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All iPads Having thoughts of exchanging mini for iPad 4

rockyroad55

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
I'm having thoughts of getting the iPad 4 and exchanging the mini for it. My main needs are note taking by both text and writing on screen (no BT keyboard), reading textbooks, and the occasional game. The mini is great for what it is now but I'm concerned over the textbooks and note taking. Recently I've started doing those a lot more since its a lot easier doing this on an iPad than a notebook.

Help me out a bit please.
 
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mattopotamus

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
If you are going to be reading text books, I would definitley go with the 4. You will not have to pinch and zoom and the clarity will be very important.
 
C

corvus32

macrumors 6502a
Sep 4, 2009
761
0
USA
Thumb typing on the iPad Mini in portrait mode is MUCH easier than with the full sized iPad.

I can fly. It's like using an iPhone in landscape.
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
rockyroad55 said:
I'm having thoughts of getting the iPad 4 and exchanging the mini for it. My main needs are note taking by both text and writing on screen (no BT keyboard), reading textbooks, and the occasional game. The mini is great for what it is now but I'm concerned over the textbooks and note taking. Recently I've started doing those a lot more since its a lot easier doing this on an iPad than a notebook.

Help me out a bit please.
Click to expand...

If it's e-books released through the ebook store, either the mini or the 3/4 should be fine. I think the retina screen makes a big difference for scanned pdf's. My 3 handles my materials perfectly, but if you're using big honkin' multi -hundred page scans, the 4 may handle them better.

Logitech ultrathin keyboard for typing. Cannot say enough about it's size, usability and battery life.
 
noteple

noteple

macrumors 68000
Aug 30, 2011
1,505
523
ZBoater said:
I got myself a Kindle Paperwhite for reading books. For that purpose, it wipes the floor with all iPads.
Click to expand...

More and more of the texts I use at work contain pictures, color illustrations, charts etc.
How does the kindle handle these graphics?
 
rockyroad55

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
ZBoater said:
I got myself a Kindle Paperwhite for reading books. For that purpose, it wipes the floor with all iPads.
Click to expand...

There's only so much reading you can do on a black white screen when dealing with chemistry and medical textbooks. Colors help.
 
ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,497
1,322
Sunny Florida
noteple said:
More and more of the texts I use at work contain pictures, color illustrations, charts etc.
How does the kindle handle these graphics?
Click to expand...

It shows them fine, but in black and white.

----------
rockyroad55 said:
There's only so much reading you can do on a black white screen when dealing with chemistry and medical textbooks. Colors help.
Click to expand...

I would agree with this. And comics too. I find the brightness of the LCD screens (retina or not) very tiring on my eyes after a while of reading at night.
 
noteple

noteple

macrumors 68000
Aug 30, 2011
1,505
523
ZBoater said:
It shows them fine, but in black and white.

----------



I would agree with this. And comics too. I find the brightness of the LCD screens (retina or not) very tiring on my eyes after a while of reading at night.
Click to expand...

Tiring, my issue also Mac or tablet. If kindle could covert into multiple shades of gray that could be a solution.
 
M

mfr1340

macrumors regular
Mar 4, 2011
190
1
n. cal
ipad4 or mini

rockyroad55 said:
I'm having thoughts of getting the iPad 4 and exchanging the mini for it. My main needs are note taking by both text and writing on screen (no BT keyboard), reading textbooks, and the occasional game. The mini is great for what it is now but I'm concerned over the textbooks and note taking. Recently I've started doing those a lot more since its a lot easier doing this on an iPad than a notebook.

Help me out a bit please.
Click to expand...
I did just that, I sold my ipad3 and pre-ordered the mini. After useing it for a week I decided to return it and get the ipad4. I will get the next mini because it was great but it needs a little better screen (for my likes), and when I read that they are already working on a ret. screen for it I decided to return it. A (stand alone) GPS would be a game changer also.
 
S

syd430

Guest
Returning your ipad 3/4 to get an ipad mini is the equivilant of returning your spec'd out 2011 VW Golf to get a 2012 base model Polo and then being super excited about it.

The mini was designed to be a cheaper way to gain ownership of an ipad, watching all the people on these boards flipping out in excitement to sell their ipad 3's to "upgrade" to an ipad mini (VW polo) when they arleady own an iphone 5 (1/3 the weight of the Mini) is hilarious.

