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iBurger

macrumors newbie
Dec 14, 2012
1
0
Its portability EASILY trumps the screen factor for me, and I honestly don't think the screen is particularly bad (especially once you get rid of a retina iPad that might be lying around collecting dust after you get the mini). Science papers are actually remarkably easy to read with zoom, and the best part is that many of the PDF readers recognize columns; double tapping on a column perfectly fits the width of the column to the display.

Nikhil72 makes an excelent point. The two-column layout makes it possible to read articles on the iPad Mini. However, you are spending 329 bucks anyway. I would chip in another 170 and get the best, most advanced ipad model out there. Then, I'll buy an iPad mini retina when its available.
 

bogatyr

macrumors 65816
Mar 13, 2012
1,127
1
Nikhil72 makes an excelent point. The two-column layout makes it possible to read articles on the iPad Mini. However, you are spending 329 bucks anyway. I would chip in another 170 and get the best, most advanced ipad model out there. Then, I'll buy an iPad mini retina when its available.

Retina doesn't equate to the best for all. It's purely subjective which model is the best.
 

marklock142

macrumors newbie
Mar 11, 2013
1
0
[iPad Mini] iPad mini for reading scientific papers (pdfs)

I recently buy my new ipad mini. I think it is very good to read articles when you free and rest on your bed. Yeah its quite good to read .pdf papers. I also read my office document in my ipad and read mails in it.
 

Luis2004

macrumors 6502a
Dec 30, 2012
615
1
I spend a lot of time reading multi-column, text-intensive PDF's as well, and I think it works perfectly on the mini.

Yes, you can tell it's not retina. But if Retina is a 10, the mini's display is between 8 and 9 for PDF's. It's pretty negligible. The biggest difference I see in retina vs. non-retina is while browsing the web.

PDFs (I use goodnotes), iBooks, and videos are wonderful on the mini.
 

Essenar

macrumors 6502a
Oct 24, 2008
553
186
Go full size.

iPad Mini is good enough for fiction/biography books.

Science papers and equations? Diagrams? You'll want the full size.
 

kendlegentilo12

macrumors newbie
Mar 19, 2013
3
0
[iPad Mini] iPad mini for reading scientific papers (pdfs)

I've got iPad Mini and I'm trying to read pdfs on it, mostly PDF papers. The problem with those is that they are usually A4 sized, and have ridiculous margin around text. So in result the text font is very small. Tried some readers where you can zoom in but it's very discomfort.

So does anyone read PDFs on iPad Mini? And how do you deal with similar problems?
Reading Locksmith
 

Loge

macrumors 68030
Jun 24, 2004
2,821
1,310
England
I've got iPad Mini and I'm trying to read pdfs on it, mostly PDF papers. The problem with those is that they are usually A4 sized, and have ridiculous margin around text. [/URL]

GoodReader (and maybe others) let you crop the page, which means you can eliminate the margins.
 

Han Solo 1

macrumors 6502
Mar 12, 2013
495
11
If you are going to be reading PDFs for long periods of time in one shot, go for the full-sized iPad. The mini's screen isn't even on par with the Kindle Fire HD or the Nexus 7. It's a joke, and it really rears its ugly head upon reading PDFs and web browsing.

Yes, you don't think it's a big deal for the first five or ten minutes, but the lack of clarity becomes more and more of a distraction as time goes on.
 

mortenandersen

macrumors 6502
Apr 9, 2011
412
20
Norway
Which Word program are you using?

I use the mini incessantly in med school. I type my notes in Word on 12 pt font and export as PDFs to Dropbox. I annotate my notes using iAnnotatePDF, which I highly recommend, using Bamboo stylus. I use my mini in portrait mode almost exclusively, without zooming. No headaches, no eye strain, no seizures.

As I read that you are using Word, I wonder what program you are using?
 

mortenandersen

macrumors 6502
Apr 9, 2011
412
20
Norway
Please stop... whether this is trolling or not - it is just plain silly!

"[...] we are still allowed to have different views."

We don't care whether your perhaps excellent vision makes you see pixles all the time "everywhere"...

The poster who you have made your "opponent" is acting polite and square, so your attitude is really inappropriate here, and your points of views (perhaps we shall call them "visions") are of little or no importance, IMO.

