Hi all, I love and adore my iPad 4, but I'm looking to get a mini possibly. My only concern is that text just seems really small. For those who've used the big ipad and the mini, do you find yourself zooming in a lot on web pages or getting any eye strain from the small text?
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iPad mini Is the mini too small for web browsing?
- Thread starter kaylerrific
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I did in my old mini. Expect to do the same with the rMini. A lot of pinch and zooming. But its not THAT bad.
No. I think its working perfectly fine. I also have an iPad 3. But I prefer surfing the web with my mini. But, like with everything else, some might think its too small and some might love it like I do 
Why not go to applestore and test it out, see if you like it?!
Why not go to applestore and test it out, see if you like it?!
On the non retina mini surfing was annoying because many websites have small fonts, which looked fuzzy and unsharp on the mini. I had to zoom in quite a bit to get the text to be sharp and not necessarily because the font itself was too small.
From what I could tell in the apple store this shouldn't be a problem on the retina mini. You probably will still have to zoom in, but I don't think it's a problem.
Here is another tip:
- Create a folder named "Zoom" in your bookmarks favorites folder
- save the bookmark or this thread twice with the names "Font +" and "Font -"
- go to the bookmarks and edit font +. Replace the URL with:
- go to the bookmarks and edit font -. Replace the URL with:
This will allow you to increase and decrease the font sizes by tapping the zoom menu.
From what I could tell in the apple store this shouldn't be a problem on the retina mini. You probably will still have to zoom in, but I don't think it's a problem.
Here is another tip:
- Create a folder named "Zoom" in your bookmarks favorites folder
- save the bookmark or this thread twice with the names "Font +" and "Font -"
- go to the bookmarks and edit font +. Replace the URL with:
PHP:
javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=12;%7Ds+=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7D- go to the bookmarks and edit font -. Replace the URL with:
PHP:
javascript:var%20p=document.getElementsByTagName('*');for(i=0;i%3Cp.length;i++)%7Bif(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize)%7Bvar%20s=parseInt(p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize.replace(%22px%22,%22%22));%7Delse%7Bvar%20s=12;%7Ds-=2;p%5Bi%5D.style.fontSize=s+%22px%22%7DThis will allow you to increase and decrease the font sizes by tapping the zoom menu.
Yes. However, the mini is great at browsing. The Air is better for browsing due to less need to zoom in.
I have a retina iPad mini as of today, and prior to that, the 1st gen mini. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to zoom in on something. I love the thing for surfing. It's the perfect size for me. But you should go check them out in person, if possible!
My two cents: the retina mini is a spectacular screen and text is sharp. But text is quite tiny without zooming in. It's possible to browse with no problem, but if your eyes are at all sensitive you will likely have issues. I found myself zooming in quite a bit.
For just $100 more, I find the Air a more suitable device for browsing. It's not significantly heavier or bigger than the mini in my opinion and the larger screen is better for browsing.
For just $100 more, I find the Air a more suitable device for browsing. It's not significantly heavier or bigger than the mini in my opinion and the larger screen is better for browsing.
I actually used this trick on my iPad 3. It's absolutely wonderful on sites that have very small text. And some I visit don't zoom either.
It you were the original poster back several months ago then I thank you very much. I think you saved me several headaches and certainly allowed me to expand my knowledge (since I would have otherwise just skipped those sites).
Today I was comparing the new R-mini to the Air and discovered that some sites don't allow zooming (pinching?) to make the text larger. This made it hard for me to read certain pages, like some articles on Yahoo, for example.
I gotta say that I'm quite fond of the physical size of the mini, though.
I gotta say that I'm quite fond of the physical size of the mini, though.
I found a lot of sites like that while I owned a Mini! The Mini is a great portable device, and I'm really on the fence about buying the retina Mini right now. The Best Buy down the street has every size and color in stock, and I'm afraid to go there.
The Air has really given me the best of both worlds, so.... I dunno.Why do people keep asking this? Is your phone too small for browsing? I browse on my phone all of the time, personally.
In my opinion, the larger Ipads are a bit more convenient for web browsing. I sometimes have a little trouble hitting a control on a page on the mini, or need to enlarge text to read it. That said, for me the additional portability of the mini is worth the inconvenience in this regard.
The reason why it's easy to browse on a phone is because a lot of sites are optimized for phone usage.
Thank you so much. This is a real lifesaver.
Another suggestion is to use the reader feature whenever you can. I had an iPad 4 and an iPad air for a short time. The iPad air was better for web browsing but awkward to hold.
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