Posted in: Mobile phones

Apple iPad mini vs. the Nexus 7 vs. Kindle Fire HD: the compact tablet battleground

Apple just announced their 7.9-inch iPad mini and is now officially ready to enter the fight in the ultra portable tablet market.

iOS is the dominant platform in the large tablet class, but it’s a newbie in the compact segment. So does the Apple iPad mini have what it takes to successfully challenge the already established competition from Google (ASUS) with its Nexus 7 and Amazon with its 7-inch Kindle Fire HD.

We’ve prepared a quick comparison table for you, showing how the iPad mini stacks up against the competition.

 
Apple iPad Mini
Kindle Fire HD
Nexus 7
OS
Apple iOS 6
Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread
Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
Display
7.85-inch
IPS LCD
7.0-inch
IPS LCD
7.0-inch
IPS LCD
Resolution
1024 x 768
(163 ppi)
1280 x 800
(216 ppi)
1280 x 800
(216 ppi)
Height
Width
Thickness
200 mm
134.7 mm
7.2 mm
193 mm
137 mm
10.3 mm
198.5 mm
120 mm
10.45 mm
Weight
308 grams
395 grams
340 grams
Processor
1GHz dual-core
processor
A5
1.2GHz dual-core
processor
TI OMAP4460
1.3GHz quad-core
processor
NVIDIA Tegra 3
GPU
PowerVR SGX543MP2
PowerVR SGX540
GeForce ULP
RAM
512 MB
1GB
1GB
Storage
16GB / 32GB / 64GB
16GB / 32GB
8GB / 16GB
microSD card slot
No
No
No
Primary camera
5 MP, 2592×1944 pixels,
autofocus, 1080p video recording
No
No
Front camera
1.2MP
HD
1.2MP
Battery Life
10 Hours
11 Hours
10 Hours
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, dual-antenna
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, dual-antenna
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
Yes
Yes
Yes
Network
GPRS / EDGE / UMTS / LTE
No
No
NFC
No
No
Yes
Speakers
Mono
Stereo, with Dolby Audio
Stereo
Availability
November 2, 2012
Currently available
Currently available
Price
$329 / $429 / $529
$459 / $559 / $659 (Cellular)
$199 / $249
$199 / $249

It’s way to early to be drawing any conclusions, but at first glance it seems that Apple isn’t really understanding what the compact tablet class is about. The way we see it – it’s about getting nicely performing and compact tablets at bargain prices.

Of course, no one was expecting Apple to pack their top-of-the-line A6 chip in the iPad Mini and start selling it for $199. But both the display and the pricing are disappointing. We were hoping to see a higher-res display or at least a more up-to-date CPU that could be relevantly put against the Nexus 7′s and the Kindle Fire HD’s.

Instead, the company that introduced Retina displays announced a 7.9-inch tablet featuring a display with just 162 ppi pixel density for the premium price (for the segment) of $329 (16GB).

We are not saying the iPad mini is not worth it – the incredible thinness, light weight and design will probably convince many to pay that price. In fact we believe that a new sales record is probably on the cards. Time will tell, we guess.

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