iPad Is the original iPad mini a good choice for me?

alyssap22 said:

Hi I am hopefully going to be purchasing an iPad mini soon for myself and my daughter. I will be mostly be using it for email, taking notes, reading books (nook&kindle apps), watching netflix, Facebook, twitter, and tumblr. Do you think the mini would be good for these things or should I get the retina mini? I am not much of a gamer but I do play solitaire and candy crush

I am afraid that if I get a retina mini it will spoil my sight and my non retina macbook pro's screen will look like crap. I have the mid 2012 13" model.

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The original iPad mini is more than capable of doing everything you seem interested in doing. I'm on it right now and the screen is ample. If you have the extra money you will be future proof with the retina version though.

Honestly, it's not a bad device for what you want to do but I would not pay more than the recent $199 price if you can still find one at either Target or Walmart.

alyssap22 said:

I am afraid that if I get a retina mini it will spoil my sight and my non retina macbook pro's screen will look like crap. I have the mid 2012 13" model.

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YOU GO THERE AND BUY YOURSELF A RETINA MINI, don't waste your money on that tablet with 2011 hardware.

Rodster said:

Honestly, it's not a bad device for what you want to do but I would not pay more than the recent $199 price if you can still find one at either Target or Walmart.

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Target and walmart was a Father's Day sale, back to regular price.

I was looking to switch over to an apple ipad mini from an android tablet and asked a few friends who had apple products and they all said to get the newest model.

I purchased an ipad mini with retina. Keep an eye on the prices and you will find a deal. I got mine on sale with $30 off, then it dropped again for Father's Day and I got another $20 + tax back.

My friends said to get 32 GB since 16 isn't very much and each update will take away some of that space. I plan on using mine for reading, playing a few games and Skype. I'm sure I will check out Facebook and a few other things on it too.

rsquirrel said:

I was looking to switch over to an apple ipad mini from an android tablet and asked a few friends who had apple products and they all said to get the newest model.

I purchased an ipad mini with retina. Keep an eye on the prices and you will find a deal. I got mine on sale with $30 off, then it dropped again for Father's Day and I got another $20 + tax back.

My friends said to get 32 GB since 16 isn't very much and each update will take away some of that space. I plan on using mine for reading, playing a few games and Skype. I'm sure I will check out Facebook and a few other things on it too.

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32GB is overkill for what you listed and i've been thru several updates and on average the OS takes on average 100MB. Anyways the original Mini at $199 is a great deal.

Rodster said:

32GB is overkill for what you listed and i've been thru several updates and on average the OS takes on average 100MB. Anyways the original Mini at $199 is a great deal.

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I don't think 32GB is too much. I forgot that I will be adding some music and maybe a movie when I travel.

I'd rather have a bit too much room then buy 16 GB and wish I had paid the extra $100+tax for the 32 GB.

My wife and kids love their Mini iPads - I think its a fine tablet.

1st gen is a great ipad mini if you're only using for what it is and nothing more. granted you don't care about the non-retina screen either. it's not a bad screen by a stretch, its just not retina LOL. anyways, I would recommend getting rMini or gen2 at this point since there's another one coming. if you buy the gen1 mini, then it would be 2 years behind. we want to make sure your device is iOS upgrade eligible too. normally those go +2 years after the initial iOS.

alyssap22 said:

Hi I am hopefully going to be purchasing an iPad mini soon for myself and my daughter. I will be mostly be using it for email, taking notes, reading books (nook&kindle apps), watching netflix, Facebook, twitter, and tumblr. Do you think the mini would be good for these things or should I get the retina mini? I am not much of a gamer but I do play solitaire and candy crush

I am afraid that if I get a retina mini it will spoil my sight and my non retina macbook pro's screen will look like crap. I have the mid 2012 13" model.

Click to expand...

No I wouldn't recommend it to anyone at this point. Unfortunately it's using the same internals as iPad 2 which are 3.5 years old. With the latest IOS 7 update it's starting to show it's age with general system sluggishness and missing features. Wait for deal on iPad Mini 2 or buy a refurbished one.

For your requirements, yes it is enough.

Charliebird said:

No I wouldn't recommend it to anyone at this point. Unfortunately it's using the same internals as iPad 2 which are 3.5 years old. With the latest IOS 7 update it's starting to show it's age with general system sluggishness and missing features. Wait for deal on iPad Mini 2 or buy a refurbished one.

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Is it really that sluggish? To surf the net check FB and Twitter and play a few games here and there non that are super graphic intense.

Scott2345 said:

Is it really that sluggish? To surf the net check FB and Twitter and play a few games here and there non that are super graphic intense.

