The Bottom Line: No retina display but by far best tablet for studying/web

I am a student/computer technician and often have to surf the web for information, read articles, and watch videos, and while I would never replace my laptop with a tablet (even an android tablet) I prefer to use my mini over my laptop in almost every situation.
I wanted something ultra portable and was thus looking at the 7" tablet lineup, but didn't want to buy a "big phone" that I could barely see. I also needed something that could annotate quickly since I underline multiple articles for weekly meetings.

The ipad screen is 7.9" which although is only .9" bigger than most android tablets, it is 38% bigger! My screen is massive compared to friends with the nexus 7, and I think this made the difference when it comes to surfing on this vs the laptop for online browsing. When it comes to underlining, Apples technology FAR exceeds android. (i'm a techy and love android this is not a biased opinion) Apple allows you to touch the screen and drag your finger over the text you want to highlight. To do the same on android you have to touch the screen to "start" selecting text, lift your finger off and then retouch to drag and select the text you want highlighted at bare minimum (some apps then require you to touch the screen again to select specific options and then again to save before it actually is highlighted.) Having to touch the screen multiple times to highlight is slow, distracting and complicated. It may seem like a small thing but adds up quickly when you are underlining a lot. The final thing is that the iPad is one of few tablets that uses a screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio as apposed to standard 16:9 and this makes magazines and books fit the entire screen and not look widescreen.

FYI: When I am studying books and articles I prefer to download "ePub" over "PDF" since these allow you to underline and often have active links to cited information in he material.

I do wish he screen had a higher resolution display but I would have to say that the pros of this device far exceed this 1 fault.

Size - a little wide
Weight - could hold it all day
Battery life - amazing. Full day of heavy Internet use.
Value - uncompetitive pricing but best tablet for my needs

Awesome Product , Slim And Powerful...Great Value for the money !!!!!!!

Pros: A smaller and much easier to carry sequel to the IPad2, benefiting from newer industrial design elements and technologies introduced in the fifth-generation iPod touch. Generally very solid build quality and highly attractive fit and finish, relying on thin but strong glass painted in either black or silver, plus an aluminum rear shell. Runs virtually all of the over 700,000 apps in Apple’s App Store, including the 250,000 designed for full-sized IPads. Includes a 7.9” screen that looks as good as the IPad 2’s, and IPad2-like run times, while weighing around half as much as Apple’s full-sized tablets. Users will find either landscape or portrait keyboard size to be nearly ideal for virtual typing—easier than on full IPads or IPhones. Available in the same capacities and LTE cellular options as full-sized IPads, including the same Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4 wireless technologies, without compromises. Includes two bona-fide good cameras, stereo speakers, and an integrated microphone with Siri and Dictation capabilities.

Cons: Battery on Wi-Fi model falls modestly short of Apple’s 10-hour claim under some circumstances; cellular run time similarly falls below 9-hour estimate. Base $329 price tag is a little high, especially considering the additional expense of Lightning accessories and Apple’s decision to pack in an unnecessarily slow charger; $130 cellular premium remains somewhat steep, and arguably less necessary given the increasing availability of smartphone personal hotspots. Screen, while considerably better in colors, blacks, and viewing angles than would be expected from a Pre-Retina display, falls short of Retina pixel density an issue in only certain situations, particularly when dealing with very small text. Rear camera is a hint behind current full-sized IPads despite similar specs. While comparable to the last two IPads, the A5 processor inside this model is just as responsive as the most recent IPad.

Everything the iPad has in a much better size and for a much better price.

