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iPad mini

Size Matters: iPad mini vs iPad vs iPhone 5

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The iPad mini sits well between the full-sized iPad and iPhone 5, fitting in as Apple’s first truly mobile tablet. Some Apple customers have held off buying the iPad mini because they think that it’s too similar to their current iOS devices.The spec sheets and bullet points don’t do the iPad mini justice. It is a device that users need to hold in their hands to understand why they might want a second or third Apple mobile device.

The iPad is an incredibly popular device, but it’s big enough to make a lot of people think twice about lugging their iPads around, especially if a notebook is a requisite for school or work. This leaves too many iPads underutilized, relegating them to stay-at-home tablets. The reason that AT&T and Verizon charge customers on shared data plans just $10 per month for tablets, compared to $30-$45 per smartphone and $20 per laptop, is because people simply don’t use their iPads’ mobile data capabilities all that often.
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The iPad mini is a different story however. It’s small enough to jam in a coat pocket and light enough to carry around without thinking twice. iPad mini users are going to take these things everywhere, even when they have smartphones and laptops in tow.

As you can see in the above photo, the iPad and 11″ MacBook Air have similar footprints and dwarf the iPad mini.

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The iPad mini’s 7.9″ display is gargantuan compared to the iPhone 5’s and can fit the same amount of content on it as the larger iPad. The iPad mini runs full-fledged iPad apps, including the expanded version of iTunes, making it easier to browse through content compared to the iPhone 5’s tiny display.

The iPad mini’s display is too small to server as a laptop replacement however. The full-sized iPad is the way to go if you need to get real work done.

The iPad mini display is just fine for watching movies at arm’s length. In fact, the iPad mini is preferable compared to the standard iPad if you have to hold the device while you watch since it’s so much thinner and lighter. While watching Moneyball on the iPad mini I didn’t yearn for a bigger screen as I do when I watch video on the iPhone 5.

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The iPad mini finds a home as a second or even a third mobile device.

 

The above photo illustrates how different in size iPhone 5, iPad mini and iPad (3rd and 4th Generation) are. Screen size is one way to measure devices, but what matters most in terms of portability is their footprints. Since the iPad mini is much narrower than the standard iPad, it can fit in many pockets and purses.

Users can definitely feel the weight of the standard iPad and it often requires lugging a dedicated bag. The iPad mini weighs just 10.88 ounces, light enough to forget that it’s even in your bag. In fact, I forgot that I left the iPad mini in my sweater pocket overnight and walked around with it in my pocket all morning before realizing I had the device with me.

iPad mini is Thin

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The iPad mini is just 7.2 mm thick, which is .4 mm thinner than the iPhone 5 and 2.2 mm thinner than the standard iPad (9.4 mm). The 11″ MacBook Air measures 3 mm (front edge) to 17mm (rear edge) thick, which is much thicker than either iPad model.

 

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Many lamented the New iPad’s (3rd generation) extra thickness when it launched as they’d grown accustomed to the relatively thin iPad 2. The iPad mini is thinner than the iPad 2, with a penny separating them in terms of thickness.

Size always matters when it comes to mobility and Apple appears to have struck an excellent balance here. It has about the same footprint as other 7″ tablets, but its 7.9″ display and thin bezels make it more usable.

There’s a lot of things that can’t be done on the iPhone, such as importing photos from a camera’s SD card, that can be done on the iPad mini. I sometimes hesitate to take my iPad with me when I go out shooting with my Nikon D800 or other DSLRs, but the iPad mini is tiny enough to stuff in a camera bag or sling without thinking twice.

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Here’s a photo I imported from the World Series in Detroit onto the iPad mini using the Lightning SD card adapter. The display’s big enough for light photo editing and the iPad mini can run more robust photo apps than the iPhone.

What do you think about the iPad mini’s size and weight? Did Apple get it right or is the standard iPad and iPhone mix good enough for you?

 

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. JC

    11/03/2012 at 2:26 pm

    The Mini iPad isn’t the only new tablet released this week, the Novo 7 Flame 32GB also just came out which offers a pretty impressive 7 Inch Android tablet priced at $189 at a site called TabletSprint — with a 1280×800 High Resolution screen, 2nd Gen Dual Core CPU, 32GB Memory, MicroSD portable storage, an HDMI connection to your TV with full 1080p (HD) that’s great for movie downloads, a 5 megapixel Rear Camera with AF & Flash and a 2 MP webcam; Plus great connection – Bluetooth, WiFi, Ethernet, and an option for 3G. The tablet is made by Ainol Electronics, which received “Best Tablet of the Year” runner-up status at CNET Consumer Electronics Show 2012 – Two other models are also being released and both are 10-inch tablets with high resolution screens; one offers most features as above, with a Dual Core CPU and a 1280×800 display for $220; and a similar model that features a powerful Quad Core with a stunning 1920×1200 Liquid Crystal display (like Apple’s Retina screen) for around $269. All offer a pretty nice specs-price ratio and one of the first online sites to offer this new line of tablets is TabletSprint – which also features a few tablets with 3G built-in as well.

  2. Riccardo

    11/03/2012 at 6:57 pm

    I went to an Apple store and you’re right — you have to hold it in your hands to know that it’s exactly the right size for the types of things you’d like it to do. I’ve never bought an Apple product (too expensive and I know how to make Windows do backflips, though *having* to make Windows do backflips has always been cause for headaches) but tomorrow I might return to one of those Apple stores and get me a Mini. I think it’s inevitable in any case. It’s a nice product at a decent price and the apps are there in abundance.

  3. AJ

    11/04/2012 at 3:44 am

    What’s stupid is that you said someone would wanna have 2nd or even the 3rd iOS device… You gotta be kidding me!! I personally can’t stand that boring UI on even one device. Makes me wanna kill myself. It looks so ugly and depressing…..

  4. Marawan Alwaraki

    11/04/2012 at 5:10 am

    Wow man Apple should pay you for this, you persuaded me to consider the iPad Mini!

  5. J. Williams (@mrjlwilliams)

    11/04/2012 at 9:58 am

    I’m happy with the iPad Mini, it’s a perfect fit for blogging. I use it to work on my site daily, it just does well in everything I need it for. The size, the weight, the screen, all beautiful.

  6. Brian

    11/26/2012 at 8:34 pm

    It’s a no brainer iPhone 5 wins!! iPad don’t have a A6 chip yet!! iPad mini should!! iPad mini it’s last years A5?? What a waste just smaller big deal whoooot!!!

    • BTKK

      12/11/2012 at 2:58 pm

      I have both an iphone 5 and ipad mini. How about you own both before talkin sh!t a-hole.

  7. DAvid

    12/28/2012 at 3:56 pm

    “The iPad mini is preferable to the standard iPad” is preferable to “the iPad mini is preferable compared to the standard iPad.” In the same way, “A small thing is smaller than a big thing” is better than “a small thing is smaller compared to a big thing.” English means of expressing comparison do not have to be supplemented with the words “compared to.”

  8. neelima

    05/12/2013 at 2:55 am

    thax fr d wow info……………….

  9. mark

    07/14/2013 at 10:45 am

    yeah i get you

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