World4news rating

Apple has take the world where we never thought it would be, with the iPad mini bringing the Apple tablet experience to a brave new budget world.




The new tablet comes in a wallet of US $US329 / $AU369 for 16 GB storage on offer for the Wi-Fi version. you can buy the mini-slate with up to 64 GB of space, as well as 4G LTE connectivity, at a price of £529 / $US659 / $AU729 for the top model.

But then again, the iPad mini release isn't about the top end specification with a eye watering price tag -  it's about beating the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 in the budget stakes.

Key features

• Compact body: 200 x 134.7 x 7.2 mm
• 7.9" LED-backlit IPS LCD touchscreen, 768 x 1024 pixels; scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating
• Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity, carrier-dependent hotspot support
• Optional 2G/3G GSM, CDMA, LTE connectivity (data only, separate models)
• Optional GPS with A-GPS support (for the 3G model only)
• Apple A5 SoC, dual-core Cortex-A9 @ 1GHz chipset
• 512MB of RAM
• PowerVR SGX543MP2 dual-core GPU
• iOS 6 with Siri, iCloud support and activation
• 16/32/64GB of inbuilt storage
• Weight of 308 grams (312 grams for the Wi-Fi + Cellular option)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 16.3Wh battery
• Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor
• Compatible with every iPad and iPhone app without any modifications
• The base version costs less than a SIM-free iPhone 4, only $30 more than iPod touch
• 5MP auto-focus camera
• 1080p video recording at 30fps
• 1.2MP secondary camera capable of FaceTime calls, 720p recording
• Four and five-finger gestures
• 1080p TV-output with the Apple Digital AV Adapter (purchased separately for $49), 1080p video streaming
• Supports magnetic cases
• Lightning connector
• Stereo loudspeakers

Main disadvantages

• More expensive than 7" Android tablets, only $70 cheaper than iPad 2
• No Retina display, 162ppi only
• Same chipset as iPad 2, now two generations old
• iTunes still required for most of the content uploads
• Reflective screen struggles outdoors
• No standard USB port, Lightning accessories still rare and expensive
• No GPS receiver in the Wi-Fi version
• No memory card slot
• Lack of basic iOS apps - stocks, calculator, voice memos