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raptorstv

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 24, 2011
377
0
I already have an iPhone 5, I am really tempted to pick an iPad mini... I dont have an iPad. Just curious... What kind of things do you guys find it useful to use the iPad mini?
 

HazyCloud

macrumors 68030
Jun 30, 2010
2,779
37
I use it mine for reading magazines, Netflix, browsing, email, AirPlay to an Apple TV and games. While I can do these things with my iPhone 5, it's a much better experience on an iPad.
 

pommie82

macrumors 6502
Jan 4, 2011
299
30
uk
Best thing to do is go to apple store and try one out before clicking that button. I personally really enjoy the iPad experience of both types mini & 9'7 iPad.i use my iPad 9'7 for streaming media & the mini I use for reading,surfing the web, games,emails,social networks. I can never put my mini down now always using it for something it's my preferred device for general tasks due to it portability

I hope that you get something to suite you
 

glen e

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,619
2
Ft Lauderdale
I will never understand what everybody is in an uproar for, re the mini - Here's how I used it yesterday:

1. got up and read my mail
2. checked this site and few others
3. went to neighborhood bar to watch football with friends - used it all afternoon to check games, etc - everyone played with it and never remarked anything about the screen - (non-apple geek people don't care)
4. came home and did an invoice with an app - Invoice robot
5. rewrote a keynote presentation
6. went to you tube and watched a new video
7. used netflix later that night and watched "Margin Call"

Is it retina? - no
will I buy a retina Mini? - probably
is it "unusable", "a debacle", "a fail" et. al....no - for me, it works fine for all above...

sheesh...
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Use it instead of an iPhone. Save about $1200/yr and still have LTE on demand when free wifi is not available and I really need to make/take a call. For me, the Mini with Earbuds + mic will become the bigger "iPhone"- perfect for my modest & occasional needs for the voice functionality of a cell-phone. I'll easily save enough to fully recoup the cost of the iPad Mini 1 & 2 vs. paying the cell service toll of even 1 year with an iPhone.

Use it instead of a GPS mapping device. Its smaller size (vs. the "Maxi") is more appealing (to me) for this kind of use.

Use it for all of the iOS apps instead of the (too small IMO) phone/touch screen and (too large & heavy) "maxi" screen. For some this will be the Goldilocks screen size.

If someone already has an iPhone or iPad, I think rationalizing/justifying it as an addition to those devices will be much harder. If they have neither, this can be a terrific hybrid.
 

NutsNGum

macrumors 68030
Jul 30, 2010
2,856
367
Glasgow, Scotland
If someone already has an iPhone or iPad, I think rationalizing/justifying it as an addition to those devices will be much harder. If they have neither, this can be a terrific hybrid.

Not everybody needs to justify every purchase. Some people just want to own one, and then buy it. I have both an iPhone and iPad and I'll probably get a mini.
 

d123

macrumors 68020
Oct 19, 2009
2,233
706
Earth
One thing not mentioned yet that it does well is ebooks, I read most days and nights on it. The £15 Google Play credit I got with my Nexus bought a few books and the Play reader is very good on the iPad Mini, white on black and the brightness turned right down makes it excellent for reading in bed when you don't want to disturb anybody. I was also given a link to all the special free/cheap deals on Amazon for books, so gathering quite a collection. While I read magazines on my 9.7 iPad, I never got into the ebook reading on the iPad, it was just to bulky and heavy to hold for the length of time I normally read for.

Other than that, email, browsing, videos, magazines, TV (both TVCatchUp and SkyGo are excellent on the Mini), Internet radio, twitter, and lots of apps.
 

dinosaur1

macrumors regular
Dec 23, 2007
167
0
Use it instead of an iPhone. Save about $1200/yr and still have LTE on demand when free wifi is not available and I really need to make/take a call. For me, the Mini with Earbuds + mic will become the bigger "iPhone"- perfect for my modest & occasional needs for the voice functionality of a cell-phone. I'll easily save enough to fully recoup the cost of the iPad Mini 1 & 2 vs. paying the cell service toll of even 1 year with an iPhone.

Use it instead of a GPS mapping device. Its smaller size (vs. the "Maxi") is more appealing (to me) for this kind of use.

Use it for all of the iOS apps instead of the (too small IMO) phone/touch screen and (too large & heavy) "maxi" screen. For some this will be the Goldilocks screen size.

If someone already has an iPhone or iPad, I think rationalizing/justifying it as an addition to those devices will be much harder. If they have neither, this can be a terrific hybrid.
I'll be doing the same thing. What worries me is how much data Google Voice uses. I will have a basic phone on the side just to be safe. Any way to figure out how much data Google Voice uses? I'm totally getting rid of my iPhone 5. Best thing is no contract!
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
I'll be doing the same thing. What worries me is how much data Google Voice uses. I will have a basic phone on the side just to be safe. Any way to figure out how much data Google Voice uses? I'm totally getting rid of my iPhone 5. Best thing is no contract!

Best I know, VOIP is not much of a data hog. I've heard some claim it's not quite as good as cellular compression but I've heard others say it's just as good. Generally, I've come to the conclusion that VOIP can often deliver a better quality of voice (sound) than cellular (probably at the expense of using a bit more data bandwidth). But I don't share your concern. At least in my own case, I doubt I could ever use enough VOIP data to burn up the GB options for 4G data associated with the iPad Mini (in fact, I'll hardly ever use the 4G options at all... just free wifi for VOIP). I'm getting the 4G for the rare "emergency" where I might need to connect but can't find free wifi and for the GPS hardware for more accurate maps. If I have to buy some 4G data more than about 2-3 times each year, I'll be surprised.
 

dinosaur1

macrumors regular
Dec 23, 2007
167
0
Best I know, VOIP is not much of a data hog. I've heard some claim it's not quite as good as cellular compression but I've heard others say it's just as good. Generally, I've come to the conclusion that VOIP can often deliver a better quality of voice (sound) than cellular (probably at the expense of using a bit more data bandwidth). But I don't share your concern. At least in my own case, I doubt I could ever use enough VOIP data to burn up the GB options for 4G data associated with the iPad Mini (in fact, I'll hardly ever use the 4G options at all... just free wifi for VOIP). I'm getting the 4G for the rare "emergency" where I might need to connect but can't find free wifi and for the GPS hardware for more accurate maps. If I have to buy some 4G data more than about 2-3 times each year, I'll be surprised.

