iPad mini arrives - Pocket Gamer staff opinions

After months of rumours, speculation, and blurry photos of crappy cardboard mock-ups, the iPad mini is finally a reality.

Sitting in between the 4-inch iPhone 5 and the 10-inch iPad, the 7.9-inch mini offers a compact, lightweight alternative to Apple's flagship tablet.

Now that it's here, there is only one question left to be answered: what do the Pocket Gamer staff think of the iPad mini?

Like that insufferable fussyboots Goldilocks on her quest for perfect porridge, have we found the tablet that's just right for us? Or did last night's press conference rob us of our appetite altogether?

Weighing in with their opinion on Apple's latest touchscreen wonder (whether we wanted them to or not) are five of Pocket Gamer's regular wordsmiths. Agree in the comments box below. Disagree in your head.

So, the tablet Steve Jobs said Apple would never make has arrived, meaning we can now see what an iPad 2 would look like if you put it through a 100 degree wash.

As a fan of the Nexus 7, I was eager to see how the iPad mini would stack up against Google's petite slate, both in power and pricing terms. The answer: not all that well.

Though there's a good chance Apple's mini marvel will fall to the Nexus 7 in benchmark tests, it's that not-so-mini £269 entry-level price tag which is the real issue. Too rich for my blood, I'm afraid.

Like with the iPhone 5, everything that needed to be known about the iPad mini was out there before Apple confirmed it.

Though there was some speculation that the iPad mini would be sold at a knock-down price - or even at cost - it was naïve to think Apple would ever devalue its brand by selling its 7.9-inch slate at a loss or near as dammit.

In fact, instead of simply highlighting the iPad mini's smaller screen size, Apple promoted it as a second tablet - for those occasions when the original is too big.

While everyone accepts there's always something bigger (or is that smaller?) around the corner, Apple did surprise many of its acolytes by upgrading the new iPad within six months of its launch. As a result, there may be a lot of disappointed, even angry, owners of a third-gen iPad out there today.

The only thing that was still a relative mystery about the iPad mini before Tim Cook and Phil Schiller took to the stage was the price. But, at £269, the iPad mini looks like it's been dumped in an odd middle ground.

A bit too expensive to be considered a direct competitor to the Nexus 7 (especially with a 32GB Nexus 7 rumoured to be on the way for the same price as the current 16GB model) or Kindle Fire HD, but only £60 cheaper than an entry-level iPad 2, which it basically is.

I'm sure it's lovely and intuitive and slim like Apple says, but I've already got an iPad and I've got a Nexus 7, and I don't think the press conference gave me enough of a reason to replace either.

To be truthful, I'm not entirely sure what I think of the iPad mini.

Sure, it's attractive, extremely portable, and relatively cheap when you compare it to Apple's other gadgets. Aside from price, though, is there any real reason to purchase it instead of an iPhone or a 9.7-inch iPad?

I'm not convinced there is. There's definitely no reason to buy one if, like I, you already own the abovementioned devices.

Don't get me wrong: not everybody can afford Apple's top-of the-line tech trinkets, so the iPad mini will prove to be successful. It's just not for me.

So, I won't be buying one. I do have my eye on the new iMac, though. What a sexy bit of kit.