I was an AT&T customer since 1999 until Oct. 1st,
2011. I could never afford a smartphone. For 1 person it's $69.99 just for unlimited voice, $20.00 for text, and $50.00 for 5 GB of data with mobile hotspot. With taxes and fees that's well over $150.00/month for a smartphone. I mention the
$50.00 plan with the hotspot feature vs the 3 GB plan for $30.00 because that's key to my review. Verizon is the same price and even Sprint's $99.00
unlimited plan is not only an extra $10.00 for
smartphones but $29.99 for the hotspot feature. So
all 3 companies are $140.00/month before taxes and
fees. T-Mobile has value plans that none of the Big 3 companies have. They're the same as the classic plans that offer a free subsidized phone
but you buy your own phone and get $20.00/month off the plan. Well, for a 2 year contract that's $480.00. You can buy a pretty nice phone for that kind of money and the rate keeps on going even after the 2 years. Now I understand that not everyone has the money for a non-subsidized phone
but you can get an Android phone for a lot less then an iPhone. AS much as I love the iPad I hate
the iPhone. I need a slideout keyboard and I have the HTC MyTouch 4G Slide from T-Mobile. Greatest phone I've ever used, and I've tried every slider phone from both AT&T and T-Mobile. I Have 2 extra batteries for my phone. I have a memory card. And
the keyboard. The iPhone has none of these. So my
plan with T-Mobile is $74.99/month. Unlimited
everything and mobile hotspot. 5 GB of 4G but never a data overage. 2G after the 5 GB. That's 500 MB. I've never used anything close to that. I get a 15% corporate discount with Prudential which
basically covers the taxes and fees. I know they have unlimted 4G for 5 bucks less but no hotspot with unlimted 4G. Onto the Mini. I have a wifi only iPad 2 that my sister will now inherit. I don't know how Apple does it. Next to each other
the iPad looks huge. But using it I don't notice the difference in screen size. The wifi only model
is $130.00/month less then the wifi + cellular
model. And the mobile hotspot basically costs me
$15.00/month since I could easily get away with the 2 GB $59.99 plan if I didn't need the mobile hotspot. But that's still less then any stand alone tablet plan. My mom has prepaid 1 GB/month
from Verizon for her iPad and it's 20 bucks. If you want a cellular iPad Verizon does have the best rates. But I notice absolutely no drop off in
performance with the mobile hotspot. And if my cable goes out at home I just use my laptop with the mobile hotspot. So being able to buy a wifi only model is both an upfront savings and a monthly savings. I'm surprised that the prices on
eBay are as much or higher as from Apple. Wifi
only 16 GB is $329.00. With tax for me it's $348-
and change. It's strange that before the holidays
they were going in the $200-$300 range on eBay.
1 guy sold a brand new 1 for $175.00. I wanted to cry. He was a kid who said it was a gift and he needed the money right away. I got mine the same way since it's just after Christmas now but not for that price. Still saved me $30.00. Received as
a gift and they already had iPhones and iPads. It
literally performs identically to the iPad 2 wifi
only for less money. The iPad with Retina display
is a lot more money, but if I wasn't satisified with the Mini's performance I would have spent it.
The Mini with Retina display should be out in Oct.
But I don't notice a difference. It's an amazing
iPad.

Nice little machine, decent value for the price.

i dont have an iphone, verizon charges $30 per month minimum for data, plus charges for texting, and usage. this is my first apple product, i wanted something to occupy my time commuting, lunch, downtime, also play music. really nice, packaged well, setup is easy, works great. i got the mini because i can hold it in 1 hand, couldnt (dont think anybody can) hold the ipad standard in 1 hand. text is sometimes a little small, and i am pressing things i dont mean to. but i will prob get more accurate as i go on. bought a nice case for it (dodo classic) and plan on trying to keep it in great condition so i can sell it and buy an ipad mini retina in the fall (should be out around then. i didnt get the cellular model, because i have a cell phone, and cant imagine a situation that i would absolutely have to get it on line when there is no wifi.

You won't regret it, specially if you carry it around often

Very compact and amazingly light, the perfect companion! The only thing missing at his point is the retina display, that I am sure will come in the next generation. Our sight is so used to the HD displays of the phones and the iPad 3 that when we started using this one, it looks like the text was out of focus, but once the brain get used to it, you beryl notice the difference.

Charge the battery way faster than the iPad3 so that figure may compensate for the monitor quality.

We thought that keyboard was going to be an issue, but not at all. Please note that we type with 6 fingers at the time.

So far, and after a few months of continue use, we are 100% satisfied, to the point that I am selling my iPad 3 to get another mini