Choices, choices: both the Mini and the Air are appealing

By announcing both the iPad Mini retina and the iPad Air on the same day, Apple is causing people to choose between two very stout devices. Why not both?

I walked into today’s Apple event positive that the iPad mini with a retina display, if unveiled, would be the one iPad to rule them all. I was sure that such a device would so thoroughly upstage the 9.7-inch iPad, that there would be no shortage of folks wondering why the larger sibling even continued to exist. And actually, that proved to be prescient. Apple no longer sells the device simply called “iPad”.

Enter iPad Air. The new heir apparent to the iPad throne.