iPad mini review

Recommended award

Apple has gone where we never thought it would, with the iPad mini bringing the Apple tablet experience to a brave new budget world.

The new tablet comes in at a wallet-friendly £279 for the basic version, with 16GB of storage on offer for the Wi-Fi version. You can supplement the mini-slate with up to 64GB of space to chuck movies and music, as well as 4G LTE connectivity, but that will set you back an eye-watering £529 for the top model.

But then again, the iPad mini release isn't about the top end specs with a whopping price tag – it's about beating the likes of the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD in the budget stakes.

The two competitors have been getting many column inches so far thanks to the super cheap prices and the impressive specs on board – although with both only offering a 7-inch screen compared to Apple's 7.9-inch offering, the Cupertino board is confident its device will win the day when it comes to capturing consumers' hearts.

However, the more frugal shopper, and especially one buying for a loved one, may not agree with this idea, as the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD costs around 40% less and when faced with a choice between the three might opt for the familiar Amazon brand or the sheer power of the Nexus 7, with its mightily impressive spec list and legions of Google apps.

That said, Apple fans need not worry too much when it comes to whether the iPad mini is a worthy addition to the iBrand, as it comes with enough power and reams of Ive-inspired design to make it a worthwhile addition to the range – this isn't a shrunken down iPad, it's a whole new product again.

Be it the larger screen size, the impressively low weight or the alternative design compared to the competition there's a lot to chew over with the iPad mini – but is it worth spending your hard-earned when more cash will get you a fully-fledged version of Apple's tablet, especially when rumours are touting an iPad mini 2 for a launch in Q2 this year?

• iPad mini 2: release date, news and rumours

In fairness, this is unlikely to happen, but there's every chance Apple will want to sync the mini and the new iPad on the same launch cycles, which would mean compressing the shelf life of the iPad mini but delivering a Retina display on the mini 2.