All iPads iPad mini -> 4 -> back to mini

bcaslis said:

I've been using a mini since 11/2. Seems the same to me now as the first day. Is it as crisp as the retina display, no. Is it fine to use, for me yes. I just don't understand those that used non-retina displays for years, then the retina iPad comes out and now everything not retina is unacceptable? Just nonsense.

It comes down to if you want a lighter, smaller iPad. If yes, get the mini. If no, get something else. It's really a very simple decision.

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People just don't want to go back after becoming accustom to the better screens. Having a retina MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad you get use to the technology. It isn't that it is bad but rather we have just gotten use to the higher resolution. If we never had retina I do agree the mini would be perfect but we do have retina. The day apple releases a mini with retina display I will be purchasing one.

bcaslis said:

I've been using a mini since 11/2. Seems the same to me now as the first day. Is it as crisp as the retina display, no. Is it fine to use, for me yes. I just don't understand those that used non-retina displays for years, then the retina iPad comes out and now everything not retina is unacceptable? Just nonsense.

It comes down to if you want a lighter, smaller iPad. If yes, get the mini. If no, get something else. It's really a very simple decision.

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It is unacceptable. Technology progresses and everyone is adopting a high resolution display. Only apple can pull this off because they are apple. It's like Samsung releasing a none hd LCD television, would that be considered acceptable? It would be usable but based on current technology standards? No.

What D1G1T4L said is absolutely the point too.

maverick22 said:

I agree. I wonder if what some people are saying is true--that the longer you use the Mini, you finally realize how "inferior" the screen is to retina. Seemed perfectly fine the few minutes I used it at Best Buy though.

I currently own a Nexus 7, and I admit I'm thinking I'd like the Mini more.

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Nope, not for me. Still am just fine with the screen. I'm convinced there are defective screens but hey, everyone has preferences

I'm staying with my mini

Well I went iPad4 -> iPad Mini and back to iPad 4.

My wife still has her iPad mini and loves it.

I liked the iPad mini, but ran into a few issues for me:

1. I like to leave my iPad on my lap when I read sometimes, I couldn't read webpages and other smaller fonts from the distance on the mini.
2. I am tall and have larger fingers, it was very hard to type on the mini for me and impossible to click links.
3. I didn't find the touch screen on the mini to be as easy to use as the iPad.

All that said, still like the mini, just not for me. Tells me that Apple made a smart move offering both.

Just heard of someone today buying three minis for his kids. Apple has found a new market.

Great thread. Enjoy whichever iPad you've purchased.

Mobile devices are - and have always been - about tradeoffs rather than maximizing specs. Each device is designed to achieve a balanced solution to a specific scenario and set of priorities.

In this light it would be smarter to not fall into the trap of A vs B comparisons. I dont know why so many tech forums are full of them.

Also the tablet market is basically the new PC/laptop market. People instinctively understand that the use case for a 17" MBP is different to that for the MBA, the 15" MBP and so on. What's big deal then with having an iPad Mini and an iPad 4. They are simply different slots in a product line, segmented based not on price point targeting (that is what the 16GB Ipad 2.4 is left in there for) but rather on providing different solutions. Not less valueable and more valuable, just different type of value. Smaller doesnt have to mean less valued (ie lower price) in the eyes of the consumer. Heck, personally I've been buying ultraportable laptops for a decade plus now and I have always knowingly paid MORE for smaller computing packages with "worse" specs.

I like the Ipad Mini - its a well thought out product. It is crippled deliberatelty, one has to be honest about that (then again IOS in general is full of deliberate crippling, so no surprise there) but nonetheless its an incredibly portable package and much easier to handle than the Ipad4. The Ipad 4 has great performance, but is unwieldy enough to show clearly that we are bumping up against constraints in the form factor/weight possibilities, so new solutions are needed there.

My guess is that once the tech industry figures out how to minaturize/weight reduce these things some more, Apple will settle on having a Mini at this 7.something screen size, along with a much bigger flagship tablet, which may use the foldable screen concept tried out a couple of early tablets (Toshiba Libretto series had one of these I think) from a several years ago.

No either-ors please - this is all part and parcel of ultraportable computing: a constant push-pull, form factor development and so on. Its what is required to meet the potential of the product and the variety of use cases.

shadowjeff said:

It is unacceptable. Technology progresses and everyone is adopting a high resolution display. Only apple can pull this off because they are apple. It's like Samsung releasing a none hd LCD television, would that be considered acceptable? It would be usable but based on current technology standards? No.

What D1G1T4L said is absolutely the point too.

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I disagree. I've had the iPad 3, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5 all with retina displays. The whole point of the mini is thin and light. If it could have a retina display, that would be great but the technolgy doesn't exist yet.

So while you might not want the product, that's completely different than it being unacceptable. It's not unacceptable to me and based on what seems to be happening with sales, it seems like it's not unacceptable to millions of other customers also.

Great thread...thank you. It was all I needed to convince me to get a Mini, after much deliberation. I too find the 3 a little uncomfortable and heavy for browsing on the sofa.

I tried the first iPad when it came out and it wasn't for me. I tried again with the third iPad and also returned it. I just bought the iPad mini and love the form factor and weight. I'm used to carrying something bigger than the iPhone (galaxy s3) so the mini is basically my "smartphone" hehe. It doesn't fit in the pocket but is certainly a lot more portable than the regular iPad. The A5 and 512mb isn't really an issue either because it doesn't have retina. I'm perfectly fine with the screen too but whenever retina does come out I'll probably jump ship. I do wish it was a little cheaper and that they didn't charge $100 for each capacity upgrade but that's just Apple. Not to mention that it's pretty much the perfect in-car solution with the lte model.

macmyworld said:

Well I went iPad4 -> iPad Mini and back to iPad 4.

My wife still has her iPad mini and loves it.

I liked the iPad mini, but ran into a few issues for me:

1. I like to leave my iPad on my lap when I read sometimes, I couldn't read webpages and other smaller fonts from the distance on the mini.
2. I am tall and have larger fingers, it was very hard to type on the mini for me and impossible to click links.
3. I didn't find the touch screen on the mini to be as easy to use as the iPad.

All that said, still like the mini, just not for me. Tells me that Apple made a smart move offering both.

Just heard of someone today buying three minis for his kids. Apple has found a new market.

Great thread. Enjoy whichever iPad you've purchased.

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This exactly. I prefer the iPad 4. The mini is great, but the UI is just a bit small. Also, once you use the 4 and get used to it's awesome speed, the mini is a little harder to use. I used them both side by side for several days, and while the mini is more portable and easy to use on the fly, I found myself grabbing the 4 when I needed to do anything for more than a few minutes.

It's really hard to choose one over the other because they both have such great strengths. I think the 4 fit's better because, for me, the mini is too close to the iPhone 5, where I don't *need* both with me at the same time. So between the iPhone 5, the iPad 4 and my 12" laptop I have a good combination of devices. The iPhone 5, iPad Mini, 12" laptop combo just didn't seem as functional.

(the above is subject to change when I miss the mini too much )