Throwback: My Original Apple iPad Mini Review from 2012 (Premium)

Apple released its first iPad mini in November 2012, and it was precisely the iPad I wanted, "an incredibly desirable device, almost without peer."

I didn't review the OG iPad mini formally. But I did write up a first impressions-style "compete report," part of a series I described as "overviews of competitive products from outside the Microsoft ecosystem" and "a peek at the other side of the fence." Re-reading this today, however, it seems reasonably complete. This is ironic, given that many misread "compete" and "complete," which caused me to stop using the term. Compete, not complete. You know what, never mind.

Here's my original 2012 write-up, stripped of a related overview of the iPod touch, with a bit of commentary.
Compete Report: Apple iPad Mini
Apple's mini-tablet is stellar

Folks, welcome to my secret shame. For the past few days, the new iPad mini. This product is demonstrably better than the competition, despite my long-time complaints about the underlying iOS software. But there's no way to overstate this: The new iPad mini is just an incredibly desirable tech device. It's almost without peer.

Note: Some have misunderstood the point of my Compete Report articles. They are not meant to be in-depth reviews, or “complete” reports, but are rather overviews of competitive products from outside the Microsoft ecosystem. They're a peek at the other side of the fence.

I assume that by this point, you've heard of the iPad mini and understand the basic value proposition here. Stung by the low-end competition, Apple has shrunk the iPad 2 down to a 7-to-8-inch form factor that retains the classic Apple design, quality, and thinness, costs significantly more than the comparable competition ($329 to start vs. $200 for the Kindle Fire HD or Nexus 7), and is of course backed by the same ecosystem of apps, games, and content as are Apple's other devices. Most have lauded the device itself but bemoaned the fact that the screen, at 1024 x 768, is both lower resolution (1280 x 800 typically) than the competition, and not widescreen.

A quick overview for context.

Amazon released its first Android-based mini-tablet, the Kindle Fire, one year earlier, in November 2011, about four years after it released its first Kindle e-reader. The first few Kindle e-readers were awkward in many ways--most obviously they lacked touch screens, and the initial designs were not elegant--but by 2011, the product had become quite nice, and almost Apple-like. The Kindle Fire included the Amazon Appstore for Android, which had arrived the previous March. And, this was Amazon. "If any company can take on Apple, it's Amazon," I wrote in September 2011. "The reason is simple: Only Amazon offers the full suite of ecosystem services--digital music, TV shows, videos, eBooks and audiobooks, apps, and other content--that Apple does."

In my eventual review, I said that the Kindle Fire, which featured a 7-inch display, "wasn't an iPad killer" because it...