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christophermdia

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 28, 2008
829
235
Got an ipad mini for myself, my wife and my 3 year old....for me it will join my ipad 3, my wife it will most likely replace her ipad 2 and my son will certainly replace his ipod touch. while i know the ipad 3 and the 4 are indistinguishable, im still debating changing them out......whats the common thought here?
 

christophermdia

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 28, 2008
829
235
honestly....knowing i could add the appropriate apps on his current touch...he has nothing but learning apps and has a much better grasp on his numbers and letters and starting on math at his age.....ipod's are wonderful in this category....the ipad gives him a platform to not have to squint and overextend his neck.....of course, he only gets it friday afternoon until sunday afternoon as well....he does not have free reign....
 

DoctorYuyi

macrumors member
Oct 24, 2012
95
0
For a 3 year old seriously :confused: ? The world must be changing much faster-I need to look more out of the window :rolleyes:

The iPad is a great learning resource. Although I agree buying one just for a 3 year old is silly, using the one you have with a 3 year old can be a very valuable resource.
 

omar4578

macrumors regular
Apr 3, 2011
133
0
SoCal
Think of it this way people

iPad Mini- $360 w/ tax inc.

or

Private Tutor- $100 per visit 2 times a week.

Whats cheaper/ effective... :)

Both will teach the kid some stuff, and only one is cheaper (iPad) and "Funner"
 

kappaknight

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2009
1,595
91
Atlanta, GA
Think of it this way people

iPad Mini- $360 w/ tax inc.

or

Private Tutor- $100 per visit 2 times a week.

Whats cheaper/ effective... :)

Both will teach the kid some stuff, and only one is cheaper (iPad) and "Funner"

If you want to raise a kid right, spend twice the amount of time with them and spend half as much on stuff for them.
 

Medic311

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2011
1,659
58
while you're increasing the quantity field of your order page, want to increase it one more increment and get one for me? i'll even graciously provide my PO box where you can mail it to lol
 

Noctilux.95

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2010
556
354
LA
I got a Mac Pro 12 Core with an Eizo 30" for my cat.

----------

I got a Mac Pro 12 Core with an Eizo 30" for my cat. I had to add the track pad for for her big paws :D
 

Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
5,561
1,252
Cascadia
To those who say "this is what you want to blow your money on?"

It's $330. The OP could easily spend that on *LOTS* of other things if he has that much disposable income. I've spent that much on LEGOs for my (8 year old) daughter over the years; an iPad might be a perfectly equivalent investment. How about three months of highish-end cable TV? How about an iPad mini instead of a game console?

Just think about how many things *YOU* have that cost $330; or services that cost that much over even a 6-month span. That's one of the great things about the iPad mini, it is cheap enough that it is actually cheap.

I'm by no means well off (single income; just barely enough for the family to pay all our bills,) but we save in many ways (no paid TV other than Netflix through the Winter each year; newest car is 2004, been paid off for years; newest computing device is the first-generation iPad, acquired in trade for an older gaming PC right after the iPad 2 came out; newest computer is a 2008 iMac, newest laptop is the first generation Core Duo MacBook; etc.) which means we CAN afford the occasional luxury. A standard two-income family should have no problem choosing to save for a few months to buy an iPad for the kid.

Those of you who ask why a 3 year old "needs" it... He/she doesn't. But what's wrong with having it? My parents didn't have a TV when they were 3, but I did. I didn't have a computer when I was 3, but my children did. Why shouldn't a child now have something that is the new equivalent tech item? (When I was in high school, cell phones were nonexistent among students - I knew one person who had one, and he was two years older than I, and got it right after graduation. I was one of an extremely small number of students at my college that had a laptop and a cell phone. Yet now middle school students have a cell phone more likely than not. Schools are giving out laptops and/or iPads. Including elementary schools. Such is the march of progress.)

As a parting photo, here's my daughter when she was just shy of two years old, on what was completely her laptop:
 

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Anonymous Freak

macrumors 603
Dec 12, 2002
5,561
1,252
Cascadia
As for the OP's question about replacing the iPad 3 with an iPad 4...

You can get a decent resale on the iPad 3, and having the 4 will give you a standardized connector across all the iPads. So it may be worth it.

But the connector is the only thing worth doing it over. Yes it's "faster", but that doesn't matter yet - nothing will use the extra speed in any appreciable way for some time, and from the sound of you, by the time apps do take advantage of that speed, you'll be ready to upgrade "legitimately" anyway.
 

LaNex

macrumors 6502
Feb 13, 2010
358
0
Ye gods.
I don't have kids. But if I did and I had the money and thought it was a good idea for my child I'd spend my money on whatever the hell I liked for them.

It's amazing how people deride others for spending cash on their kids ---- yet if a child was to have sports tutorage or extra help with math or be encouraged to follow an interest in music or some other pursuit that cost money nobody seems to feel that is worthy of distaste. iPads help kids learn. And even if they didn't - someone else's money is their money !
 

DarkAnnie

macrumors regular
Sep 5, 2006
105
1
For a 3 year old seriously :confused: ? The world must be changing much faster-I need to look more out of the window :rolleyes:

My 3-year old is officially getting my 3rd gen for christmas, I am so crazy sick of the constant whining to use mine, and the never ending greasy screen after he's used it.
The world is different yes, kids with ipads is no longer a gasping shock. He's learning heaps from all the great apps. And it's always a good thing to bargain with! "Eat your dinner, or no ipad before bed!" He always chows down! :D

And not to worry, it still looks like a LEGO factory exploded in our house. ;)
 

cdmoore74

macrumors 68020
Jun 24, 2010
2,413
711
Got an ipad mini for myself, my wife and my 3 year old....for me it will join my ipad 3, my wife it will most likely replace her ipad 2 and my son will certainly replace his ipod touch. while i know the ipad 3 and the 4 are indistinguishable, im still debating changing them out......whats the common thought here?

My thought is that everyone at the dinner table will be playing Angry Birds which is pretty sad. Sometimes I wish it was 1890 and I was on a farm with just my family and no electronic gadgets. I would be closer to my family and friends. Imagine how different we would appreciate people instead staring at screens all day. But it's not 1890 and the world is ruled by gadgets, internet and debt.
But what you're doing is overkill. Your downgrading from a iPad 3 and iPad 2. The only one I would replace is the touch. The iPad 4 and A6 should make it a fast combo but what exactly do you do to need the extra speed? If you contemplating on getting mini's anyway it sounds like you don't care for raw speed in the first place.
 

DarkAnnie

macrumors regular
Sep 5, 2006
105
1
I would think, that most kids with their own ipad have alloted time to use it? If I let my 3-year old have free access, he would most likely use it too much. So he knows that using the ipad is a reward for among other things, good behaviour.
 
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