Apple iPad Mini vs Google Nexus 7
Maintaining a firm competition and asserting the loyalty of consumers is an arduous task. There are a few components to it. First off, your product needs to be superior to that of other products from competitors. Second off, your product should either be offered at a competitive price range or it should be sufficiently elegant to be entitled for a premium. We are not talking about the new customers moving on to a new market, rather the loyal existing customers who are willing to buy a new product. The first choice they have is an upgrade of what they already have. Some analysts accredit Apple’s sales success to this factor as well given that Apple was at the top of the chain in tablet PC market before everyone else moved in. However, that is an understatement because Apple products also have that sheer elegancy and simplicity integrated together for it to be entitled to a premium. Now that Apple has also laid their hands on budget tablet market, the stakes of the competitors are going up as well. With the recent release of Apple iPad Mini, a sudden interest in miniature version of 10 inch tablets has raised. It is said that 1 search in 6000 searches in the UK was about iPad Mini which shows the hype created with it. The direct competitors for Apple iPad Mini are Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Asus Google Nexus 7. As we have already covered Amazon Kindle Fire HD, let us look compare Apple iPad Mini and Asus Google Nexus 7 to find out which gives us better value for money.
Apple iPad Mini Review
As predicted, Apple iPad Mini hosts a 7.9 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen display that features a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels at a pixel density of 163ppi. It is smaller, lighter and thinner than Apple new iPad. However, this no way compromises the look and feel Apple’s premium grants you. It will come in several versions which will be released throughout November. There is also a 4G LTE version which can cost as much as $660. Let us look at what Apple has included in this mini version of their all-time favorite Apple iPad.
Apple iPad Mini is powered by Dual Core A5 processor clocked at 1GHz along with preferably PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU and 512MB of RAM. This is the first reason that worries us about purchasing the iPad Mini given that it features a last generation processors of Apple A5 which went out in circulation two generations before with the introduction of Apple A6X. However, we can’t predict the performance without taking it for a lengthy test run given that Apple can now modify their processors in-house. It seemed to work seamlessly at light tasks, but games seem to take some time to initialize which can be an indication of the performance it can offer.
This miniature version of iPad has dimensions of 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.28 inches that can fit in to your hand very well. Especially the keyboard feels way more comfortable compared to the Apple iPhone line. The basic version only has Wi-Fi connectivity whereas the more expensive and higher end ones offer 4G LTE connectivity as an addition. It will come in different sizes ranging from 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Apple seems to have included a 5MP camera at the back of this miniature version that can capture 1080p HD videos which is a good improvement. The 1.2MP from facing camera can be used with Facetime for video conferencing. As speculated, it uses the new lightening connector and comes in either Black or White.
Google Nexus 7 Review
Asus Google Nexus 7 is known as Nexus 7 in short. It is one of the Google’s very own product line; Nexus. As usual, Nexus is designed to last till its successor and that means something in the rapidly changing tablet market. Nexus 7 has a 7 inch LED backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen that features a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels at a pixel density of 216ppi. It is 120mm wide and 198.5mm in height. Asus has managed to make it thin as much as 10.5mm and rather light with a weight of 340g. The touchscreen is said to be made from Corning Gorilla Glass which means it would be highly scratch resistant.
Google has included a 1.3GHz quad-core processor on top of Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset with 1GB of RAM and ULP GeForce GPU. It runs on Android OS v4.1 Jelly Bean which would make it the first device to run on this newest Android operating system. Google states that Jelly Bean is specifically developed to enhance the performance of the quad core processors used in this device and hence we can expect a high end computing platform from this budget device. They have made it their mission to eliminate sluggish behavior and it seems the gaming experience is highly enhanced, as well. This slate comes in two storage options, 8GB and 16GB without the option to expand storage using microSD cards.
The network connectivity for this tablet is defined by Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n only which can be a disadvantage when you can’t find a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect. This won’t be much of a problem if you live in a country that has a wide Wi-Fi coverage. It also has NFC and Google Wallet, as well. The slate has 1.2MP front camera that can capture 720p videos and can be used for video conferencing. It basically comes in black, and the texture on the back cover is developed specifically to enhance the grip. Another attractive feature is the introduction of enhanced voice commands with Jelly Bean. This means Nexus 7 will host a Siri like personal assistant system which can answer your question promptly. Asus has included a 4325mAh battery that is guaranteed to last for 8 hours and that would give it enough juice for any general use.
A Brief Comparison Between Apple iPad Mini and Google Nexus 7
• Apple iPad Mini is powered by 1GHz Dual Core A5 processor with PowerVR SGX543 GPU and 512MB of RAM while Asus Google Nexus 7 is powered by 1.3GHz quad core processor on top of Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset with 1GB RAM and ULP GeForce GPU.
• Apple iPad Mini has 7.9 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen featuring a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels at a pixel density of 163ppi while Asus Google Nexus has 7 inch LED backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen featuring a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels at a pixel density of 216ppi.
• Apple iPad Mini runs on Apple iOS 6 while Google Nexus 7 runs on Android OS v4.1 Jelly Bean.
• Apple iPad Mini has 5MP camera that can capture 1080p HD videos @ 30 fps while Google Nexus 7 has 1.2MP camera that can capture 720p videos.
• Apple iPad Mini is bigger but thinner and lighter (200 x 134.7 mm / 7.2 mm / 308g) than Google Nexus 7 (198.5 x 120mm / 10.5mm / 340g).
Conclusion
Sometimes it is not fair to one party to devise a conclusion without knowing the specifics of their product. However, in this case, we have two pieces of information that is vital in the budget tablet market. That is the respective prices of these two products. Google Nexus is offered at a price point of $199 which features the best performance you can have for that price. Apple iPad Mini however is offered at a price point of $329 which is substantially expensive compared to Google Nexus 7. Because of this reason, it’s hard to fathom that Apple iPad Mini would appeal to the market that is looking for a decent tablet for a cheap price point because Apple iPad Mini just isn’t cheap compared to other rivals. Given that situation, we can clearly say that if you include in the above group, then you are better off with Google Nexus 7. But if you look for the elegance and ready to pay a premium; for what seems to have lesser performance compared to Google Nexus 7; because it’s Apple, then you can go with the new iPad Mini.