Overview of iPad mini - I

That is, the iPad mini is available for everyone and not just in some supermarkets. In writing, we also recovered two copies, one in black last week and ordered the other white in an Apple Store.

Presentation

The first contact with the new iPad ... through the box. Apple has been very successful to account for the size "mini" in its product offering box tiny, really small next to that of the standard iPad. At first glance, it almost looks like a book, which is certainly not a coincidence.

As the first tests had reported (read: iPad mini: the best, despite its Retina screen without), the grip of the iPad mini surprised first by the lightness of the tablet (308 grams). If you have an iPad (601 g for 2 and 652 g for the Retina), you will be really surprised at how light it is. Finesse is unquestionable: 7.2 mm against 8.8 mm and 9.4 mm on the other two major models. But on the issue of measurements, it is especially the narrow frame on the sides of the screen that can be seen. A word in passing on the quality of manufacturing: Apple has really reached an excellent level, and this iPad mini exudes strength.

Aluminum construction and glass has been proven, but it takes a little model the manufacturing process of the iPhone 5 and the result is really excellent in black as white. We would not be surprised that foreshadows the next major evolution of iPad. View, however, the manic, the back of the black model is very sensitive to fingerprints, recalling that the black MacBook yesteryear ...

The first few minutes, a strange feeling emerges, as if something was wrong. The interface is so familiar iOS 6 seems to go too far and too close to the edge. Not surprisingly, the effect disappears very quickly and it is the iPad with Retina display that appears when the course quickly resumes in hand. It is heavy and the iPad yet more advanced technically oldest finally seems as if the iPad mini succeeded him!

The big question concerns the Retina display, or rather its absence on the iPad mini. Detected by all tests, it has almost embarrassed person in writing, so that we all Retina screens under the eyes every day. Certainly, we see pixels looking good, but they forget quickly, much faster than on an iPhone 3GS for example (the absence of the Retina mini is in no way comparable with the absence of this old iPhone).

Read books either, this absence does not seem embarrassing, but we will test this in more detail during the weekend. It is true, however, that the fineness of texts is a step behind the Nexus 7. It is not day and night, far from it, it is not equivalent to the gulf between the iPhone 3GS, 4, but the difference is and we can see it.

Consolation, a non-Retina display can even be beneficial in some ways unoptimized images, such as websites generally go better on this screen.

With its finesse and lightweight, the iPad mini is doing much more easily than standard iPad, including a single hand. The more natural then to ask the tablet in the palm of his hand, even though larger hands will hold outright open hand.

This is an important difference with other iPad: no problem is envisaged to use one hand to read for a long time, so we quickly seek support with others.

The tablet held in one hand, the thumb sometimes has a tendency to put on the screen, especially in portrait mode, because the strips are thinner. Apple has changed its OS for not taking into account this finger drags and does not perform a tap. Again it will use it longer to see if it really works, but it is a priori the case. The grip tablet is facilitated by its general shape. The edges are much rounder than the classic iPad and they look like two drops of water to the latest iPod touch. The buttons also pass to the metal, in the same color as the back. The abandonment of the plastic is very nice and gives a feeling of much higher quality than the other iPad. The home button on the other hand does not reach the level of the iPhone 5, but found that the iPad.