The iPad mini and the Galaxy Note 2 have been the highlight of the tech industry in October. The 7.9-inch tablet, iPad mini, and the 5.5-inch phablet, the Galaxy Note 2, have both gained high popularity in the market.

A question may arise in the tech industry if the phablet can take over the tablet. Here is a roundup of what is on offer from the two devices.

Design

The Galaxy Note 2 has a slimmer design when compared to the original Galaxy Note. The phablet measures 5.95 x 3.16 x 0.37 inches and weighs 0.40 pounds. The body of the device is made with plastic and has round edges similar to the Galaxy S3. The device also features a single home button with additional navigation keys.

Being a tablet the iPad mini measure 7.87 x 5.30 x 0.28 inch and weighs 0.68 pounds. The measurements indicate that the iPad mini is taller, wider, and thinner than the Note 2. The iPad mini's body is made of anodized aluminum.

Display

The Galaxy Note 2 features a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and 265 pixels per inch (ppi). The device has 16:9 aspect ratio, which means users can stream widescreen content, perfect for watching movies and videos.

The iPad mini sports a 7.9-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology with 1024 x 768 pixels resolution and 163 (ppi). The tablet has 4:3 aspect ratio, which means that it will not support true widescreen content.

Specs
The Galaxy Note 2 is much more powerful than its predecessor while the iPad mini does not have the latest hardware components when compared to other iDevices.

The Galaxy Note 2 is made up of:

• 1.6GHz Quad-core Exynos Processor
• 16GB/32GB/64GB Storage
• 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera
• 3100mAh battery
• 2GB of RAM
• S-Pen Stylus
• NFC

The latest iPad mini is equipped with:

• Apple's dual-core A5 processor
• 16GB/32GB/64GB Storage
• 5-megapixel iSight rear-facing and 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD front-facing camera
• 16.3 watt-hour battery

The iPad mini does not have a stylus or NFC capability.

Operating System And Connectivity
The iPad mini runs on the iOS 6 and the Note 2 runs on the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Both the devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; however, an important difference is that the Galaxy Note 2 has phone capabilities while the iPad mini does not offer phone capabilities.

The Galaxy Note 2 is currently one of the most powerful phablets available. All the other members of the iPad family have been received well in the tech industry. User preference will play an important role when making a choice between the Galaxy Note 2 or the iPad mini