NOW APPLE IPOD-MINI IN YOUR HAND

Friends, think if the iPhone would have ever gone beyond the 3.5-inch screen and the iPad downsized from its original beefy 9.7-inch form factor. Samsung’s success with big and bold displays and the growing acceptance of 7-inch tablets have prompted Apple to change tack. Yes Apple has done it.

If you have struggled to put together a PowerPoint slide deck or an Excel spreadsheet on your full-sized iPad, you are not alone. While that device to browse, watch videos, read E-books and shoot e-mails on the go, it’s not the best device to create content. And that’s where the mini scores.

Unless you hold the mini in your hand, you will not realise how light and incredible it feels. It’s just 7.2 mm thick and at 300 gms it’s less than half the weight of the new iPad 4. We also love the 7.9 inch screen that not only allows Apple to continue to mock its ‘tweener’ rivals, but also gives allows you significantly more screen real estate to read and browse. If you switch from the iPad 2 to the mini, you wouldn’t notice the absence of the Retina display on the mini. The 4:3 resolution also means a lot of letterboxed videos on a smaller screen.

The A5 chip dual core 1GHz processor is a notch below the A6 chip that powers the iPad 4, but it delivers. If you are wondering if the mini merits consideration, all you need to do is ask yourself whether you use your clunky iPad at your work desk or from the comfort of your couch or bed.

The mini starts at Rs 21,900 for the 16GB WiFi only version. The question is should you buy it now or wait until the next mini hopefully arrives with the Retina display?