Although lower-memory wifi Minis are on the shelves UK Apple Stores it is only in the last day or two that cellular and higher-memory models have been trickling through. Yesterday I set the alarm for 6 am and managed to bag a 64GB 4G Mini for collection at the White City Apple Store that morning. I have now cancalled the earlier order I placed on day one with the on-line store. It still rankles that I can more or less walk up and buy an iPad Mini when orders placed weeks ago with Apple.com are still not fulfilled.
The new slate-grey tablet has been installed, SIM card inserted, and is everything I expected it to be. Strangely it isn’t the retina screen that makes the most impression, wonderful as it is, it’s the speed of the thing. It really does fly in comparison with the first-generation Mini. Having tried the iPad Air for a weekend, I am glad I waited for the smaller tablet. For me, this is the ideal size and weight for a portable device.