Dec 11, 2013 10:01 PM
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So recently we brought in the iPad mini 2 as we don't have a TV at home and in abroad having no Indian channels to the cable made us not wanting one, since most of the contents are available on the internet we wanted some device as main source of media consumption when laying down on the bed / sofa etc, and the choice we had was between Nexus 7, Ipad Air, LG G Pad and Ipad Mini 2.
The reason we opt out of
Ipad Air: its 10 inch and we wanted something that is small and could be carried around at back pack or hand bag.
Nexus 7: The screen was gorgeous, only think that made me not want was, on YouTube videos that device looks big, but when seen personally the screen looked small and the device was mainly a portrait device, for some reason I could make my mind on the nexus 7 just for that screen size.
LG G Pad: Holy crap, the device had the most gorgeous screen and perfect size that I have seen and almost made my mind to buy this, but my wife wanted an iPad, as you know all her friends have one and also adding to the fragmentation that the Android was.
I was made in assuming that if I buy this then I will be stuck with the old OS even though new one comes was out, so opted out of it and like all good husbands brought what my wife wants.
SO now I'm holding it for a nearly 3 weeks now and lets break it down to what's good and bad about ipad mini 2 32GB version.
The good:
The first thing that you will notice is the premium design of the apple, hand down the best feeling tablet is the apple IPad's, when you hold it you know that you made the correct investment.
The apple as soon as you turn on the device the OS is ready and can be used, unlike android the device need not need any personalisation to the home screen to act and feel like what you want it to be, its plan simple and ready to be used as soon as you boot it.
The screen 7.9' is almost perfect both on portrait and landscape mode and can be used for any media consumption / reading / browsing at any orientation.
The weight is also not that bad, its light weight, and doesn't tire your hand when holding for long use.
The battery life is incredible, the device last for a whole day full day screen on watching movies / games etc.
The app store has ton of apps that uses the apple IPAD screen to its potential making it a best experience.
The storage option received from 32G is 27G, which is good enough.
The processor is good to handle daily workload and had no problem when using the high end games and work perfectly all the days that passed by.
the facetime camera( front camera) and the back camera is good with the package and take in good pictures, no complains on the quality.
IOS 7 is clean and it doesnt come with any manufacture specific apps .
The apps tends to be bug free most of the time and for now I had very few crashes.
There are more collection of Apple Ipad mini 2 accessories(from apple and third party) in the market than android products
The battery charges quickly in 3 to 4 hours.
The GPS/navigations works well.
The Wifi / bluetooth is strong and have not drop connections.
The Bad:
As you have noticed, all the feature that I have mentioned remains on the hardware end and thats it, I hate the software part before and till today, mainly due to the restriction it offers( i.e if you are coming from the Android OS you will not be liking the Apple OS feature).
Firstly the IOS doesnt allow to you transfer songs traditional way, like drag and drop, it needs itunes for everything, it needs itunes to store music on the IPAD, it needs Itunes to transfer movies to Ipad.
I'm not into Itunes, as I find the most frustrating app of all other apps.
If you have synced Ipad device with one device and connect to another machine and attempted to sync few songs from it, all the music on my Ipad gets erased and loads the library with the new box.
You cant transfer from ipad to other phones that are not apple via bluetooth, you can transfer files from other devices that not apple to apple products but not vice versa, big time headache.
The app store even though it has good collection of apps, the app price is too expensive, its not cheap.
Unlike android where you have sites like apkmania, gallery9' etc which offers free paid apps, I failed to find any for apple, I'm not saying I don't pay for the apps, I do pay if its worth it, but not if isn't worth paying for.
As my place( where I live) tends to varying in temperature, I weather app all the time, that is where I miss the android widgets.
The quick toggles from the swipe below, doesn't have any customization to add my own, its restricted to what they want you to have.
Even though it says quick toggles, if you are paring a bluetooth device first time, it will require you to go to setting by clicking on the bluetooth app and pair it there, unlike Android a long click on it will redirect to that settings.
The price is too high compared to cheaper alternative like Nexus 7 and LG G pad.
The accessories sold by apple is too expensive.
the ipad mini 2 even though its a replica of iPhone 5s doesn't have finger print scanner, which is okie, since I dont tend to add password on tablets
the camera doesnt have any slow motion mode on the iPad as seen on the iPhone 5s.
You cant music transfer via Bluetooth file transfer.
Conclusion:
Overall its a good device for the buy, since
If you want the iPad Mini 2 for Media consumption, its a great device for the price and does the job well .
As I stream the songs from the clouds(Savnn, tunein radio etc), I don't care about the iTunes store for now.
I stream videos from Netflix / Youtube which also add to the iPad advantage.
I don't download apps to the iPad, other than free games and apps, as my primary use of the device is for media, so again no complains of the price of the apps.
So if you are in India and wants to buy an iPad mini 2, I would say check what your preference are, as Ipad on India is not going to add any advantage to your money and don't buy it just to show you own a apple and using it for your status symbol, reason
Online streaming movie app like Netflix doesn't work.
iTunes stores are not available on India.
We Indian are more used to mp3 and drag and drop, it doesn't work here.
The apps are too expensive, unless you have cash to spend on it.
There is no free source of paid apps.
Its expensive and you can buy a better alternative like android tablets.
