Dan Frommer today:
My take after spending a bunch of the weekend with the iPad mini: This is the real iPad. With the exception of screen sharpness, everything about it is better than the bigger, “classic” iPad — and screen sharpness won’t be a deal breaker for the vast majority of people.
After spending another half hour in the local Apple Store playing with a demo iPad mini, I am more than ever convinced Frommer, John Gruber and others are absolutely right. This is it.
I have been convinced from the day of the original iPad announcement that I would prefer a smaller device. I didn’t agree with Steve Jobs’ comments at the time of the launch and I wrote about my wish for a 7in iPad in late 2010.
In one sense Steve was right when he said Apple would not make a seven-inch screen device. It hasn’t. Instead it has squeezed a 7.9-in screen into a 7-in tablet that is no bigger than the opposition and is actually lighter to boot. What’s not to like about this?
As for the price: The iPad mini is worth what it costs and millions of consumers will agree.
by Mike Evans, 5 November 2012