Smartphone versus tablet is not really a fair comparison. The pixel density for the new iPad mini sits between the iPad 2 and iPad 3 with Retina display. As fa

Smartphone versus tablet is not really a fair comparison. The pixel density for the new iPad mini sits between the iPad 2 and iPad 3 with Retina display. As far as I'm aware, no one was complaining about the iPad 2 display. In any case, I suspect the choice of resolution was driven more by compatibility concerns (i.e. it can run iPad 2 apps unscaled), and this paves the way for a 'Retina display' iPad mini at some point in the future.