Apple iPad Mini MD528LL/A (16GB, Wi-Fi, Black & Slate)
Apple iPad Mini
Product Features
- 7.9-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch Display; 1024-by-768 Resolution
- Apple iOS 6; Dual-Core A5 Chip
- 5 MP iSight Camera; 1080p HD Video Recording
- Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n); 16 GB Capacity
- Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life; 0.68 lbs
A phenomenally portable twist on the iPad that finally breaks the mold of 7″ tablets. Conceived from its sleek, glossy 10″ counterpart, the new iPad Mini boasts one gigantic new trait over the full-sized iPad: the ability to hold it in one hand. This almost revolutionary twist on the device that sparked a frenzy in the tablet world has finally brought joy to those that have held out hope of such higher portability in an iPad for so long. But does the iPad Mini live up to the hype? Absolutely.Turns out, the iPad mini is indeed more than simply a shrunk-down iPad, though there may be an argument for it actually resembling something more along the lines of a blown-up iPod touch. In any case, the big question: is the iPad mini right for you? I’ll endeavor to answer that for you here by taking you hands-on with the new model, plus I’ll share from my past few years of iPad ownership experience altogether, especially for those who haven’t yet had an iPad to call their own.Plus, in hopes of making this the most helpful iPad mini review on Amazon, I’ll also reveal a treasure trove of info on how you can legitimately download tons of quality apps and games for free!For those interested, I’ve also compiled two iPad listmania lists:Must-Have iPad Accessories: http://www.amazon.com/lm/R1M3AJDBR2BCA7?tag=1pad-20&ie=UTF8iPad vs. Other Tablets: http://www.amazon.com/lm/R3QLZ307253XU6?tag=1pad-20&ie=UTF8My reviews tend to run long, so I’ve organized information by section, with headings, to help you quickly locate any specific info you’re after. For example, see the heading “Downloading Apps and Games” for the info on obtaining free apps and games!First, let’s compare hardware specs between iPad mini and iPad, and what each means for you:+ Device: iPad mini vs. iPad (4th gen)+ Weight: 0.68 lbs vs. 1.44 lbs — over twice as light as the iPad+ Thickness: 0.28″ (7.2mm) vs. 0.37″ (9.4mm) — thin as an iPod touch+ Display: 163 vs. 264 pixels per inch — less-crisp text, but equally long life for a smaller battery+ Resolution: 1024 x 768 vs. 2048 x 1536 — half as many pixels as the current iPad, but still sharper than an iPad 2+ Battery: 10 hours (16.3 Wh) vs. 10 hours (45 Wh) — smaller, lighter battery lasts just as long as the iPad+ Processor: A5 (dual core) vs. A6X (dual core with quad core graphics) — same as the new iPod touch, but not quite as powerful as the latest iPad, yet it doesn’t need to be because the iPad mini display totes a quarter as many pixels!+ Price: The iPad mini has a price tag that is indeed much more attractive than the 10″ iPad. It’s actually closer to that of the iPod touch.===== First Impression =====At first sight, there’s a feeling of novelty to the iPad Mini, especially if you’ve used a 10″ iPad or tablet. The more you use it, however, the more you realize that this is the size an iPad was meant to be: perfectly portable. The 10″ iPad is so bulky and heavy in comparison, and I felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and awkward taking it with me and using it places, especially waiting in line. Not so with the iPad mini! It’s super light, more than half the weight of the 10″ iPad, and its sleek rounded edges are much more comfortable for carrying than the sharply-tapered edges of the iPad.My initial reaction to the unveiling of the iPad mini was one of slight disappointment, mainly because it was closer to 8″ than to the desired 7″ of other tablets in its class. Why would Apple bother bringing a smaller iPad to market that’s still not quite as small as some of the other 7″ tablets floating around? Ah, but I was wrong.Until I held it in my own hand, I failed to realize that Apple had made better use of the iPad mini’s size than most 7″ tablets do. What matters in a 7″ tablet class isn’t the screen size but the actual device size. The iPad mini is 3mm shorter and 7mm wider than the 7″ Kindle Fire HD, yet it touts nearly an inch more of physical screen size.===== Interaction Experience =====Naturally, the iPad mini shares the iPad’s same phenomenal multi-touch interface that is undisputedly second to none. Android tablets and other devices may tout “multi-touch” support, but usually this just means they support 2-finger gestures like pinch-style zooming. Apple, on the other hand, gives a whole new meaning to the term, supporting up to ten simultaneous touches, and app developers have certainly leveraged that capacity. For example, one popular app supporting ten simultaneous touches is the Piano app.===== So What Can the iPad mini Actually Do? =====Naturally, there are things you can do with the iPad mini right out of the box. You can browse the Web with Safari, set up your email, download your photos and videos from your computer via iTunes, as well as shoot new photos and videos using either of the two built in cameras. You can also surf YouTube via Apple’s built-in…
