The iPad mini with Retina display has arrived. As someone who dumped the full-sized iPad for the iPad mini a year ago , I've been excited to get my hands on this new model. Can its small size beat out the all-new, all-lightweight iPad Air for a place in my heart and my backpack?

In our review of Apple's original iPad mini last year, we remarked that its exceptional iOS app catalogue, outstanding build quality and super light...

Excellent battery life; Retina screen a big upgrade; Fast; snappy performance

More expensive than predecessor; Screen can't match iPad Air

Like a sized-down iPad Air, the Retina iPad Mini gives Apple an equally strong contender in compact tablets, marrying a terrific display with close-to-perfect aesthetics. Though pricey for the size, it's one of the best small tablets you can buy.

Compact; lightweight design; Brilliant; sharp display with high pixel density; Strong battery life

Display; like on previous-gen iPads; is glare-prone; Thin-sounding audio; Less-than-ideal speaker positioning

Each and every year, Apple refreshes their tablet line-up with new hardware and new features. The full sized iPad got faster, lighter, slimmer and even received a new name ( iPad Air ), while the second-generation mini is more impressive than ever, thanks to a major update.

Very portable, with a well built, well designed body; Retina display is very crisp, powered by fast, significantly upgraded hardware; iOS has by far the best selection of tablet apps going around

Pricey, especially for storage upgrades and the cellular model; Display color gamut is lacking

While Apple got almost everything right with the Retina iPad mini, there is a catch: The cost for every model has increased by $70 from last year's prices. The starting price for the iPad mini with Retina display is now $400.

Apple's Retina display standard once again lives up to the hype; The 64-bit A7 chip's performance impresses; just as it did on the iPad Air & iPhone 5s; Same great lightweight; ultraportable design as last year

Though lower-priced competition continues to improve; Apple has increased the iPad mini price by $70; Limited supply could make the Retina iPad mini hard to get for the holidays; Some may want to wait for Touch ID in a future model

It has the same RAM issue as the iPad Air, but it's still a stand-out tablet.

The iPad mini matches the full-sized iPad Air in display quality, design and performance. Just be prepared to pay more than you would have for last year's model.

Stunning display; Solid performance; Long battery life

No Touch ID; Relatively expensive

I absolutely love this tablet, superb clear screen and not too heavy. Absolutely brilliant for reading PDF's Ebooks or Kindle books. Wifi is very good. The only downside is the crappy Itunes software which is simply pants.

While its display isn't quite as vibrant as the iPad Air's, the second-generation iPad mini is still a fantastic device packing blistering processing speed and a gorgeous screen in one petite, flawlessly designed package.

Finally; a small form-factor iPad with Retina display! Unmatched build quality.

Display is slightly less bright than the iPad Air; Colors look washed out when compared to iPad Air and iPhone 5s/5c

The second iPad mini comes with a much better Retina display with resolution of up to 2048x1356 pixels. In addition, it also comes with a faster Apple A7 chip with 64-bit architecture, 5-megapixel rear camera, front-facing camera for video calls, and 16 - 128 GB of internal storage.

Verizon 4G LTE network is incredibly fast; 32GB microSD card included; Integrated kickstand works in portrait and landscape

Battery life is among the worst weve ever seen; No 4G LTE power toggle option; Kickstand in landscape orientation blocks microUSB port