Intended to compete with the likes of Googles Nexus 7 (£189 for 16 gigabyte model) and Amazons Kindle Fire HD (£169 for 16 gigabyte model) the new iPad Mini starts at £269 (for the lowest ,16 gigabyte, model) but unfortunately for Apple it's unlikely that tablet buyers keen on reading ebooks or watching high definition video will be tempted should they look in detail at just what they get for the extra money.
The main reason is the Mini's resolution which is not, as might have been expected, a retina display but is instead 1024 x 768 with a pixel density of 163 ppi.
Compared to the 1280 x 800 of the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD (both of which also have a pixel density of 216 ppi) the iPad Mini loses out to its two main rivals in what is a key area for consumers, with both key challengers having screens that display more detail and at a higher resolution.
As expected there is no NFC but this isn't going to be an issue as although Googles Nexus 7 does have it most similar size tablets to Apples 7.9 inch entry model don't and the majority of potential customers are unlikely to be deterred by the lack of it.
The iPad mini has one key advantage over most rivals, a five mega pixel rear facing camera in addition to the front facing camera it and all its competitors also have, something that may attract those that fancy being able to snap some pics with their tablet but what about the meat of the iPad Mini, the key elements that can make or break a sale?
While it loses out on screen resolution and density it does have a decent cpu and gpu, the dual core A5 processor found in the iPhone 4S which is no slouch and compares well to the Tegra 3 processor used in the Nexus 7 and the Omap 4460 used in the Kindle Fire HD (the larger 8.9 inch version of the Kindle uses an Omap 4470).
By not having to drive a retina display Apples A5 processor easily competes when it comes to games and processor intensive applications.
Apples trade off here is that to give the processor that edge in performance, and improve battery life (the Mini's battery life, between charges, is ten hours) they use a lower resolution screen so that where the processor usually has to power a high resolution retina screen here it can conserve that energy albeit by losing out to the competition in terms of screen quality, or more specifically the amount of detail it can display in comparison to competing tablets of a similar size.
It is important to note here that dearer models of the Mini will be available that have more storage and also 3G and 4G connectivity but for purposes of comparison we're just looking at the starter level wifi only iPad mini and the two main competitors that have the same storage and similar size.
Apples iPad mini has a slightly larger display size, physically, despite its lower resolution and that means that when it comes to on screen graphics it offers less detail but does so on a bigger screen which makes that lower resolution more noticeable.
For this reason extended viewing of documents (such as e-books or pdf files) is going to be easier on the eyes and more enjoyable on a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD than it is on an iPad Mini and with Apple apparently aiming at these devices it seems something of an oversight not to compete on resolution (all the tablets mentioned, including the Mini use an IPS display).
The truth is that some people will buy the iPad mini simply because they want an Apple product, regardless of the specs, and it does have advantages (for example iOS devices often get games and other applications before their competitors do) but that lower quality screen is what will likely be the deciding factor for many potential buyers.
Lacking the high clarity screen typically associated with Apple products this could be the Achilles heel of the new model, overall the product is a decent offering but with a significantly higher starting price than the competition for what is, ignoring the screen, a similar specced device (as regards actual performance) to them customers might well wonder just why the iPad Mini deserves their cash.
The iPad mini can be pre ordered from November the second.
