd seen one a few months ago and thought it looked ok, but noy last night ! However I have to say that the screen on my galaxy tab is excellent. I've never been a fan of landscape and would have thought I'd prefer portrait mode, but the landscape mode works really well on the galaxy tab.

I have a solution, don't buy it :)

I was going to buy the iPad mini but I might buy the iPad retina display instead now due to the retina screen as I already have the iPhone 5 and never had a tablet before bit it is a nice size anyone know when you will be able to buy them with SIM card slots as I never realised they weren't out and was confused when everywhere was advertising "the new iPad" and found out it wasn't actually the newest one

Full review here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHIw9pyfCuU

The new iPad is the 3rd gen one, apple have stopped selling these, though sell the iPad 2 still, the iPad 4 is the one you want and the SIM card ones were supposed to be out mid november.

You know I've been to 2 phone shops in the last few days and not one person knows what I'm on about when I ask for the iPad with retina display 4th generation they keep saying its the mini that's coming out. I even questioned myself and got confused but realised its not out yet I'm gonna wait until it comes out cellular on the networks to price it before I make my decision.

Showing on the apple store 5 business days and gives some links for data plans, I am not really looked at the sim deals before as it looks a bit pricey for my needs.

I want to buy iPad Mini but this thread made me confused.

I would recommend you go to an apple store or somewhere like hmv to have a play. It is a very nice piece of kit, I've put it on my Xmas list.

Still undecided about whether to get this or the nexus , I already have a full size New ipad 32g , so not sure if I could live with the 16g mini plus the lower screen resolution . Would I be better off with the Nexus 32g which would be primarily used for surfing and media ?

get the nexus. android ftw. ive seen/played on the mini ie the place i work has one for the shop floor management and id rather a nexus

Have you used android? If not, have a play.

The thing for me is the screen size. A good example given to me was playing a 16.9 movie on the iPad mini. The black bars show you how much more screen real estate you have available on the iPad mini for normal browsing. The nexus is a very good machine so you pay your money and take your choice.

The only thing I would consider here, is if you have invested a lot in App Store.

Sorry, was just initially comparing to the nexus, but has gone of course slightly.

It's getting hard in the tablet world, there's some good machines out there at the moment.

whats better the mini or nexus 7?

Well I've had both but I prefer the mini. As you can tell from my post on this thread a few months ago I had reservations about the nexus 7 but eventually bought it anyway. A month after I bought it I got the mini and was so happy with it that I sold my nexus 7. I find the mini to be smoother in use, it has a better app selection including actual tablet optimised apps, build quality is better, the screen is a good size. I also prefer the aspect ratio on the mini for reading web pages.

Okay thanks. How much did the mini cost you?

Also can you watch flash videos on an iPad or is it strictly youtube videos?

I think though that support wise to latest operating system the nexus will outlast the ipad mini. I just feel apple drop old kit very quickly.

No you can't. You can on android.

depends what you want to do with it. The Nexus 7 is more open which suggests that there is more potential for things to do with it. The Nexus 7 is also more pocket friendly if that makes a difference to you, it also has more features such as NFC, GPS and a significantly higher resolution screen.

On the flip side many will say the 4:3 ratio of the mini is better but its only really Apple left supporting this ration (im sure there ARE others before people start providing links !!) so its best to try both and see which screen size you prefer.

Be aware that the ongoing cost of ownership of an iPad is likely to be more than an Android tablet too as many of the apps are free (but ad based) on the Nexus but will cost on the iPad.

Try both. see what you like. There isnt a definitive better one than the other.

£349 for the 32gb wifi model.. There are some browsers like the puffin browser that apparently allows you to play flash videos. I haven't tried it yet, as there is so much content available from iTunes, Netflix, lovefilm and blinkbox that I haven't needed to play any flash videos yet.

Oh okay. I need 3G model as I want it for college and to use on the bus etc....
The 3G model is like £200 more I think:eek: