Nokia's deal with Microsoft may prevent the Finnish technology company from making a Nokia-branded smartphone for some time, but there is no stopping it from releasing its very first Nokia tablet.
When Nokia announced the Nokia N1 earlier this week, fans of the once dominant smartphone maker were delighted to hear that Nokia was making a comeback. Others, however, have pointed out that the innovative new product from the embattled company eerily resembles Apple's iPad mini 3, with some online publications going as far out as calling it a clone -- but surely, there has to be some difference, right?
Let's take a look at a breakdown of both tablets' specs and features for a closer inspection. Note that this comparison is based on the specs of each tablet on paper, as Nokia has yet to make the N1 available next year, and we won't have a real-world comparison of how both tablets work until then.
Screen and Design
It isn't surprising why people call the N1 an iPad mini 3 clone. At a single glance, the Nokia tablet certainly looks like it came right out of Cupertino, with the same 7.9-inch LED-backlit IPS display, the same resolution of 2048 x 1536 and the same pixel density of 326 ppi. The N1 gets a "fully laminated" display that makes it slightly thinner by 0.7 mm than the iPad mini 3, which gets Apple's anti-glare coating that reduces glare by 56 percent.
Nokia goes for a very Apple-like aluminum unibody as well, with the side buttons, speakers and the camera looking very much like Apple's. The colors come in fancy names, including Natural Aluminum and Lava Gray, while the iPad mini 3 comes in gray, silver and gold.
Camera
On the camera side, there's a clear difference. The 8MP autofocus camera on the rear of the Nokia N1 tops the iPad mini 3's 5MP iSight fixed focus back camera. The 5MP front camera on the N1 also wins over the 1.2MP camera on the iPad mini 3. Both back cameras can take high-definition videos in 1080p resolution, but the iPad mini 3 can only take 720p videos with the front camera.
Performance, Storage and Battery
The Nokia N1 is powered by a 64-bit 2.5 GHz Intel Atom Z3580 processor with a PowerVR G6430 graphics processing unit. Apple has its own 64-bit A7 processor and the accompanying M7 motion co-processor, but the iPhone maker doesn't specify how fast its chips are, although real-world reviews of the iPad mini 3 praise it for its lag-free, buttery smoothness. Storage-wise, Apple offers more options with its 16GB, 64GB and 128GB versions. Nokia, on the other hand, only has a 32GB version for the N1. There is no microSD card slot for both tablets.
When it comes to battery life, the iPad mini 3 beats the challenger with a 23.9 Wh battery. The N1, on the other hand, will likely last shorter with its 18.5 Wh battery, although we have yet to see what Android Lollipop's new battery saving features will do for the N1. The iPad mini 3 lasts around 10 hours of heavy use on a single charge.
Operating System
While the latest Nokia-branded smartphones are running on Windows, the company chose to run Android Lollipop on its new tablet while the iPad mini 3, of course, runs on iOS 8. There is no definitive answer about which of these operating systems are better, as it all depends on an individual user's preferences. Nokia opted to add its own Z Launcher, which aims to learn a user's preferences over time so it presents apps as they are needed.
What to Buy
For the cost-conscious, the much cheaper Nokia N1, which will retail for $249, is definitely the better choice over the $399 iPad mini 3. For people for whom price is not an issue, there are a few other considerations to make.
Taking pictures and videos with a tablet is normally socially frowned upon, but those who are buying tablets for the camera will do better with the N1. The iPad mini 3, however, does have more storage (for the more expensive versions) and better battery life. It's camera versus storage and battery life. Ultimately, however, one will also have to decide between Android and iOS.
