iPad Mini Review: boring, but damn its good

What more could Apple possibly do to the iPad to make it that much more of a juggernaut? How about make it smaller and give it a cute name, that should do it, right? Right! Meet the iPad mini, not nearly as laughable of a name as the first iPad, but dam near just as silly. As the mini would imply, this is a bite size experience you’ve come to expect from the brand.

Packed with an A5 processor, a secretive 512MB of ram (Apple still hasn’t officially said how much it was, but we know!) all the usual suspects in the storage and connectivity departments, the iPad Mini is a relevant device by all means. But wait, missing is the now famous Retina display brand. The resolution on the iPad mini falls short when measured up against a retina display, but why? Especially when retina is available on displays as big as the normal 10 inch iPad and as small as the 3.5 inch iPhone 4. According to numerous fan boys and so posed sources from within, this decision was made because of battery issues. They wouldn’t get acceptable battery life from the mini when powering a retina display. Oh well! The display is still great, reading, watching movies and enjoying games and apps are all done well. So no worries there.

The best part of the iPad mini is without doubt the “mini.” If you’re a die hard fan, you would have remember Steve jobs saying 7 inch tablets were dead on arrival, good thing Steve wasn’t the authority on this one, because the size on this thing is a winner. Its bigger than my phone, but not as noticeable as my Surface. Its also easily pocketed and very forgiving on the weight in your bag. Sure, these praises go out to the iPad mini, mainly because that’s what I’m reviewing, but something tells me I would have loved a Nexus 7 all the same, its just the sweet spot for the size of a tablet.

If I was to say anything bad about the iPad Mini, if would have to be the painfully boring iOS experience that powers it. Having daily drivers like Windows Phone and Android, iOS feels more dated every time I slide to unlock. Maybe the price as well, but that is also relative. This is not a cheaper iPad, its simply a smaller iPad, when you understand that, you’ll be able to understand why its a bit more than the competition.

Overall, I would recommend the iPad if you’re in Apple land. If you’re looking for a new tablet or even something smaller, the mini is a great buy, but better specs could be had for cheaper.