The iPad mini is not just the best looking iPad ever, but the best looking tablet we have ever seen. Period. The front is dominated by the 7.9-inch touch screen display, even more so than in the larger iPad simply because the bezel has been shrunk, and the single Home key beneath the display made...

The iPad mini isn't just an Apple tablet made to a budget. This isn't just a shrunken-down iPad. This is, in many ways, Apple's best tablet yet

Beautiful; thin and light design; Stellar battery life; Bright; clear display; Sturdy construction

Too wide for some; Pricier than many 7-inch alternatives

The Good - Extremely well made and designed - Thin and light - Larger, more useful display area than the 7-inch Android competition - Great for content consumption and gaming on the go - Unbeatable tablet app selection The Bad - Lower resolution than the Android competition - Non-resolution...

- Extremely well made and designed - Thin and light - Larger; more useful display area than the 7-inch Android competition - Great for content consumption and gaming on the go - Unbeatable tablet app selection

- Lower resolution than the Android competition - Non-resolution independent UI results in more zooming in on text - Less practical as an all-purpose device against the larger iPad

Apple went gone where we never thought it would, with the iPad mini bringing the Apple tablet experience to a brave new budget world. Two generations on and the original mini now comes in at a wallet-friendly ￡199 / $249 / AU$299 for the Wi-Fi version, with 16GB of storage on offer.

Update: One month on and Apple's first 7-inch tablet is still leading the way.

Stunning brushed metal design; Strong battery life; Simply; intuitive UI

Low-res screen; More expensive than competition; No boxed headphones or dock adaptor

The iPad mini goes on sale 2 November, and while specs and features won't come as a surprise to many, I've been enjoying an early test run over the last week, using it in place of a  3 rd generation iPad – the one with the Retina display – to see how it fits into my daily life.

Check out our full comparison with Apple's iPad (fourth generation)! As much as we love Apple's iPad , the original tablet that sparked a slew of imitators, it isn't a very traveller-friendly device. At 652g, the iPad is a heavy little beast.

Compact and light; Great battery life; Bright, colourful screen; Excellent App Store

Premium price; Rival screens are sharper; No expandable storage

The iPad Mini is the fifth generation iPad and the first to deviate from the 9.7-inch screen size, with it's 7-inch screen. The 7-inch tablet market has been neglected, RIM's BlackBerry Playbook has great hardware, however the lack of native email on launch disappointed fans, it was only when Google...

Light and portable; Fantastic app selection; Intuitive UI suitable for first tablets

The iPad mini has arrived - and so has our review. Just last week, Apple introduced the world to the newest member of its wildly successful tablet line, an adorable, diminutive slate with a 7.9-inch display.

Fantastic design and build quality; Software selection second to none; Great battery life

Screen is lower resolution than the competition; Can sometimes be a little awkward to hold; Expensive

Despite the late Steve Jobs' pronouncements that Apple would never release a 7-inch tablet, Apple unveiled the iPad mini , a shrunk-down version of the 9.7-inch iPad. The general consensus around the Web is that the iPad mini is an excellent compact tablet.