Hi all,
I'm trying to decide what to do.
I have a perfectly capable 16 GB 1st Gen iPad Mini. I love it, it's great. Honestly, I don't use it too much as I live in a small apartment and my rMBP or iPhone are normally within reach. I do take it to my parents house and sometimes to work, but where I really found it's value was when I went to Hawaii for a holiday.
I'm considering selling it and getting a 4G 16GB Mini 2. Potentially a refurb.
My potential usage scenarios:
1) In a couple of weeks at work, we're moving to a new office and the plan is to go paperless. They're giving us laptops (Windows *sigh*), but it's not convenient to lug a laptop around to meetings. When I have taken the iPad Mini to work, it's been great for taking notes, but a pain for anything else without internet connectivity. Tethering to an iPhone can be clunky and unreliable, and I don't want to go over my data limit. I feel a Cellular Mini would be great for the office.
2) I'm going to Europe for 5 weeks in September. I'm going by myself, and want the safety net of having a connected device with me at all times. I would just buy a SIM/Data pack when I got there and use the Mini. Sure, I could enable international roaming on my phone, but of course it costs a fortune. Alternatively I could still buy the SIM when I'm there and put it in my iPhone 6 and again personal hotspot, but again it's just not convenient.
I'm undecided because I've only had the 1st Gen Mini for about a year, and I'm trying to curb unnecessary spending and save money (apart from the Europe trip, obviously).
Do you think my above scenarios justify the purchase? Should I look at getting another 1st Gen Mini but with cellular? Should I be looking at getting the Mini 3 with cellular?
Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.
I'm trying to decide what to do.
I have a perfectly capable 16 GB 1st Gen iPad Mini. I love it, it's great. Honestly, I don't use it too much as I live in a small apartment and my rMBP or iPhone are normally within reach. I do take it to my parents house and sometimes to work, but where I really found it's value was when I went to Hawaii for a holiday.
I'm considering selling it and getting a 4G 16GB Mini 2. Potentially a refurb.
My potential usage scenarios:
1) In a couple of weeks at work, we're moving to a new office and the plan is to go paperless. They're giving us laptops (Windows *sigh*), but it's not convenient to lug a laptop around to meetings. When I have taken the iPad Mini to work, it's been great for taking notes, but a pain for anything else without internet connectivity. Tethering to an iPhone can be clunky and unreliable, and I don't want to go over my data limit. I feel a Cellular Mini would be great for the office.
2) I'm going to Europe for 5 weeks in September. I'm going by myself, and want the safety net of having a connected device with me at all times. I would just buy a SIM/Data pack when I got there and use the Mini. Sure, I could enable international roaming on my phone, but of course it costs a fortune. Alternatively I could still buy the SIM when I'm there and put it in my iPhone 6 and again personal hotspot, but again it's just not convenient.
I'm undecided because I've only had the 1st Gen Mini for about a year, and I'm trying to curb unnecessary spending and save money (apart from the Europe trip, obviously).
Do you think my above scenarios justify the purchase? Should I look at getting another 1st Gen Mini but with cellular? Should I be looking at getting the Mini 3 with cellular?
Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.
