of technology, they are very different to the iPad Mini when you hold them side-by-side. Much of this is down to that additional -- and, crucially, diagonal -- inch. On one hand (literally), the Nexus 7 feels like a very, very large Android phone, in part due to some of the apps originally being designed for phones. It's powerful, slick and affordable, but it did not compel me to use it much differently to how I use a smartphone. The Kindle Fire HD, similarly, made me use it like a media consumption device, but not a device I could use to "produce" anything, just consume. I wasn't gaming, wasn't replying to email, wasn't using it with Evernote for note-taking in meetings. The Mini, with its expansive catalogue of apps, games and utilities, takes the best of these devices and wraps them in a familiar package, iOS, which is still the most intuitive mobile operating system around. The extra inch the iPad Mini affords its user in addition to this is really taken advantage of, and it makes a big difference. Battery life is rated at 10 hours by Apple, and with average daily usage you can expect to go several days between charges with wireless functionality disabled. Conclusion Everything about the iPad Mini makes me believe this is the design that an iPad wants to be; in comparison, the "iPad maxi" feels oversized for many tasks it is commonly used for. In fact, looking at the iPad Mini, you're almost