iPad Mini: What we predicted and what is real

The Apple iPad Mini has officially been released to the world.

Here are our predictions for what we thought would out come with the new iPad Mini, compared with the reality.  

Hypothesis: The iPad Mini will be the thinnest iPad yet.

Reality: True — the iPad Mini is actually smaller than the 7.69 millimeters we predicted. The iPad Mini is 7.2mm thin, a quarter thinner than the larger one, as thin as a pencil. At .68 pounds, it's 50 percent lighter than the regular iPad. The iPad Mini also has a 7.9 inch display and has 1024 by 768 resolution. It is made of aluminum. 

Hypothesis: The iPad Mini will get the new smaller charger.

Reality: Like the iPhone 5, the new iPad Mini will be getting the new double-sided adapter. This will make it easier for Mac addicts to use one single charger for different products. Just like we predicted. Hey, at least Apple is consistent. 

Beyond the charger, the guts of the iPad Mini will work as well as, or better than, the traditional iPad. It comes with a dual-core A5 chip.

Hypothesis: You will have to hold the iPad Mini differently than the iPad.

Reality: We predicted the iPad Mini would have to be held differently than the traditional iPad when in portrait mode. "You will need to hold it from the back more like you hold a phone (or one of those 7-inch tablets above). This is not hard, and in fact, it is the de facto way I tend to hold a Nexus 7 even though it has a bezel," 9to5 reported. Guess what, we were wrong. 

The iPad Mini works in both portrait and landscape. (Eating my words right now.)

Hypothesis: The iPad Mini will get a front camera for video conferencing.

Reality: The new iPad Mini will come with a FaceTime HD camera on the front and an 5MP camera on the back. 

Hypothesis: The iPad Mini will be cheaper.

Reality: The iPad Mini will start at 16GB at $329. Way more expensive than the $249 to $299 we predicted. 

The worst part of the announcement? The new iPad Mini will not come with a retina display, making the display as bad as the iPad 1 and 2. 

Bonus announcements from Apple:

Apple also introduced a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a high definition screen. According to Apple, it's .75" thick — 20 percent thinner than the original — and weighs 3.5 pounds, almost a pound lighter. It's the lightest MacBook Pro ever, available for shipment today.

The iMac display is now 45 percent thinner than the previous model. Starts at $1299. 

Apple sold their 1 millionth iPad in September 2012. 

Apple will release the 4th generation iPad. Improved memory and speed. Still a 10 hour battery life.