So yes, swapping it for an ipad 4 is a good choice.
 
ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,497
1,322
Sunny Florida
syd430 said:
Returning your ipad 3/4 to get an ipad mini is the equivilant of returning your spec'd out 2011 VW Golf to get a 2012 base model Polo and then being super excited about it.

The mini was designed to be a cheaper way to gain ownership of an ipad, watching all the people on these boards flipping out in excitement to sell their ipad 3's to "upgrade" to an ipad mini (VW polo) when they arleady own an iphone 5 (1/3 the weight of the Mini) is hilarious.

So yes, swapping it for an ipad 4 is a good choice.
Click to expand...

Ummmmmm no.

The screen might be better, but being half as heavy and smaller is not like getting the same car with less options. Your analogy is flawed.

It is like trading a Crown Vic for a Smart fortwo.
 
S

syd430

Guest
ZBoater said:
Ummmmmm no.

The screen might be better, but being half as heavy and smaller is not like getting the same car with less options. Your analogy is flawed.

It is like trading a Crown Vic for a Smart fortwo.
Click to expand...

The critical part of my post was that the said person already owns an iphone 5. In a world where super capable smartphones that weigh 100 grams didn't exist, then yes the Mini would make a lot more sense.

It was designed to be a budget tablet, not an ipad 3 replacement for people that already own bleeding edge smart phones.

Edit: also I didn't say the same car with less options. The VW polo is designed to be a smaller, cheaper Golf. They are not built on the same platform.
 
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N

nStyle

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2009
1,488
987
I agree with everyone in favor of switching so far.

I bought the Mini with minimal expectations - I received an amazing product.

However, I already owned a 3 - and decided that I'd rather upgrade to the 4 and have the best tech out and rely on ONE tablet rather than worry about juggling two (4 and Mini).

Don't get me wrong, the Mini is fine, like most have said, as a budget, smaller experience. I just decided it wasn't worth it right now as is.
 
clyde2801

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Mar 6, 2008
4,365
54
In the land of no hills and red dirt.
nStyle said:
I agree with everyone in favor of switching so far.

I bought the Mini with minimal expectations - I received an amazing product.

However, I already owned a 3 - and decided that I'd rather upgrade to the 4 and have the best tech out and rely on ONE tablet rather than worry about juggling two (4 and Mini).

Don't get me wrong, the Mini is fine, like most have said, as a budget, smaller experience. I just decided it wasn't worth it right now as is.
Click to expand...

Would NOT suggest juggling two or more tablets unless you have applecare plus on both.
 
C

canyonblue737

macrumors 68020
Jan 10, 2005
2,144
2,608
syd430 said:
Returning your ipad 3/4 to get an ipad mini is the equivilant of returning your spec'd out 2011 VW Golf to get a 2012 base model Polo and then being super excited about it.

The mini was designed to be a cheaper way to gain ownership of an ipad, watching all the people on these boards flipping out in excitement to sell their ipad 3's to "upgrade" to an ipad mini (VW polo) when they arleady own an iphone 5 (1/3 the weight of the Mini) is hilarious.

So yes, swapping it for an ipad 4 is a good choice.
Click to expand...

to each his own. i have owned the iPhone 3G, 4 and now the 5. i have owned the iPad 1, 2 and 3.

the best thing i have ever done is sell my iPad 3 and get the iPad mini, the device is amazing and almost as transformative to my life as the iPhone itself. i couldn't be happier.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,447
43,364
The bottom line is that you need to choose whether you want a smaller tablet that's more portable or a larger tablet with a superior screen (and a better cpu).

For some of us, the smaller size trumps the screen, but for others its the other way around.
 
B

brig2221

macrumors 6502
Jan 18, 2010
396
184
rockyroad55 said:
I'm having thoughts of getting the iPad 4 and exchanging the mini for it. My main needs are note taking by both text and writing on screen (no BT keyboard), reading textbooks, and the occasional game. The mini is great for what it is now but I'm concerned over the textbooks and note taking. Recently I've started doing those a lot more since its a lot easier doing this on an iPad than a notebook.

Help me out a bit please.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I did last week, and I'm really glad I did it. I stayed up late and pre-ordered a White Mini (32gb), and received it on launch date.

