As I said in my Kindle Fire The Scorched Review post I blogged about a while back as basically stated that I wasn't entirely impressed by it. So I managed to get 98% of my money back and instead I went and did what I really should have done at the start, I bought an iPad mini. In black of course.
It is basically what you you expect from an Apple product. Sleek design, beautiful UI and very easy to use. Not to mention the App Store with over 3 million apps, the iTunes store with a ton of movies, TV Shows, music and lots more. It has everything you want in a tablet with the familiarization of an Apple product.
I have loaded my iPad with the Kindle app, Spotify and a few TV and video apps (TVCatchup, ITV Player...) and a nice collection of games all made for the iPad. I have also added Dropbox, as I take a lot of photos with my iPhone and my DSLR, so this app is really easy to transfer my photos to and from my iPad, iPhone and my PC.
The Product
I purchased the 32GB WiFi version, though a 16GB and a 64BG are available with either WiFi and Cellular versions to choose from. However with the budget I had allocated I went for the 32GB version, which is plenty for my usage.
It has a 7.9 inch LCD backlit screen, that's a whole 0.7 inches more than the Kindle Fire. It may not have Retina (yet) but it is just as good when watching movies or playing on one the HD games that the App store has to offer. The size of the screen means that using the keyboard (activated when using word processing apps for example) is very easy to use, the keys are a nice size to tap away. Though if writing is what you want then I will be covering some accessories later on in the review.
The iPad mini weighs 308g, which is 58% lighter than the iPad, and is as thin as a standard pencil so it fits nicely into a small bag when traveling.
Connectivity
The iPad Mini comes with a redesigned connection port, known as Lightning. It has an all-digital eight-signal design that claims to be more durable than the standard 30-pin connector the older Apple products have. It is also reversible, so there is no wrong way to stick it in!
The iPad mini also comes with dual-band WiFi that is made to impress with an improved, faster connection - I have noticed a difference in connection time and loading speed when comparing too my other Apple devices, such as the iPhone 4 and the iPod Touch.
Features
The iPad mini comes with a number for nice features, including a nice appearance from the iPhone 4S, Siri. Siri, when activated allows you to say a command (for example "tell me the time?" or "What is the weather like?" and Siri will answer. A full list of Siri commands can be found here. There are also some alternative commands that you may wish to say that the has been added to the program that is really just a gimmick, but some of the stuff that Siri says is pretty entertaining.
The iPad comes packed and ready to rock with power with the A5 Chip, making everything you do seem more fluid and naturallike switching apps, playing games (as well as operating apps in HD too), watching movies (also in HD), editing photos and videos.
Since playing with the iPad mini, I have seen a significant upgrade to the battery life comparing it to other Apple devices such as the iPod Touch and iPhone 4. The mini does last a long time without a charge - for example usage I browsed the internet, watched YouTube videos, downloaded films and apps from the iTunes store, played music through Spotify and played games for an estimated 5 hours a day. Withing 3 days i needed a charge.
Accessories
After buying the iPad mini I went out to search for some decent accessories. I discovered that Ebay was the best source for that - mainly for the price difference compared to the Apple store and other online retailers. So far I have bought two handy accessories for my iPad mini, they are;
Verdict - Affordable, great design, ideal for watching films.
The next accessory I purchased was SD card and USB adapter. Very good idea if you are a keen photographer like myself, when on the move you are able to plug the adapter in to the Lightning port and slot in a regular SD card and view all of your photos.
SD Feature - When you insert the SD card your Photos app instantly opens, and once uploaded will display your images and some selected video formats taken with your digital camera. I will be exploring this feature further but it looks like it doesn't support large video files for watching movies. Will let you know if I find out any more.
USB Feature - The USB port is a little trickier as it doesn't support any USB pen drive, though it does state on the stor page (see link below) that it does support USB keyboards. I am later to try this out.
** One hint though is that there is a tiny switch on the side of the device that switches from SD reader to USB reader.
After a good several months with the iPad mini I would say that I am extremely happy with my purchase. I can tether my a iPhone to my iPad and use my iPhone's 3G signal to browse the internet if I am in a place without Wi-Fi. I love being able to watch my favorite movies on a decent size screen and is ideal for traveling. I love it and would give it a big 10/10.
