There is more to display quality than resolution

[fjtorres]

DisplayMate Technologies has been running a series of analytical tests on the displays of various products. The latest include the iPad 2, iPad3, and iPad Mini as well as the Nexus 7 and the FireHD7.

Full report on the mini:
http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_mini_ShootOut_1.htm
Full report on FireHD vs Nexus 7:
http://www.displaymate.com/Tablet_7inch_ShootOut_1.htm
(They also have a 10" shootout from last year: http://www.displaymate.com/Tablet_ShootOut_2.htm)

CNET has a simplified summary:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57...-mini-display/

Even briefer summary:

Some salient critiques of the iPad Mini's display by DisplayMate :

•Pixel resolution: iPad Mini has a 1,024x768 resolution with a pixel density of 163 pixels per inch (ppi). "That's now considered to be rather on the low side." The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are both rated at 216 ppi.

•Screen reflectance: On the iPad Mini, screen reflectance "is a surprisingly high" 9 percent. On the Nexus 7 the reflectance is a much lower 5.9 percent, while on the Kindle Fire HD it is 6.4 percent. "As a result, the iPad mini reflects 53 percent more ambient light than the Nexus 7 and 41 percent more than the Kindle Fire HD."

•Color gamut: The iPad Mini has an "antiquated" small 62 percent Color Gamut. The Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 both deliver a much larger 86 percent color gamut. And the iPad Mini compares even more unfavorably with iPad 3 and iPhone 5, which have full 100 percent standard Color gamuts.

But the iPad Mini's display doesn't fall flat across the board. DisplayMate gives it a "good" or "very good" rating in some key categories in the chart below.

For example, in the "Viewing Tests" category, the iPad Mini and Kindle Fire HD are rated "very good," while the Nexus is rated only "good," with notations stating that photos and videos on the Nexus 7 "have washed out color and contrast.". Essentially a reiteration of DisplayMate's previous criticism of the Nexus 7's display.

I was surprised by the color gamut issues, what with the increased focus on video on modern tablets.

Most surprising, to me at least, is that none of the 7in displays even bother with sub-pixel addressing. Which is a cheap, software-driven way to drastically improve readability of text, which is a core requirement of any tablet.

I'm not quoting from the DisplayMate site (they don't sound too quote-friendly) but the articles might be educational in separating marketting hype from actual benefits.