But, of course, also these points of views have perhaps their "right" to be here in the Forum, but NOT in this - for many of us, I will think - quarrelsome and bothersome way of expressing them.
 

Luis2004

macrumors 6502a
Dec 30, 2012
615
1
Ignoring the 2 children bickering for the moment, I have to adjust my rating on the mini's display that I posted a little higher up on this page.

I think the mini is still wonderful, but about 40 textbook study sessions later, I do miss the Retina, I have to admit. Some of them are scanned pages and some are pdf's that look a bit better. But yeah, I do miss my iPad 3.

:eek:

So if Retina is a 10, I would say mini is a 7. Still great for iBooks and movies (I actually don't notice any difference in movie watching), but for PDFs, it's kind of a downgrade.
 

DesertEagle

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2012
609
8
/home @ 127.0.0.1
A better question would be in the lines of this:

"Assuming that viewing distance is held constant, or corrected for according to screen size at most: at what font-size (text) and fineness of detail (graphics) can one expect to notice a significant difference between iPad 4 and the mini, such that on the iPad 4 it looks astonishing and on the iPad mini it looks horrible?"

In opinion, there is no such font-size in practical use - but I can easily notice the difference as soon as it's less than 12 points. How about the rest of you people?
 

much2furious

macrumors newbie
Mar 7, 2016
2
0
Hi guys,
I've decided to buy a tablet for scientific reading.
I'm currently using a KINDLE DX for pdf's.
Do you think it's a good idea to choose the mini 3 or Air 1?
Thank you!
 

Vanilla35

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2013
3,344
1,453
Washington D.C.
Hi guys,
I've decided to buy a tablet for scientific reading.
I'm currently using a KINDLE DX for pdf's.
Do you think it's a good idea to choose the mini 3 or Air 1?
Thank you!
Bruh. 3 year old thread.

1) Both devices have crisp enough screens (finally with good RGB and contrast/saturation too)
2) The only difference is size - go into an apple store and compare

The real kicker here is that people want the bigger screen for ease of use during reading, but the smaller iPad for portability (which is significantly different). I personally prefer the iPad Air due to the bigger screen during internet browsing, and while the mini is perfectly acceptable (and more comfortable) don't find it as "relaxing" as the larger screen of the Air.

It's like doing work on a 13" laptop, or a 15". 13" is fine, but I feel less tense on a 15" screen. Same for iPad Air vs Mini. This is for casual browsing though, if you're being scientific, I'm sure it doesn't matter as much, and both will work fine.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,613
7,791
Hi guys,
I've decided to buy a tablet for scientific reading.
I'm currently using a KINDLE DX for pdf's.
Do you think it's a good idea to choose the mini 3 or Air 1?
Thank you!

Stay away from the mini3, it has same specs as the mini2, only difference is the addition of Touch ID. If you are looking to save money, wait a few more weeks to see what Apple announces at their March event. If any new iPads are announced, then the iPad Air2 could come down in price, and that's the one I'd recommend for reading PDF.
 
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Starfia

macrumors 6502a
Apr 11, 2011
944
658
iPad mini is a Star Trek PADD when it comes to reading – it's fantastic with eBooks and Safari Reader. PDFs can be iffy if full pages are being scaled down to the seven-inch-high screen (you can always zoom, but have to zoom each page if you want to).
 

much2furious

macrumors newbie
Mar 7, 2016
2
0
Stay away from the mini3, it has same specs as the mini2, only difference is the addition of Touch ID. If you are looking to save money, wait a few more weeks to see what Apple announces at their March event. If any new iPads are announced, then the iPad Air2 could come down in price, and that's the one I'd recommend for reading PDF.
I looked at the prices for iPad 2 and they are over my budget :( . I bought a new iPad Air 32gb wifi+cellular for 280 USD (in Romania that is a very good price, in retail stores is 580$!!!!...) I'm really happy with the screen!
P.S. I went in Carrefour a few days ago and I bought also a iPad mini 3 16gb wifi at half the price, black week offer :)) (200 USD, cheaper than iPad 2 ). As a new Apple consumer I am really satisfied with them!
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,642
13,143
UK
I think either the mini or 9.7 iPad would be great for reading PDFs. Although I'm a registered nurse now my bachelors and masters was in molecular biology. Which I completed in the 2007 and I worked in research up until 2011. I would have loved to have had an iPad to read papers on back then. What a luxury that would have been.
 
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