The iPad Mini: Why the Nexus 7 Has Never Looked Better

The iPad Mini has finally been unveiled and it leaves a lot to be desired. While I’m usually not swayed by unnecessary device spec details, I cannot but wonder why Apple went for a non-HD screen. The simple truth is that things look better on HD screens. Presently, the main contenders in the 7 inch tablet segment all have screens that are capable of displaying 720p HD. While the iPad Mini can display 720 pixels across (in width), it is not true 720p HD as the 720p standard is 1280 x 720. A standard which all the other contenders (Google’s Nexus 7, Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet HD) meet. Apple’s retina display is irrelevant because the screen on the iPad Mini is not true 720p.

 

With the screen resolution, storage options and price points, it seems Apple is stuck in the past competing against older products like the original Kindle Fire. The idea behind the iPad Mini was to produce a better and more competitive tablet to the likes of the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD. Presently, the cheapest Kindle Fire HD comes with 16Gb for $200 while the Nexus 7 16Gb presently retails for $250. There are reports that Google is set to replace its 16Gb Nexus 7 with a 32Gb version for $250; the same price for a 32GB Kindle Fire HD.  The question then is why would you buy a 16Gb non-HD iPad Mini for $329 when for you can get a 32Gb HD capable Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD for $80 less? The 7 inch Nook HD by Barnes & Noble is also meets the 720p standard.

One more thing, the iPad Mini and iPad 4 are not widescreen. I thought Apple had finally seen the light in the widescreen format with the iPhone 5. Perhaps they know better. Or maybe they lost their way because of iMaps. I rather doubt it. They are just being obtuse and arrogant.

	Nexus 7	Kindle Fire HD	Nook HD+	iPad Mini (Wi-Fi)
Screen Size/Resolution	7 inches	7 inches	7 inches	7.97 inches
	1280 x 768	1280 x 800	1440 x 900	1024 x 768
Storage Space	16Gb (upgrade to 32Gb expected)	16Gb	16Gb	16Gb
Price	$250	$200	$229	$329

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