iPad mini iPad mini 2 or iPod touch?

elliwhi · Oct 19, 2014

Currently, I am a high school student (well equivalent in England) and I'm studying for GCSEs which I sit in the summer of 2016. Additionally, I will do A levels and sit those in Summer of '17 & '18.

I was hoping for an iPod touch 6 this year, however apple didn't release one. Now I'm debating whether I should stick around and wait to upgrade from my iPod touch 4 whose Home and Sleep buttons don't work OR skip to an iPad mini 2.

My budget currently is around £300.

I understand that there are some good apps on the App Store for education. EG, I'm taking Music so GarageBand would be quite helpful.

I already own a MBP 13" 2011, so maybe iPadM is the way to go?

Please advise! )))

PS: anyone know any good apps for these subjects? Maths, English Lit and Lang (Romeo&Juliet; Of Mice and Men), Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Music, History, Latin and French)

ditzy · Oct 19, 2014

iPad mini 2 is definitely the way to go.
For your GCSEs download iTunes U. It has a lot of GCSE stuff on there.

TheDeviceUser · Oct 19, 2014

In terms of the longevity of the device you will be buying, iPad mini 2 is absolutely the way to go. It's got 4X faster CPU and GPU compared to the iPod touch's A5. This means that before long, A5 devices won't get iOS updates and therefote many apps won't be supported, however the A7 should see another 2 iOS updates (9 and 10) before being phased out.

Go for the iPad mini!

cambookpro · Oct 19, 2014

I took almost the exact same GCSEs this past Summer, though geography and electronics instead of music and history, and Religious Studies was compulsory.

I used my iPad Air a lot for revision - it helped making notes and the CGP apps for the sciences were fairly good. There's a couple of good Latin vocab revision apps that I used too.
For Of Mice and Men, there are a few revision guides but I never found them very helpful. I didn't use them myself, but apparently SparkNotes are quite good.

In terms of iPad vs iPod, I'd definitely get the iPad mini 2 if you can afford it. Have you looked in the refurbished store? They are discounted there and you still get a year of warranty. The iPad will last you a lot longer than a new iPod, and it has the ability to run iPad-only apps which of course means there are a lot more apps available to you.
I'd completely ignore the iPad mini 3 unless you have money to burn - the only new feature is TouchID, so it's pointless unless that's vital to you.

Good luck with your exams!

elliwhi · Oct 19, 2014

ditzy said:
iPad mini 2 is definitely the way to go.
For your GCSEs download iTunes U. It has a lot of GCSE stuff on there.

Really? I never knew that! Thank you

TheDeviceUser said:
In terms of the longevity of the device you will be buying, iPad mini 2 is absolutely the way to go. It's got 4X faster CPU and GPU compared to the iPod touch's A5. This means that before long, A5 devices won't get iOS updates and therefote many apps won't be supported, however the A7 should see another 2 iOS updates (9 and 10) before being phased out.

Go for the iPad mini!

A7 looks quite good to me, compared with the A4 IOS 6.1.3 on my current iPod XDXDXD

cambookpro said:
I took almost the exact same GCSEs this past Summer, though geography and electronics instead of music and history, and Religious Studies was compulsory.

I used my iPad Air a lot for revision - it helped making notes and the CGP apps for the sciences were fairly good. There's a couple of good Latin vocab revision apps that I used too.
For Of Mice and Men, there are a few revision guides but I never found them very helpful. I didn't use them myself, but apparently SparkNotes are quite good.

In terms of iPad vs iPod, I'd definitely get the iPad mini 2 if you can afford it. Have you looked in the refurbished store? They are discounted there and you still get a year of warranty. The iPad will last you a lot longer than a new iPod, and it has the ability to run iPad-only apps which of course means there are a lot more apps available to you.
I'd completely ignore the iPad mini 3 unless you have money to burn - the only new feature is TouchID, so it's pointless unless that's vital to you.

Good luck with your exams!

I was planning to look in the refurbished store however since it's only £279 for 32GB Mini 2, I was thinking might as well go for a new one. I've never used touch ID, and I think it would break quite easily so I'm not going to spend an extra ~£50 on a pointless feature.

Our English teacher has mentioned something about Sparknotes. I haven't investigated that website yet o_o

Did you by any chance use Cambridge Latin course?

