iPad Mini with Retina display

[haven]

Sales of the iPad Mini with Retina display began quietly a week ago. Most reviews say the Retina Mini is the best mid-size tablet, despite its high price.

Points made in several reviews:
It's essentially an iPad Air in a more portable package.
The 2048x1536 screen is beautiful, a big improvement
Generally speaking, the iPad Air and Retina Mini are twice as fast as the 4th gen iPad
iOS 7 still needs a bit of polish to work well on the iPad. (Apple is working on it.)
Battery life is excellent, despite the smaller format.
The Retina Mini is 0.3mm thicker and 29g heavier than the original Mini, but it's not enough to notice
The selection of iPad tablet apps is still far ahead of Android
All iPad Minis have a 4:3 screen ratio, which is better for reading text
The Android tablets are 16:9 or 16:10 ratio, which is better for watching movies


Some Reviews:

Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/15/ipad-mini-retina-display-review/

the Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/14/5102786/ipad-mini-with-retina-display-review

Daring Fireball / John Gruber
http://daringfireball.net/2013/11/the_retina_ipad_mini

Apple Insider
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13...cond-generation-ipad-mini-with-retina-display

MacWorld
http://www.macworld.com/article/2063344/retina-ipad-mini-review-high-density.html

CNET
http://reviews.cnet.com/apple-ipad-mini-retina-display/

PC Magazine
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2427096,00.asp

Laptop Magazine
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/tablets/apple-ipad-mini-retina-display.aspx

Wired Magazine
http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/11/apple-ipad-mini-retina/

 

[haven]

So let's talk price.

The iPad Mini with Retina display starts at $399 for a model with WiFi only. For that princely sum you get 16 GB of storage, and no slot for memory expansion. That's a little slim for traveling, since you'll want to take some topo maps, manuals, reading materials, and have room to store some photos. So I'd recommend the 32 GB model for $100 extra. You can also choose 64 GB or 128 GB, for $200 or $300 more than the 16 GB model.

The iPad Mini for WiFi lacks a GPS receiver, which is necessary for accurate navigation. You can buy an external GPS device for $75 to $125, or you can buy the iPad Mini with cellular modem for $130 extra. The modem is unlocked, meaning you can use it with any carrier without much trouble. This is useful when passing through multiple foreign countries, or when shopping for the best deal on data service.

A 32 GB iPad Mini with Retina display and 4G/LTE cellular modem costs ($399 +$100 + $130) = $629. Ouch! It's worth remembering that Apple tablets have held their value well, so you're recover much of that money when you sell it.

On to the competition. The Google Nexus 7 (2013 model) has a new, high resolution screen, fast processor, Android OS, and built in GPS. A current WiFi-only Nexus 7 with 32 GB storage costs $269. Add a 4G/LTE modem, which is not necessary for navigation, and the Nexus 7 still costs just $349, or about half the cost of the iPad Mini with Retina display. (If you find a much lower price, it's probably for the less desirable 2012 version of the Nexus 7.)

Is the iPad Mini worth the extra money? Some folks who have invested in an Apple desktop, or some iPad apps, already, will probably say yes. Others, who see that you can do almost everything that the iPad Mini can do with the Nexus 7, may choose the Android tablet.

The Nexus 7 is a little smaller than the iPad Mini. It measures 200 x 114 x 8.65 mm, while the Retina Mini dimensions are 200 x 135 x 7.5 mm. The Nexus 7 weighs 299 g, while the Retina Mini weighs 341 g. The narrower width and lighter weight make the Nexus 7 a little easier to hold and operate with one hand.

Both the Retina Mini and Nexus 7 are good products. Either way, you'll have a very powerful tablet with navigation capabilities.

 

[expedition4x4]

I am in the market and tbh it is down to a Windows tablet running non-rt win 8.1 or the Ipad mini retina I like the idea of using overland navigator or any of the other windows based topographic map applications on the windows which allow for easier state downloads than IOS or Android.

 

[haven]

The second generation Surface Pro and its competitors deserve consideration as a navigation and overlanding tool. Windows 8.1 has several improvements. I have seen reviews of the 10 inch Surface, but I have not read reviews of the new 8 inch models.

My opinion is that the 10 inch tablets (including the 9.7 inch iPad Air) are a little too large for use in a vehicle. The 7 or 8 inch "mid-size" tablets are a better fit. YMMV.

I think I read that you have to order a Surface with cellular modem to get the internal GPS receiver. Microsoft plans to ship Surface models with 4G/LTE cellular modem early in 2014. External GPS receivers will work, of course.

 

[expedition4x4]

yes it would have to be the 7 or 8" size for a vehicle for my tastes

 

[86tuning]

When using win 8.1 what are the preferred apps for topo maps and 'wheeling?

Trying to figure out how to get a big-screen garmin without spending the big bucks.

 

[Dennx]

Another review.
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/re...ini-with-retina-display-16gb-32gb-64gb-128gb/

 

[xbox73]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8" is also worth a look. $280 for 16GB WiFi-only version with built-in GPS, but has a microSD card slot to which you can add a 64GB microSD card for ~ $50) for topo map tiles. GPS sensitivity on mine seems excellent, it normally receives 2-3 more satellites than my Nexus 10, which also has pretty good reception to start with. I went to my local big box store to take a look at the new 2013 nexus 7, and came away with a Galaxy Tab 3 8" instead. I actually preferred the slightly better proportioned Galaxy Tab 3 8" to the too-long-looking-to-me 2013 Nexus 7. That the 2013 Nexus 7 also had several reports of bugginess didn't help its case.

Downsides of Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8" include:
- somewhat mediocre screen resolution (1280x800) compared to newer tablets in same segment
- somewhat average hardware specs
- 16GB default internal storage isn't that much (32GB is supposedly available, but I haven't seen it in stock for sale anywhere), and not all apps or app data support microSD cards

Upsides of Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8" include:
- competitively priced
- good enough hardware specs, incl. screen resolution, for most users
- microSD card slot to add 64GB data storage for only $50, but note that not all apps or app data support microSD cards
- nice form factor & size
- good GPS sensitivity

 

[haven]

Anandtech has posted their review of the iPad Mini with retina Display.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7519/apple-ipad-mini-with-retina-display-reviewed

This is the first review I've seen that says the color gamut of the Retina display is not as wide as that of the larger iPad Air. In other words, the screen can't accurately display as wide a range of colors. This is disappointing for those of us who hoped to use the Mini for critical viewing of photos. Anandtech's tests show the iPad Air and the Nexus 7 tablets are better in this regard.

Apple probably uses more than one supplier for the Retina display. Maybe other reviewers received units with screens made by a different manufacturer. Or maybe no one else tested this feature.

Update: I see that the iLounge review, linked in a post above, also complained about color rendition on the Retina display.

 

[chadlanc]

the original mini's color representation is the same as the new one, which is less than sRGB. if you need accurate color get the air. I use the mini all the time for navigation & running motion control rigs, having super accurate color isn't really that big of a deal.