All iPads Anybody Go From a third gen iPad to a Mini

You will get use to the non retina screen after a few days , everything about the mini is perfect I don't mind the screen , just wish it had a little more ram

I went from ipad 4 to the mini and absolutely love the Mini. It's really the perfect size. I concur, do wish it had more ram. But otherwise its been great. The screen you'll get used to after a few days.

I had the ipad3 sold it to fund the ipad 4, but was really underwhelmed. The Mini was beckoning me. I could not resist.

I did and am so glad. The mini just feels right. It's impossible to type on the screen with big hands and so I have to thumb-type and it's hard to do on a fullsize iPad. I love the narrow borders, stereo speakers, and form factor for mobility.

I have a Mini and 3. Use the Mini on the go, but still use my 3 in the house. Besides screen, the lack of ram in the mini is a pita, always reloading apps/tabs after a couple of dips into other screens.

A Mini with retina/more ram is a day one purchase and I'll sell both current iPads then. Use laptops/desktops for productivity. Really don't know how people cope with just an iPad - I love mine, wouldnt want to be without it, but there's a billion things it either doesn't do or laptops do a lot better/more efficiently.

I went from a 3 to a Mini. Ten days later the Mini went back to Apple and I went back to my 3. Don't get me wrong I love the form factor of the Mini but I just prefer the larger screen size for the way I use my iPad. I do lesson research and teach form my iPad. I can type pretty fast on the iPad 3 on screen keyboard but I didn't like the size of the Mini's keyboard for the amount of typing that I do. I thought about getting an Bluetooth keyboard for the Mini but that changes the form factor. So I stayed with my 3.

RevTEG said:

I went from a 3 to a Mini. Ten days later the Mini went back to Apple and I went back to my 3. Don't get me wrong I love the form factor of the Mini but I just prefer the larger screen size for the way I use my iPad. I do lesson research and teach form my iPad. I can type pretty fast on the iPad 3 on screen keyboard but I didn't like the size of the Mini's keyboard for the amount of typing that I do. I thought about getting an Bluetooth keyboard for the Mini but that changes the form factor. So I stayed with my 3.

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I see more people doing this. The bigger screen and retina trump form factor. While its hardly scientific, I've never seen a Mini "in the wild". While I see iPads everywhere I travel.

Not proselytizing, but everyone has different needs. Nothing wrong with the Mini. But I type a lot, have big fingers, like to watch videos and read. And the bigger screen helps me do all that.

bowlerman625 said:

and did you look back and wish you hadn't?

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Some did and some didn't. Preferences vary from person to person so polling won't tell you anything about what you will or won't prefer. You can't beat first hand experience for answering questions like this. You have a return period. Use it and decide before it runs out.

Mini for life.

The only thing I would love even more is retina and cellular (sms+call) support. That way I wouldn't need any other device. If i needed portability I could do a swap into my iphone.

i know that 512 ram on mini is enough but apple could be a little generous and give us 1gb.

Have 3rd gen ipad and picked up a mini last week to play with.

Pros mini:
- light weight and compact

Cons mini:
-non retina display. This is a huge con TO ME since I do mainly web browsing on the ipad and the blurry text was a no go. Sorry I'm just too spoiled by the retina display.

Retuned the mini a few days ago. Retina display is more important for me than mini form factor. Now once apple comes out with a mini with retina......I'll have credit card ready.....

I did and no regrets. For me the lighter weight and smaller form factor were big selling points, and I don't even miss the retina display one bit.

I have both, but I prefer the iPad 3.

I picked up a mini but kept my 3. No doubt the 3 is a little snappier and the screen is obviously better. Still, the size of the mini is amazing and I find myself reaching for the mini more than the 3 or my iPhone.

Can't wait for the alleged retina mini.

Had an ipad 3, bought the mini. I found myself using the mini 99% of the time. Eventually I just sold my iPad3. My only regret was not getting the LTE model :[

Have both a mini and a big iPad, much prefer the big iPad. Partly because of retina, partly because the screen is larger. All that real estate is much nicer.

I went from a 64GB iPad 3 LTE to the same in a Mini .
No regrets.

I almost went to a mini but decided to just to with an iPad 3. If I'm in a situation where an iPad 4 is too bit I have my iPhone 5. Otherwise I'll use my iPad 4.

I am in the process now of doing that. Actually have been using the mini for a few days now and so far love it. Except for doing some comparisons between the two I haven't used the 3 in the last week. Yes the screen could be better and it could have more RAM but it does the job rather well with what it has and so far I am not disappointed. I find that the screen only kind of sucks when reading font. Otherwise it looks fine. Like others said you get used to it.

The size and weight are perfect for me. I can fit it in my cargo pants pocket easily. My ipad 3 is going to my wife, who has an iPad 2 and I am going to resell the iPad 2 to pay for the iPad mini. So in the end I break even for the most part. When the new mini comes out and it happens to spark my interest I might upgrade and either resell this mini or give it to my 5 yr old for her games.

I was very close to. An old co-worker had one and I loved how light and portable it was. But then I thought to myself, I have an iPhone 5 and the mini is almost the size of the Samsung note. Lol. (That's what my wife said)
But my main reason for not switching is because I use mine for business. It's easier for clients to sign contracts and view my port on this screen. (Ipad 4)
Now if I just had money to blow, I'd get a mini also, but just doesn't make sense for me at this time.

mrcam216 said:

I was very close to. An old co-worker had one and I loved how light and portable it was. But then I thought to myself, I have an iPhone 5 and the mini is almost the size of the Samsung note. Lol. (That's what my wife said)
But my main reason for not switching is because I use mine for business. It's easier for clients to sign contracts and view my port on this screen. (Ipad 4)
Now if I just had money to blow, I'd get a mini also, but just doesn't make sense for me at this time.

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To each their own. I didn't think I would switch from an iPad 3 but after kind of playing with the iPad mini for about a week now I don't think I want to go back. I will definitely miss the retina screen and maybe the additional RAM but so far I haven't run into any RAM problems. Some of the webpages reloading occasionally is fine with me not much different than using my iPad 3. When the next version of the iPad mini comes out if it comes with a retina screen I may go ahead and upgrade at that point.

Also, the version of iOS that comes on the mini is able to be jail broken so I didn't lose any of my functionality going from my iPad 3 to the Mini. Same tweaks installed. Same rear facing camera, HD front facing camera infact instead of the one in the iPad 3.

The original iPad as a product didn't really "grow up" until the iPad 2. I feel the same way about the Mini; it hasn't "grown up" yet.

I've used them before; the resolution feels low and they are somewhat slow. I have a feeling when the Mini gets updated, it will be an amazing product just like the iPad 2 was.