Speakers line the bottom edge of the iPad and iPad mini. The iPad has a single mono speaker to the right of the dock connector, while the iPad mini contains two small stereo speakers. They play anything that makes noise on your iPad, including music, video, or app sounds. You can also hook up the iPad mini to third-party speakers using the headphone jack, via Bluetooth, or via AirPlay, Apple's wireless audio and video feature.
Dock Connector
The iPad and iPad mini use Apple's new Lightning dock connector to connect to your computer and other accessories. The connector is reversible, so you can plug it into your device in either direction. Unfortunately, if you have older iOS device accessories that sport a 30-pin dock connector, your iPad won't work with those times unless you get an adapter.
When plugged into its included power adapter, the iPad can charge while awake or asleep. Your device will also charge when plugged into newer Macs and PCs, though charging will take longer. Older computers without high-powered USB ports will only charge the iPad mini when it's in sleep mode; when awake, it displays a "Not charging" message in the status bar at the top of the screen.
iSight Camera
The second of the iPad and iPad mini's two cameras is located along the back of the device, in the upper left corner. This 5-megapixel camera features a five-element lens, backside illumination, a hybrid IR filter, and an f/2.4 aperture; it shoots 1080p HD video and 2592-by-1936-pixel stills. You can use this camera for quick moviemaking and showing your FaceTime companion a wider view of your surroundings. (While you can certainly also take stills, we suggest using a smaller device--like your mobile phone or a portable camera--for such matters.)
SIM Card Tray (iPad and iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular models only)
Apple offers the iPad and iPad mini in two different colors, white and black, as well as in two different models: Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular. If you want to be able to connect to the Internet via cellular networks, you need to buy the latter. (You can tell them apart visually: The Wi-Fi + Cellular model has a black plastic stripe along the top back.)
The iPad and iPad mini's Wi-Fi + Cellular model can operate on multiple cellular Internet bands: various bands of the LTE cellular data standard, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA-EvDO, and HSPA. Major U.S. partners for the iPad and iPad mini include AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. When purchasing a Wi-Fi + Cellular model, you must choose which provider you want, though you don't have to sign up for a contract plan. The iPad comes contract free, allowing you to pay for service month to month.
