New iPad Mini = fail.

How could an iPad Mini, built on the cred of Apple, fail?  Let me explain:

• It has a lower resolution screen (1024 x 768) than the Nexus 7 (1280 x 800);
• The screen is larger at 7.85" compared to the Nexus 7 at 7", but as a result, the display has a much lower pixel per inch count (163 PPI compared to 216), which seems a bit odd if Apple is boastful about its Retina display PPI counts;
• The screen is 4:3, which, while maintaining the same iPad ratio, reflects old-school thinking of the 35mm still photography ratio (24mm x 36mm), compared to the Nexus 7's 16:10 ratio, which resembles the standard 16:9 widescreen ratio of modern movies, but allows for the software-based tab bar at the bottom of the screen -- if you watch videos on YouTube via your Nexus 7, then you'll notice that videos fill the entire screen with the tab bar below;
• With that 4:3 ratio, the iPad Mini 7.85" screen is 35% bigger (in square inches) than the Nexus 7, but if you're watching a movie, because of the screen ratio, your movie is only 12% larger (confined by the horizontal width of the screen;
• That 4:3 ratio also means that it won't fit as easily in your pockets as the Nexus 7;
• And the price premium is $80 over the Nexus 7 with the same memory configuration (16GB).

All of this means that Apple is relying on its reputation to push sales, rather than pushing the boundaries of design, with the iPad Mini.  I call that an utter failure.

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Oh, but I do have to say, the extremely thin iMac is pretty cool.