Hey guys. I know a few people have been wondering about replacing their iPhone with a new iPad Mini which is exactly what I did. There aren't many people who've done this so far so I thought I'd give a small account.
I had an iPhone 4S with ATT with 450 min (39.99) grandfathered "unlimited" data (30.00) & grandfathered 200 txt (5.00) = $75+10 tax so about $85 a month. With my iPad Mini, I now pay for a no contract ATT 3GB data plan (30.00) & Line2 which includes unlimited minutes & txts through VOIP (9.99) = about $41 tax included. I'm very happy with the savings and have had no problems with the Line2 service. I wasn't using my phone much for calls anymore and the 200 txts was seriously limiting my txt usage even though I had WhatsApp installed. My data usage hovered around 3GB or less a month, depending on if I worked from home or not so all this made my decision a bit easier.
Now the user experience. It's definitely different carrying the iPad Mini around in my hand at all times like a book especially since I've had some sort of phone in my pocket since 1998. I bought a nice black leather Yoobao Executive case for it so it doesn't even look like I'm carrying a Mini around unless I have my Apple earbuds attached to it while I'm talking. I may purchase a bluetooth headset for it though so then it'll be even less noticeable. As far as carrying it with me everywhere, it does have it's limitations that I can easily work around. Really the only places I don't take my Mini is to a bar/club or Six Flags but I had stopped taking my iPhone to those places anyway for fear of losing the phone. And I'm not into using your phone when out on a date or at a bar/restaurant. I'd rather engage in conversation & making eye contact with a person rather than looking down at my device. So my iPad Mini stays in the car on those occasions. I know you can come up with all kinds of situations where I would need a phone/my iPad Mini in a hurry or to check up on something but really it's not that hard to make it work. I'm 31 so I do remember what life was like before cell phones. I can do without it for an hour when necessary. BUT if I REALLY needed a phone for those times when I couldn't have my Mini with me (like on a jog), I could easily purchase a cheap Tracfone and it would still be nothing compared to what I was paying with my monthly plan.
As far as the iPad Mini's operation goes, all I can say is it works flawlessly like every other Apple product I've bought within the past year. I hate to oversimplify but it really is my iPhone but bigger, making it more efficient for ME. YMMV.
I know there's more I could cover like how great navigation is with it, or the longer battery life, etc.. but I'd like to have other people experimenting with the iPad Mini as their phone to comment (you have to have it to know how nice it works as a main mobile device) or anyone with questions
I had an iPhone 4S with ATT with 450 min (39.99) grandfathered "unlimited" data (30.00) & grandfathered 200 txt (5.00) = $75+10 tax so about $85 a month. With my iPad Mini, I now pay for a no contract ATT 3GB data plan (30.00) & Line2 which includes unlimited minutes & txts through VOIP (9.99) = about $41 tax included. I'm very happy with the savings and have had no problems with the Line2 service. I wasn't using my phone much for calls anymore and the 200 txts was seriously limiting my txt usage even though I had WhatsApp installed. My data usage hovered around 3GB or less a month, depending on if I worked from home or not so all this made my decision a bit easier.
Now the user experience. It's definitely different carrying the iPad Mini around in my hand at all times like a book especially since I've had some sort of phone in my pocket since 1998. I bought a nice black leather Yoobao Executive case for it so it doesn't even look like I'm carrying a Mini around unless I have my Apple earbuds attached to it while I'm talking. I may purchase a bluetooth headset for it though so then it'll be even less noticeable. As far as carrying it with me everywhere, it does have it's limitations that I can easily work around. Really the only places I don't take my Mini is to a bar/club or Six Flags but I had stopped taking my iPhone to those places anyway for fear of losing the phone. And I'm not into using your phone when out on a date or at a bar/restaurant. I'd rather engage in conversation & making eye contact with a person rather than looking down at my device. So my iPad Mini stays in the car on those occasions. I know you can come up with all kinds of situations where I would need a phone/my iPad Mini in a hurry or to check up on something but really it's not that hard to make it work. I'm 31 so I do remember what life was like before cell phones. I can do without it for an hour when necessary. BUT if I REALLY needed a phone for those times when I couldn't have my Mini with me (like on a jog), I could easily purchase a cheap Tracfone and it would still be nothing compared to what I was paying with my monthly plan.
As far as the iPad Mini's operation goes, all I can say is it works flawlessly like every other Apple product I've bought within the past year. I hate to oversimplify but it really is my iPhone but bigger, making it more efficient for ME. YMMV.
I know there's more I could cover like how great navigation is with it, or the longer battery life, etc.. but I'd like to have other people experimenting with the iPad Mini as their phone to comment (you have to have it to know how nice it works as a main mobile device) or anyone with questions