As far as ergonomics go (weight, size, etc.), Apple nailed it and hit a home run in my opinion. I was coming from an iPad 2, so the thought of not having a Retina display didn't bother me as I hadn't yet been spoiled.

After spending about a week with the mini, I came to the conclusion that although the mini was cheaper ($170) than the full size iPad, the gap in price wasn't significant enough for me to not jump up to the iPad 4 to get the beautiful Retina display, and to also get the power of the A6X processor.

I can tell you that although the iPad 4 does indeed feel snappy, it certainly isn't anything significant over the mini, as it was no slouch. However, I tend to keep my devices for awhile, so I feel much better about spending the extra money and getting Apple's top processor, which in theory should run longer and better than the A5, and certainly be supported longer.

I'm not bashing the mini by any means, it really is a fantastic device that I'm sure millions of people will purchase and love this Christmas season. For me though, the better "value" by far was to spend the extra $170 to get the Retina display and faster (future proof) processor.

If and when Apple decided to put out an iPad mini that is on par with it's full size counterpart, I will probably look at moving back to the mini.
 
rockyroad55

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
brig2221 said:
This is exactly what I did last week, and I'm really glad I did it. I stayed up late and pre-ordered a White Mini (32gb), and received it on launch date.

As far as ergonomics go (weight, size, etc.), Apple nailed it and hit a home run in my opinion. I was coming from an iPad 2, so the thought of not having a Retina display didn't bother me as I hadn't yet been spoiled.

After spending about a week with the mini, I came to the conclusion that although the mini was cheaper ($170) than the full size iPad, the gap in price wasn't significant enough for me to not jump up to the iPad 4 to get the beautiful Retina display, and to also get the power of the A6X processor.

I can tell you that although the iPad 4 does indeed feel snappy, it certainly isn't anything significant over the mini, as it was no slouch. However, I tend to keep my devices for awhile, so I feel much better about spending the extra money and getting Apple's top processor, which in theory should run longer and better than the A5, and certainly be supported longer.

I'm not bashing the mini by any means, it really is a fantastic device that I'm sure millions of people will purchase and love this Christmas season. For me though, the better "value" by far was to spend the extra $170 to get the Retina display and faster (future proof) processor.

If and when Apple decided to put out an iPad mini that is on par with it's full size counterpart, I will probably look at moving back to the mini.
Click to expand...

This is true. I'm just doing lots of text reading now and note taking. The bigger screen may be more fun to write and read on.
 
S

shoppy

macrumors 65816
Mar 4, 2007
1,072
64
Hants
I have got an ipad original, ipad 3 and 2 minis and now today an ipad 4. I love the mini but my 5 and 2 year old play with these the most. I just missed the retina display to much. I's a great device but I just prefer my bigger ipad.
 
MrXiro

MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
corvus32 said:
Thumb typing on the iPad Mini in portrait mode is MUCH easier than with the full sized iPad.

I can fly. It's like using an iPhone in landscape.
Click to expand...

I'm fast on landscape on the Mini too. It's so thin that I have greater reach with my thumb.

----------
rockyroad55 said:
I'm having thoughts of getting the iPad 4 and exchanging the mini for it. My main needs are note taking by both text and writing on screen (no BT keyboard), reading textbooks, and the occasional game. The mini is great for what it is now but I'm concerned over the textbooks and note taking. Recently I've started doing those a lot more since its a lot easier doing this on an iPad than a notebook.

Help me out a bit please.
Click to expand...

If it's not for your needs and the iPad 4 is what you're looking for, definitely return it for the 4.

It's great for my needs and I'm coming from an iPad 3. It's great and I loved it but the form factor and size of the Mini fits my needs better (light, cheaper, and for video watching)
 
P

plucky duck

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2012
579
107
For what you use it for I'd personally go with the iPad 4, or if you can get your hands on a refurbished iPad 3 on Apple store that would suffice as well.

I already have the iPad 3 and don't have the urge to upgrade to the 4. The iPad mini does have my attention, but I am willing to wait til they incorporate retina technology in second or third generation before I grab one.
 
D

Deasnutz

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2011
268
62
I just don't get the appeal of buying the mini for its weight. Do you carry it around in place of an iPhone? What freedom is this opening someone to, over a 10" tablet in usability?
 
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