Before the launch of iPad mini, Apple’s family of tablets has long been the best slates you can get in the market. That is not to say that iPad mini is not among the best. iPad mini faces more potential rivals than any other Apple tablets before it.
Here is a run through on how the iPad mini fares with the other tablets in the market.
Google’s Nexus 7 designed by Asus and Kindle Fire HD of Amazon are strong threats to the Mini. Let us compare them with the different aspects of great tablets.
The Display
The iPad mini is powered by a 7.9-inch screen boasting a resolution of 1024-by-768 pixels. The sharpness of the screen is reported to be weak when compared to the 1200-by-800 pixels of the seven-inch HD Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. When the three devices were compared with some web pages opened, the characters on iPad looked a little fuzzy while the same on the Android-based devices were better. On enlarging the screen slightly, the contents on the iPad were better too.
The Physical feel
The Mini is the lightest of the three (weighs .68 lbs) when compared to the Nexus 7 which is just an ounce heavier. The Amazon tablet is the heaviest of them all with an additional 3 ounces. But it’s just not the weight factor alone; you might want to consider the feel-good factor as well. Like most Apple devices, the mini is more pleasing in the hands. It is thin and you could hold it in one hand. In contrast, the two rivals are chunkier. Now this is bad considering the fact that they did not have to make room for a rear camera (like the 5 MP shooter in the iPad mini).
In Amazon’s tablet, the placement of the front camera is not very appropriate (as the thumb hides the camera when in portrait mode). The Surface with dimensions of 10.81 x 6.81 x 0.53 inches and in dark titanium color seems to be a decent introduction from Microsoft.
The battery life
This is one of the most important aspects of a mobile device. As always, Apple products have an excellent battery life. The iPad mini is no different in this regard. The device ran up to 11 hours and 53 minutes when in full use. The Nexus 7 lasted up to 9 hours and forty minutes while the Fire lasted up to 9 hours and 23 minutes. While charging both the iPad alternatives, they were pretty slow but not much using the chargers and micro-USB cables. The mini on the other hand charged with Apple’s new Lightening cable. The Surface with its 42 W-h battery was able to live up to expectations though shorter than what Microsoft claimed (8 hours).
Applications
It goes without saying that Apple’s App store is one of the best places one would love to be when exploring applications. Its overwhelming superiority runs up to 275,000 applications and is still counting. Both Apple and Google have made up their legacy as one of the biggest application providers in the world. Google Android wisely makes sure that it does not mimic Apple’s family of apps which has the most followers. Certain applications like Facebook, Pandora and Evernote have made conscious efforts to differentiate their offers on both platforms.
In this regard, the Fire and the Surface are weaker as they use Amazon’s and Microsoft’s independent app store in place of the Google Play store. This department is slightly weak for these two tablets and users might have to consider them before purchasing one.
The Interface
If you are an individual looking for some quick responses from your device, Android would be a better Operating system. You will enjoy faster multitasking processes. The thumbnail view of the most recently opened application is yet another friendly factor of Android’s user interface. The platform is also better on the notification front, keeping track of the apps that have new data on top of the screen.
Overall, even the iOS interface is very simple but there are some traits like the need to launch settings app to alter preferences for 3rd party apps. For automatic content synching like photo, music and video sharing, you need less tinkering then the Android platform.
The Amazon tablet and the Microsoft tablet boast the usual user-friendly interface that they are known for.
The Price Factor
The iPad mini that was announced to make Apple tablets inexpensive features a starting price of $329 while the Nexus 7 and Kindle HD offer price tags of $199. Microsoft Surface is available for $579 in the Amazon store.
The Verdict
Apple can easily justify its high price with its lighter and thinner machine, two cameras in place of the single camera offered by other tablets and the loads of applications it features in its apps store. For budget customers, it is definitely worth considering the competitors.