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It's not too bad right now but it's going to get worst moving forward with each new OS release. Apple is pretty aggressive pushing the new stuff down our throats.

alyssap22 said:

Hi I am hopefully going to be purchasing an iPad mini soon for myself and my daughter. I will be mostly be using it for email, taking notes, reading books (nook&kindle apps), watching netflix, Facebook, twitter, and tumblr. Do you think the mini would be good for these things or should I get the retina mini? I am not much of a gamer but I do play solitaire and candy crush

I am afraid that if I get a retina mini it will spoil my sight and my non retina macbook pro's screen will look like crap. I have the mid 2012 13" model.

Click to expand...

Get the retina mini. The reason I say that has absolutely nothing to do with the screen. It's all about the processor under the hood. The first generation iPad mini has the Apple A5 processor, which at this point, runs iOS 7 less than fluidly and will likely lag further on iOS 8. Whereas the retina iPad mini has the A7 processor (a good two and a half years newer and thusly likely to last a good two and a half years longer), the exact same one found in the iPhone 5s.

At this point, if you can wait until Fall, that might be better. Otherwise, I'd shop for refurbished retina mini models as those are cheaper:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad_mini_retina

Scott2345 said:

Is it really that sluggish? To surf the net check FB and Twitter and play a few games here and there non that are super graphic intense.

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No, it's perfectly fine for all of the above.

rrares1996 said:

YOU GO THERE AND BUY YOURSELF A RETINA MINI, don't waste your money on that tablet with 2011 hardware.

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YOU GO THERE AND BUY YOURSELF AN ORIGINAL MINI, save yourself the money for the retina.

Meister said:

YOU GO THERE AND BUY YOURSELF AN ORIGINAL MINI, save yourself the money for the retina.

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It doesn't make sense mate, in september ios 8 will be released and it will be a lag fest on the original mini. It already runs pretty bad on ios 7 too and those who say that it runs well, how about you go an check and ipad air or a retina mini. Buying a retina is a long term investment.

alyssap22 said:

Hi I am hopefully going to be purchasing an iPad mini soon for myself and my daughter. I will be mostly be using it for email, taking notes, reading books (nook&kindle apps), watching netflix, Facebook, twitter, and tumblr. Do you think the mini would be good for these things or should I get the retina mini? I am not much of a gamer but I do play solitaire and candy crush

I am afraid that if I get a retina mini it will spoil my sight and my non retina macbook pro's screen will look like crap. I have the mid 2012 13" model.

Click to expand...

for reading, get the retina. I have an iPad Air and reading is so much nicer on that then an non-retina iPad. I also have a 2008 Macbook and the screen is still fine and my iPad Air didn't spoil me.

I'm also not sure how long Apps will work on it too if you get a 1st generation iPad.

rrares1996 said:

It doesn't make sense mate, in september ios 8 will be released and it will be a lag fest on the original mini. It already runs pretty bad on ios 7 too and those who say that it runs well, how about you go an check and ipad air or a retina mini. Buying a retina is a long term investment.

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I would wager that a good majority replace or upgrade every year. In the tech (tablet) world anything over 4 years is a long term investment.

Rodster said:

In the tech (tablet) world anything over 4 years is a long term investment.

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I was thinking more like 2 years not 4.

rrares1996 said:

It doesn't make sense mate, in september ios 8 will be released and it will be a lag fest on the original mini. It already runs pretty bad on ios 7 too and those who say that it runs well, how about you go an check and ipad air or a retina mini. Buying a retina is a long term investment.

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Stocks, bonds and real estate are investments.
iPads are not investments.
minis are sold on offer now.
prices wont drop lower.
iOS8 runs fine on them.
iOS7 runs on our minis without any noticeable lag.
the retinas are significantly more expensive.
the original minis have better battery life.
for what the OP is doing they will work perfectly fine.
And did I mention: they are sold at dumping prices!
I payed 399,- for one with lte and 64gb.
The retina version costs about 300,- more.

Meister said:

Stocks, bonds and real estate are investments.
iPads are not investments.
minis are sold on offer now.
prices wont drop lower.
iOS8 runs fine on them.
iOS7 runs on our minis without any noticeable lag.
the retinas are significantly more expensive.
the original minis have better battery life.
for what the OP is doing they will work perfectly fine.
And did I mention: they are sold at dumping prices!
I payed 399,- for one with lte and 64gb.
The retina version costs about 300,- more.

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You can also pay 400 for a 16 gb retina. It's his choice: performant tablet with low memory or crappy tablet with 60 GB.

rrares1996 said:

You can also pay 400 for a 16 gb retina. It's his choice: performant tablet with low memory or crappy tablet with 60 GB.

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400 for 16 gb with lte!

Meister said:

400 for 16 gb and no lte!

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Yeah or 64gb mini 1 wifi only.