Key Difference: The iPad Mini is a sleeker, thinner iPad 2. The iPad Mini comes with a 7.9-inch LED-backlit multi-touch display with IPS technology touchscreen coated with a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic material. Asus announced the launch of newest phablet the Asus Fonepad. The Fonepad is a 7-inch Android tablet that allows users to also make phone calls by placing the device on their ear. The phablet sports a 7-inch IPS LED backlit touch screen that allowed multitouch capability for up to 10 people.

Apple is a well-known company around the world. It has been popular due to its innovative and technologically advanced electronics as well as the lawsuits with various different companies. Apple has been applauded for its futuristic design and new technologies on its various phones and tablets. It has also been criticized by many for its expensive price tags. However, the company has still managed build a loyal fan base that stands by the company and its products a 100%. The iPad Mini has been a popular tablet since its launch in November 2012 and is basically a mini iPad. It has borrowed a lot of features from its big brother and but just has a smaller packaging.

The iPad Mini is a sleeker, thinner iPad 2, note currently the company is on its 4^th generation iPad. The iPad Mini comes with a 7.9-inch LED-backlit multi-touch display with IPS technology touchscreen coated with a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic material. True to the Apple design, the iPad Mini also have a slick, steel chassis that is comfortable to hold. The company has launched two different models of the iPad Mini; Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular. The Wi-Fi is a little cheaper and does not have a SIM slot, while the Wi-Fi + Cellular model is able to support 2G, 3G and 4G operations. One of the most touted features of the device is the weight. The device is super light and weight around 308 grams for the Wi-Fi and the 312 grams for the Wi-Fi + Cellular. The 7.9-inch screen provides 768 x 1024 pixels and an approximate 162 pixel density; it is not the best resolution available specially with the iPad 2 with Retina display. The screen has been said to be a bit grainy in viewing.

The device houses a 1 GHz Dual-core Cortex-A9 processor and the Apple A5 chipset. It is powered by the iOS 6 and can be upgradeable to iOS 6.1.3. The processor is not as fast as the latest Apple A6, but it does not lag during multi-tasking. The slower processor might have a concern if the device allowed true multitasking, but since it does not the device works just fine. The iPad Mini is available with 16/32/64 GB of internal storage, which is not expandable. The device only offers 512 MB RAM. The iPad Mini comes with a 5MP rear camera for taking photos and also has HD video taking capability. The device also has a 1.2 MP front camera for video calling purposes. It also has the FaceTime app for video calling over Wi-Fi or cellular. The iSight Camera has features such as autofocus, face detection, backside illumination and five-element lens.

The outer chassis of the device houses various buttons to control the device. The top of the device holds the On/Off and the Sleep/Wake button, along with the microphone and the headphone jack. The company has shifted the button back to the top of the device. The right side of the device has the Silent/Screen rotation lock button and the volume controls. The Home button is placed on bottom bezel and the built-in-speakers are on the bottom of the iPad Mini along with the Lightening connector. The device comes with many features such as Siri natural language commands and dictation, Game Center, Photo Booth, Built-in apps and e-book reader. The reader is compatible with all of the big services such as Google Books, Kindle and Nook, making it easier to read books in almost all formats. The device has been noted for the sleek and small design, which makes the device comfortable to hold and work with. Also apps have been specifically designed for the tablet, so no longer need to deal with stretching apps. Few criticisms include the price of the device, lack of Retina display, and lack of true multitasking as well the software. With the iPhone 5 already available in the market with Apple A6 chipset, the iPad Mini with the same chipset is not that far away.

Asus has announced the launch of newest phablet, the Asus Fonepad. The company states that the purpose of launching this phone is to bridge the gap between the phone and the tablet, eliminating the need for the carrying to separate devices. The Asus Fonepad is practically a tablet that has phone call making capabilities. The Fonepad is a 7-inch Android tablet that allows users to also make phone calls by placing the device on their ear. Some people may find it silly to place such a huge device on their ear to make calls; for those people the tablet does allow connectivity with a Bluetooth device.

The Asus Fonepad has borrowed a bunch of features from the Nexus 7, which was also created under Google and Asus collaboration. The weight, dimension and the display are all similar to the Nexus 7; however, the company has replaced the back. The plastic-leather back of the Nexus 7 has been replaced with a slick, steel casing. The device is available in titanium gray and champagne gold colors. The phablet sports a 7-inch IPS LED backlit touch screen that allowed multitouch capability for up to 10 people. The screen has a resolution of 1280 x 800, which provides approximately 216 ppi density, a decent enough resolution. Under the hood, the phablet runs on 1.2 GHz single-core Intel Atom processor, making it pretty fast for multi-tasking, along with playing some high-res games. The device has 1 GB RAM.

There will be two versions of the tablet, one for Europe, the other for Asia. The launch regarding rest of the World has yet to be revealed. The European variant will have 16 GB internal storage capacity, with no rear camera. However, the Asian variant will 8 GB internal storage capacity and will house a 3.2 MP rear camera. Both the variants will house 1.2 MP front camera for video conferencing. The phablet will not support 4G capabilities. The phablet will be available with preloaded Android v4.1 Jelly Bean, with no announcements yet regarding if it is upgradeable to the newest version. The internal storage capacity can expanded up to 32 GB using a MicroSD. One of the most prominent features of the phablet is the massive battery that has been mounted on the device. The non-removable Li-Ion 4270 mAh battery allows the phone to support 32.5 hours of talktime on 3G and 751 hours of standby time. There is no proper release date for the phone, with the expected release to be around April or May 2013.

The information for the detailed table about the two phones has been taken from the Apple website, Asus website, trustedreviews.com, pcworld.idg.com.au and GSMArena.com.

Image Courtesy: apple.com, asus.com