I'm doing IGCSE Triple Science so I'll have a look if they go with our specification

My iPod T4 has only lasted me 2 1/2 years so I think I will definitely go with the mini 2

Thank you~~~~

))))

elliwhi · Oct 19, 2014

cambookpro said:
x

So I just went into the refurbished store, and found either a 64/128GB Mini 2, for either £279 or ~£320. I think I will now definitely go for a 64GB Refurb because its the same price as a new 32GB. ))))

loon3y · Oct 19, 2014

the touch ID is no different from the home button.

elliwhi · Oct 19, 2014

loon3y said:
the touch ID is no different from the home button.

Idk but IMO it seems like it's easily breakable..... D:

rotation · Oct 19, 2014

Go with the mini 2. You won't be disappointed and it's lightyears ahead of the A4 in that iPod (the last gen).

Mackinjosh · Oct 19, 2014

iPad mini runs iPad apps. It wins.

loon3y · Oct 19, 2014

elliwhi said:
Idk but IMO it seems like it's easily breakable..... D:

its not, i had a 5S for 1 year, and a 6 now.

Night Spring · Oct 19, 2014

elliwhi said:
Idk but IMO it seems like it's easily breakable..... D:

Not at all. Had it for a year on my 5s and using it now on iPhone 6. It never felt like it could break, and it's very quick and easy to use. That said, it's not worth the $100 difference between the mini 2 and 3. But really, it won't break!

matraco · Oct 19, 2014

loon3y said:
its not, i had a 5S for 1 year, and a 6 now.

I also have an ipod touch 1st gen with over 7 years of being used daily and the home button works flawlessly.

Night Spring said:
Not at all. Had it for a year on my 5s and using it now on iPhone 6. It never felt like it could break, and it's very quick and easy to use. That said, it's not worth the $100 difference between the mini 2 and 3. But really, it won't break!

I think hes refering to the home button.

Night Spring · Oct 19, 2014

matraco said:
[/COLOR]I think hes refering to the home button.

Yes, sorry if I wasn't clear. I meant that the home button with TouchID Doesn't feel breakable. It's as sturdy as the regular home button without TouchID.

Traverse · Oct 19, 2014

Don't get an iPod Touch. IF Apple updates it, I think it will only have the A6 chip. You will never have as good of a package as you will the Mini.

elliwhi · Oct 20, 2014

rotation said:
Go with the mini 2. You won't be disappointed and it's lightyears ahead of the A4 in that iPod (the last gen).

Thanks

Mackinjosh said:
iPad mini runs iPad apps. It wins.

loon3y said:
its not, i had a 5S for 1 year, and a 6 now.

Night Spring said:
Not at all. Had it for a year on my 5s and using it now on iPhone 6. It never felt like it could break, and it's very quick and easy to use. That said, it's not worth the $100 difference between the mini 2 and 3. But really, it won't break!

Aha okay! It's just, my iPod home button has been broken for a year now. One day it was fine and then the next it's broken. Never got it fixed bc lazy and would probably cost a bit under Apple - also dont trust other people to do it

matraco said:
I also have an ipod touch 1st gen with over 7 years of being used daily and the home button works flawlessly.
I think hes refering to the home button.

Gah, lucky you D:

*she, thank you very much

Night Spring said:
Yes, sorry if I wasn't clear. I meant that the home button with TouchID Doesn't feel breakable. It's as sturdy as the regular home button without TouchID.

I'm not going to get the 3rd mini anyways, because it's just easier to get the 2nd one; I owe some money to parents for other things already and I think you have to preorder the 3rd one. It's the same as 2, expect with touch ID. wth apple?

Traverse said:
Don't get an iPod Touch. IF Apple updates it, I think it will only have the A6 chip. You will never have as good of a package as you will the Mini.

Yeah D; sucks to see the iPod touch line slowly not being updated D;

Night Spring · Oct 20, 2014

Never had the home button break on any of my iDevices, and I've had quite a few.

The IPod touch was the first iOS device I had, and I loved it, but I always thought it would be more useful if it was bigger. Got the first iPad when it came out and never looked back.

Agree with the wtf over mini 3. It's the wimpiest product upgrade I can recall. No, I don't see the point in getting a mini 3, but I just wanted to dispel any notion that the home button with TouchID is more fragile than the regular one -- no need to avoid a product because it has TouchID.

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