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Five of the Best iPad Mini 3 Alternatives

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The recently launched Apple iPad Mini 3 is undoubtedly a great device. Some people might say that the new iDevice is the best on the market but we all know that other people won’t appreciate it as much. Whether they don’t like the operating system, or the price range, or a combination of both, there is always something fishy about a new device, for a select few at least.

Some people don’t really like Apple’s iOS and there are numerous devices on the market that can compete with the iPad Mini 3 in performance and specifications. Today we would like to take a look at these gadgets. But before we do, here are some iPad Mini 3 specifications for comparison.

Five of the Best iPad Mini 3 Alternatives

iPad Mini 3 Specifications

  • Platform

  • OS: iOS 8.1, upgradable

  • Chipset: Apple A7

  • CPU: Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based)

  • GPU: PowerVR G6430 (quad-core graphics)

  • RAM: 1 GB

  • Internal memory: 16/64/128 GB

  • Card slot: No

  • Display

  • Type: LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Oleophobic coating

  • Size:9 inches, 1536 x 2048 pixels (~324 ppi)

  • Camera

  • Primary: 5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, autofocus

  • Secondary:2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, FaceTime over Wi-Fi or Cellular

  • Video: 1080p @ 30fps

  • Features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR photo

  • Battery

  • Non-removable Li-Po 6470 mAH

  • Use time: Up to 10 hours

  • Features

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band

  • Bluetooth:0, A2DP, EDR

  • GPS: Yes, GLONASS, A-GPS

  • USB: microUSB 2.0

  • Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, compass

  • Messaging: iMessage, Email, Push Mail, IM

  • Browser: HTML5

  • Colors: Space Grey / Black, Silver / White

  • Network: GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE

Released: October 2014

So, without further ado, here are our 5 favorite iPad Mini 3 Alternatives.

1. ASUS MeMO Pad 8

Five of the Best iPad Mini 3 Alternatives

People who are in search of a device that is more affordable should look to the new ASUS’ MeMO Pad 8 tablet. Even though the tablet doesn’t have a lot of horsepower under the hood, the software available on it makes up for most of this.

The ASUS MeMO Pad has a sleek design and is one of the lightest and thinnest tablets in the budget category. The tablet fits quite comfortably in one hand without too much of a stretch on your fingers and the rounded corners and edges make it pretty comfortable to hold.

The texture on the back of the tablet is also comfortable and provides a good grip support and for a tablet as cheap as this one it does feel quite solid.

In terms of performance, however, if there are many apps open in the background, the tablet tends to hiccup at times and the touchscreen lags after the tablet is woken up. But starting at $199 dollars, we really believe this tablet is well worth the money.

ASUS MeMO Pad 8 Specifications

  • OS: Android OS 4.4.2 KitKat

  • Chipset: Intel Atom Z3745

  • CPU: Quad-core 1.33 GHz

  • RAM: 1 GB

  • Internal memory: 16 GB

  • Card slot: microSD, up to 64 GB

  • Display

  • Type: IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 10 point multitouch

  • Size: 8.0 inches, 800 x 1280 pixels (~189 ppi)

  • Camera

  • Primary: 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels

  • Secondary: 2 MP

  • Video: 1080p with Geo-tagging

  • Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 15.2 Wh, use time: Up to 9 hours

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, bluetooth

  • GPS: Yes, GLONASS

  • USB: microUSB 2.0

  • Sensors: Accelerometer

  • Messaging: Email, Push Mail, IM

  • Colors: Black, White, Purple, Gold

  • Network: No cellular connectivity

2. LG G Pad 8.3

Five of the Best iPad Mini 3 Alternatives

This tablet from LG is really amazing. Even though the tablet has been available for quite some time, it still is one of the best of its size. The display on this device is amazing, at 8.3 inches with a resolution of 1920 x 1200.

The LG G Pad 8.3 is very well built and looks and feels amazing and is the company’s second attempt at entering the Androit tablet market and in our opinion it is the best.

LG G Pad 8.3 Specifications

  • OS: Android OS 4.2.2 Jelly Bean upgradable to Kit Kat, there is also a planned update to Lollipop

  • Chipset: Qualcomm APQ8064 Pro Snapdragon 600

  • CPU: Quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300

  • GPU: Adreno 320

  • RAM: 2 GB

  • Internal memory: 16 GB

  • Card slot: microSD, up to 64 GB

  • Display

  • Type: IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

  • Size:3 inches, 1200 x 1920 pixels (~273 ppi)

  • Camera

  • Primary: 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus

  • Secondary:3 MP, 720p

  • Video: 1080p @ 30fps

  • Features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, panorama, face detection, HDR

  • Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 4600 mAh, Use time: Up to 7 hours

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, DLNA, Bluetooth

  • GPS: Yes, GLONASS

  • USB: microUSB 2.0

  • Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, compass

  • Messaging: Email, Push Mail, IM, MMS

  • Colors: Black, White

  • Network: No cellular connectivity

3. Nexus 9

Five of the Best iPad Mini 3 Alternatives

We just had to include Google’s own tablet in our list. The Nexus 9 tablet is made by HTC and is one of the greatest alternatives to an iPad 3 Mini you could get. This tablet has around the same price as the iPad 3 Mini at $399. The device has a 9 inch display with an amazing resolution of 2048 x 1536.

It is also the first tablet to run the new Android 5.0 Lollipop and performs really well even when there are a lot of apps open in the background. Switching between the apps is fluent and its construction has a great comfortable and deluxe feel to it. However, not all apps work well in Lollipop as of now and there is also no SD card slot on the tablet, but then again, there is no SD card on the iPad either.