3rd party seller scams. Your NEW Amazon iPad might be USED. Here’s how to tell. The product itself is fantastic and my stars are based on the product being a great deal and a great device.But for anyone thinking of buying from Amazon, be warned. I purchased one of these for someone on her birthday and it was listed as new. Amazon seems to only sell iPad minis from third party sellers, not from Amazon.com itself, meaning another company gets the iPads from any source they want, sends them to Amazon, and Amazon ships them. One of these sellers listed an iPad mini slightly above retail price, but cheaper than all of the other iPad minis on Amazon. In fact, when I searched for iPad mini, it was the seller and product page the site automatically directed me to. The page indicated it as new, and sold it to me via Amazon. When my friend got her iPad mini, it looked new, was packaged and sealed like new, but when she turned it on, it was tied to someone else’s icloud account. I called apple and gave them the serial number. Sure enough, the item was used, only had about 60 days left in the warranty (instead of 90) and was registered through Apple to a different customer. If I wanted a used iPad Mini, I would have paid less. Much less.I even emailed the user who had previously owned it (since her email address via iCloud was showing up when my friend tried to access the app store. I emailed the previous user just to make sure it wasn’t a stolen product. She explained that she had purchased it a few weeks back from At&T, not from Amazon. She wanted a wifi + 3g version, not just wifi, so she returned it and somehow, the third party seller got their hands on it and sold it to me as new.In the defense of of the third party seller, once I got their phone number from Amazon and called them (most seller numbers are not on Amazon, you have to call and request a phone number), they provided a scary explanation: They explained that there are problems with Amazon’s FBA system (fulfillment). Sometimes, iPads are returned with nothing but index cards in the box and Amazon thinks there is an iPad inside. Sometimes, products mingle, and so another seller’s used iPads might be with a different seller’s new iPads. They explained that they have a very legitimate source of iPads and have been selling iPads for years and that this is a rare occurrence, although it has happened before. I have no way of verifying any of this, so I can’t blame Amazon or the seller. All I can say is that for such a large purchase, and one that is a gift, you are better off buying from a major retail store that doesn’t sell used items at all (or buying from Amazon when it is shipped and sold and fulfilled by Amazon). Right now, this product is actually on sale at Walmart.Amazon refunded me but now my friend has to return her birthday gift. I recommend buying from someone other than Amazon. For this particular product, it’s probably the cheaper route to do that anyway. If you do buy from Amazon, call Apple with your Serial Number and verify it is a new, unregistered product with a full 90 day warranty. Don’t get scammed.
Slower at buffering video than my I-pad Retina (and the I-pad 2) First off, I’m not going to rip this thing apart. I feel the Mini is an absolutely wonderful form-factor, and I recommend it — just not yet.The good:The size of the mini is just short of an inch wider than your typical competitor. You might not think this is much, but seriously, it is. I absolutely love this aspect of it. In addition, the Mini is just wonderfully light and easy to hold (I have big hands, though).As much as people rip on the screen, it is comfortably bright, and the battery life seems to last quite well, even if brightened up a bit. No complaints there.The bad:That same screen, as others have said, suffers from its low resolution. Had this tablet come out a year ago, it would have been earth-shattering. Now, when other offerings from Android are coming out with far better resolutions, it’s just meh (the Apple Mini’s contrast and color are still superior to the Nexus 7 by far, though). If you are someone coming from an I-pad 2, you won’t care about the resolution so much. For everyone else who is used to I-phones with substantially smaller, yet sharper resolutions, you will notice the difference.Also, and this is a big one for me, I have found that the I-pad Mini is slow to buffer YouTube videos. I’m pretty sure this has to do with it having half of the Ram of its larger pad family members. Cutting the Ram in half was a big mistake. It also seems to cause lags in surfing on only some sites that are more graphic intense. I wasn’t sure if this problem was one of my own, so I tried out some other Mini’s in the store side-by-side with I-pad 2’s and Retinas. Same thing… slow Youtube buffering. Quite a bit slower.I want to tell you to buy this thing, but I just can’t. I want to tell you to wait until next year when the tech is there to up resolution and add more Ram. For the price, the Apple Mini disappoints.