I use the voice part of my iPhone 30% and the data 70%. So I won't be able to use the voice on wifi a lot.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
I use the voice part of my iPhone 30% and the data 70%. So I won't be able to use the voice on wifi a lot.

Even then, if most of your voice is OUTbound instead of INbound (though the latter does work pretty well with some VOIP apps), an ongoing 4G data plan would likely come in much cheaper than cell phone plans.

In my case, I rarely need inbound (most of the time they just go to voice mail). I sometimes need outbound (but most of the time those can wait until I get back to a hotel or am on some site with free wifi, etc). Every once in a while I need to make an outbound call in a situation where I can't readily access free wifi. Up to now, I've turned on a mifi device for these scenarios (only about once or twice each year). However, with the Mini, I plan to leave the mifi behind and let its built-in 4G cover these "emergencies". Its data plans are better than the mifi rates so it should save me a few more dollars each year. In either scenario, I've been keeping a LOT of money in my pocket without feeling like I've made much of a "connected" sacrifice by not sending AT&T or Verizon, etc about $100/month (whether I use any cellular voice or not).
 

dinosaur1

macrumors regular
Dec 23, 2007
167
0
Best I know, VOIP is not much of a data hog. I've heard some claim it's not quite as good as cellular compression but I've heard others say it's just as good. Generally, I've come to the conclusion that VOIP can often deliver a better quality of voice (sound) than cellular (probably at the expense of using a bit more data bandwidth). But I don't share your concern. At least in my own case, I doubt I could ever use enough VOIP data to burn up the GB options for 4G data associated with the iPad Mini (in fact, I'll hardly ever use the 4G options at all... just free wifi for VOIP). I'm getting the 4G for the rare "emergency" where I might need to connect but can't find free wifi and for the GPS hardware for more accurate maps. If I have to buy some 4G data more than about 2-3 times each year, I'll be surprised.
See I plan on getting a cellular IPad Mini though. Do you have a wifi ipad or plan on getting a 4G version? I'll need it for maps, email, apps and for google voice texting along with some voice calls.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
cellular Mini for me too. It will double as my cell phone (via 4G/3G) for those rare times when I can't find free wifi and need to connect. Besides I want the GPS hardware for it to also double as a mobile maps device.

In short: no iphone (or other cell phone)... just an iPad Mini 4G + Voip app + earbuds with mic for calls. I already know this will work good enough for my purposes as I've got by this long using Skype + my laptop + ear buds with microphone for my "cell phone" needs. This will be just a bit more portable and kick that mifi out of my bag and the dedicated garmin out of the car.
 

ditzy

macrumors 68000
Sep 28, 2007
1,719
180
My iMac is broken and I'm waiting for my new MBP to be delivered, so at the moment I am using my iPad as a computer. While I really am looking forward to receiving my MacBook, and I miss not having a mac. It's actually surprising how well the iPad works as a stop gap. I couldn't do this permanently. There are just some things that a mac or PC are better at achieving, and frustrate you when you try to achieve them on the iPad. But they are still very capable little computers.
 

dinosaur1

macrumors regular
Dec 23, 2007
167
0
cellular Mini for me too. It will double as my cell phone (via 4G/3G) for those rare times when I can't find free wifi and need to connect. Besides I want the GPS hardware for it to also double as a mobile maps device.

In short: no iphone (or other cell phone)... just an iPad Mini 4G + Voip app + earbuds with mic for calls. I already know this will work good enough for my purposes as I've got by this long using Skype + my laptop + ear buds with microphone for my "cell phone" needs. This will be just a bit more portable and kick that mifi out of my bag and the dedicated garmin out of the car.

I think I will port my cell # into google voice. I also use it for texting.....Can I use Talkatone for texting. Next is who uses more data?
 
Last edited:

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,726
1,132
Only had the Mini for one full day so far.

I browsed the web, checked emails, watched some of Thor via Netflix, watched some of Hunger Games via Flixster app with the ultraviolet copy I got because I bought the Blu Ray and it was included, visited some forums I participate in, and played some Temple Run.

I had off from work today. Tomorrow is going to be a rough day at work knowing I cannot wait to get my hands on the MINI!!!!!!!
 

Badrottie

Suspended
May 8, 2011
4,317
335
Los Angeles
I don't have an iPad mini…It is small screen for watching netflix. I have an iPad 2 and use for netflix, browsing, reading news, and reading tweets. :apple:
 

Noisemaker

Guest
Mar 13, 2009
498
0
I've been using mine for everything. The full size iPad is great, and a total powerhouse. But the mini is my go-to device. Even more than my iMac or iPhone lately.
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
I think I will port my cell # into google voice. I also use it for texting.....Can I use Talkatone for texting. Next is who uses more data?

I believe Talkatone and Line2 both deliver a virtual iPhone (voice in and out, texting, etc). I keep seeing those 2 getting very high marks in reviews. I don't use either of them so I would look each up to be sure they cover what you need.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,415
43,304
Reading, jotting down notes, email, txting, and surfing. Plus the occasional game and various other iPad apps
 
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