Nexus 9 Specifications

  • OS: Android OS 5.0 Lollipop

  • Chipset: Nvidia Tegra K1

  • CPU: Dual-core 2.3 GHz Denver

  • GPU: Kepler DX1, 2GB RAM

  • Internal memory: 16 GB (Wi-Fi version)/ 32 GB (LTE version)

  • Card slot: no

  • Display

  • Type: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Gorilla Glass 3

  • Size: 8.9 inches, 1536 x 2048 pixels (~281 ppi)

  • Camera

  • Primary: 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

  • Secondary: 1.6 MP, 720p

  • Video: 1080p @ 30fps, stereo sound

  • Features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection

  • Battery

  • Non-removable Li-Po 6700 mAh, Use time: Up to 10 hours

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, DLNA

  • Bluetooth: v4.1, NFC and GPS

  • USB: microUSB 2.0

  • Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, compass

  • Messaging: Email, Push Mail, IM, MMS, SMS

  • Colors: Lunar White, Indigo Black, Sand

  • Network: GSM / HSPA / LTE

4. Acer Iconia Tab 8

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If you are searching for a tablet with amazing media capabilities, look no further. The Acer Iconia Tab 8 has a screen of 8 inches and a resolution of 1920 x 1200.

Even though that’s not really the Retina Display, pixel counts aren’t the only thing that makes a display great. The colors are very vibrant and look extremely real. So real, in fact, that if you don’t know that the device is on you might mistake the display for a sticker.

The device is also pretty powerful with the quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM and the Android 4.4 KitKat OS. All in all, it is a pretty amazing tablet for just $199.

Acer Iconia Tab 8 Specifications

  • OS: Android OS 4.4.2 KitKat

  • Chipset: Intel Atom Z3745

  • CPU: Quad-core 1.86 GHz, RAM: 2 GB

  • Internal memory: 16 GB, 32 GB

  • Card slot: microSD, up to 32 GB

  • Display

  • Type: IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

  • Size: 8 inches, 1200 x 1920 pixels (~283 ppi)

  • Camera

  • Primary: 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels

  • Secondary: 2 MP

  • Video: Yes

  • Battery

  • Li-Ion 4600 mAh, Use time: Up to 8 hours

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band

  • Bluetooth:0

  • GPS: Yes, GLONASS

  • USB: microUSB 2.0

  • Sensors: Accelerometer

  • Messaging: Email, Push Mail, IM

  • Colors: Silver

  • Network: No cellular connectivity

5. Dell Venue 8 7000

Five of the Best iPad Mini 3 Alternatives

This device simply has all you could ask for. It’s very thin at just 6 mm, has an 8.4 inches high definition display of 2560 x 1600 and is a very powerful device. As a matter of fact, this is our favorite device yet.

The Dell Venue feels extremely solid and is made out of metal, so no worries there.

It has a very powerful Intel Atom processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage and two cameras with 8MP resolution and 2MP.

This device will be coming soon as it’s planned to launch this December.

Dell Venue 8 7000 Specifications

  • OS: Android OS 4.4.2 KitKat

  • Chipset: Intel Atom Z3500

  • CPU: Quad-core

  • GPU: PowerVR G6430

  • RAM: 2 GB

  • Internal memory: 16 GB

  • Card slot: microSD

  • Display

  • Type: OLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

  • Size: 8.4 inches, 1600 x 2560 pixels (~359 ppi)

  • Camera

  • Primary: 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus

  • Secondary: 2 MP

  • Video: Yes

  • Features: Intel RealSense 3D (2 x 720p cameras)

  • WLAN: Yes

  • Bluetooth: Yes

  • GPS: Yes, A-GPS

  • USB: microUSB 2.0

  • Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass

  • Messaging: Email, Push Mail, IM, MMS, SMS

  • Colors: Black

  • Network: GSM / HSPA

BONUS: iPad Mini 2

Five of the Best iPad Mini 3 Alternatives

If you’re keen on the Apple operating system and really wish to buy an iDevice but at a lower price, consider purchasing a last generation iPad Mini.

The iPad Mini 2 has an amazing high resolution display that can even compete with the iPad Air display. It has a fast A7 processor and improved Wi-Fi and LTE over the last generations. Also, the iPad’s battery life is one of the best one on the market, even if it is last-gen.

We chose to include the iPad Mini 2 in our list as there are a lot of people who choose Apple devices over other ones as they are still great and powerful tablets. However, if you look at the specifications there isn’t much difference between the two devices, other than the price.

The price of the iPad Mini 2 is still a little bit steep even though it is an old tablet and choosing the LTE model can cost even more.

iPad Mini 2 Specifications

  • OS: iOS 7, upgradable to 7.1.2 and 8+

  • Chipset: Apple A7

  • CPU: Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based)

  • GPU: PowerVR G6430 (quad-core graphics)

  • RAM: 1 GB

  • Internal memory: 16/32/64/128 GB

  • Display

  • Type: LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Oleophobic coating

  • Size: 7.9 inches, 1536 x 2048 pixels (~324 ppi)

  • Camera

  • Primary: 5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, autofocus

  • Secondary: 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, FaceTime over Wi-Fi or Cellular

  • Video: 1080p @ 30fps

  • Features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR photo

  • Battery

  • Non-removable Li-Po 6470 mAH

  • Use time: Up to 10 hours

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band

  • Bluetooth: 4.0, A2DP, EDR

  • GPS: Yes, GLONASS, A-GPS

  • USB: microUSB 2.0

  • Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, compass

  • Messaging: iMessage, Email, Push Mail, IM

  • Colors: Space Grey / Black, Silver / White

  • Network: GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE

There you have it. We presented our list of our favorite iPad 3 Mini alternatives. Which device you will choose in the end is entirely your decision.

Image Sources: www.techradar.com, www.forbes.com, www.conrad.com, www.mobilegeeks.com.

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