Following Tuesday's press conference, Apple ushered reporters into a crowded, narrow room in San Jose's restored California Theater for some chaperoned hands-on time with the new devices.
Of course, the most important impressions come later, after proper battery and speed testing. And it's not until masses of people start field-testing a device that the most memorable (and often overblown) issues come to light. That was the case with the iPhone 5's Maps mishaps, body scratches and camera quirks.
But since the iPad Mini's specs are similar to the iPad 2, its primary selling point is its mini-ness. So physically putting your hands on the device tells you a lot.
In the hands-on demo space, people took turns testing out various grips on the smaller iPad, attempting to hold it in one hand while navigating through apps with just a thumb. The device is 5.3 inches (or 2.3 iPhones) across, so the single-handed approach won't work for some petite paws.
