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All iPads Mini vs regular iPad
- Thread starter bkribbs
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My advice really depends on what the next iterations of these devices are like.
If iPad Mini = non-retina, and iPad 5 is thinner, narrower, and lighter... then iPad 5 makes good sense.
If iPad Mini = retina, and iPad 5 is still heavy.... I'd go with Mini.
You're right that the screen real estate isn't that much smaller, it's just exemplified by the lower clarity. I find the mini feels much better on my fingers and wrists to hold in 1 hand than any of the full sized iPads, which I usually end up putting on a table, my lap, etc...
Doing notes and typing on the full sized could be better than the mini, although with a slick bluetooth apple keyboard, the difference is erroded as well.
My vote is iPad mini retina, if it comes out. If not, iPad 5 if it's lighter and narrower. If neither is true, get a 1st gen Mini (used even).
If iPad Mini = non-retina, and iPad 5 is thinner, narrower, and lighter... then iPad 5 makes good sense.
If iPad Mini = retina, and iPad 5 is still heavy.... I'd go with Mini.
You're right that the screen real estate isn't that much smaller, it's just exemplified by the lower clarity. I find the mini feels much better on my fingers and wrists to hold in 1 hand than any of the full sized iPads, which I usually end up putting on a table, my lap, etc...
Doing notes and typing on the full sized could be better than the mini, although with a slick bluetooth apple keyboard, the difference is erroded as well.
My vote is iPad mini retina, if it comes out. If not, iPad 5 if it's lighter and narrower. If neither is true, get a 1st gen Mini (used even).
Get the mini. If you want it for media the mini is best. School or work? Full sized.
Besides, the mini is really easy to walk around with in your hand. I never need a bag.
The question is, what if the mini is retina and powerful, and the iPad 5 is thin and light?
Both would be great then.
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Comfortably though?
I'm at school, but don't know if I would really use it for school besides when we need to pull up a textbook or webpages in class. Think mini for that?
Today at the Apple: held a Mini next to my iPhone 5. Fired up identical sites (a forum, so...small text). The crispness of the Retina-driven type won me over. So, as much as I love the form factor of the Mini, I'll wait for Retina (or some form of tighter/better res').
Tick-tock...
Tick-tock...
Oh I completely agree, but a retina seems to be coming out this october. Otherwise I'll definitely go with a 5. But if both a thinner five and a retina mini come out, I'll have quite a decision.
Yup. These are the First World Problems we face, my friend.
Its pretty bad... haha
Because u can actually touch type on it and do some work. Witout havin to lug a keyboard around.
Why get a mini when its just a slower, heavier, uglier iphone 5, where typing is actually slower than an iPhone?
I carry the real iPad with me nearly everywhere i go, and if not its still in my car. Its only problem is its a lil too heavy for what it wants to be, and yes still needs to be faster. That is startin to look like it will be addressed quite a bit with the 5, which i, and im sure many more, are heavily anticipating (more than the new iphone).
I can prop the ipad3 in places where i cant place a laptop. This is especialy true with the smart cover, or even in the old underrated apple iPad 1 case.
I also cant see how walkin around with it can possibly be any different from the mini. They both dont fit in most pockets. Ive learned to walk around wit the edge of the 3 in between my index and thumb where a smart cover indents. Either way u are goin to be down one hand with either mos of the time witout a cargo pocket or bag.
If you are in school especially, get the real iPad, or even an MBA11". Stick to readin on your iPhone/smartfone; readin smaller text with uncorrected vision is better for your eyes anyway, and nothin will beat the weight of a Phone for ur hands when holdin up - which is Another advantage of the full size iPad, u can just rest it on ur lap, so u dont actualy have to hold the heavy thing.
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Have both, use the mini more.
Why?
It is
SO MUCH LIGHTER, and for what i use a tablet for (browsing, calendar, email, ibooks, flipboard), the extra size on the 4 isn't a major benefit... if i need bigger than the mini screen i use a laptop or desktop... 10" screen isn't so much bigger that i wish i had it when using the mini.
sure, no retina... but that should be fixed soon...
edit:
data entry on the mini is doable. sure its nowhere near as good as with a real keyboard, but neither is the ipad 4.
that said, if you want to use it outside, get the full size. the screen is much much brighter than the mini.
Why?
It is
SO MUCH LIGHTER, and for what i use a tablet for (browsing, calendar, email, ibooks, flipboard), the extra size on the 4 isn't a major benefit... if i need bigger than the mini screen i use a laptop or desktop... 10" screen isn't so much bigger that i wish i had it when using the mini.
sure, no retina... but that should be fixed soon...
edit:
data entry on the mini is doable. sure its nowhere near as good as with a real keyboard, but neither is the ipad 4.
that said, if you want to use it outside, get the full size. the screen is much much brighter than the mini.
"data entry" on a full iPad is monumentally better than a mini. Its not off that much from a regular keyboard.
Your sentence should actualy read like "data entry on the mini is doable. sure its nowhere near as good as with a real iPad".
I actually found I could type decently on the mini, while I couldn't reach all the keys on the regular one. I wouldn't type on that like I would on a laptop.
I think this is really a preference. Most people's hands aren't that small. I'm a small dude, but typing on the iPad mini might as well be the same as typing on the iPod Touch. The keys are tiny! I avoid typing on it as much as possible. If I'm writing an email, then I use one hand. This is probably my preference, but I've heard a lot of the same feedback from other members on this forum.
I mean I don't have small hands. I pretty much used a two fingers per hand, or thumbs and it wasn't half bad really.
I think when I typed on the regular iPad I couldn't type like I do on a laptop so the iPad didn't win points there for me.
edit- to clarify- before when I said I couldn't reach all the keys, I guess I should clarify, I could reach them all but that requires having the iPad set down and my hands free which is unnecessary with the mini.
Bingo.
My tech department delivered a new iPad mini and an iPad 4 (full size). price wasnt a consideration at all. I played with both, and though the mini was not a retina screen, being almost a full pound lighter was a very surprising clincher. It was obvious which one I would want to use, hold and keep in my messenger bag along with my laptop -MacBook Pro 15" retina.
I don't regret my choice at all.
Yeah I have a friends mini here and I think that's what I'll be going with. edit- well the new one in October with retina. Otherwise I guess it'll be a 5 if there's no retina.
Yeah, this is probably the difference. When I type emails on my iPad, I like to type on it like a laptop, so I keep my hands on the 'home keys'. I feel it's just faster. Maybe if they get those Android swipe keys, I'll type on it with one hand. I just don't find typing with two fingers or typing one handed that efficient.
Me, I type with two fingers (my thumbs) on the full-size iPad. I hold on to the two edges of the ipad with my other fingers and just move my thumbs. It's a bit of a stretch to the center keys, but i guess i have long thumbs! I may not be as fast as on a regular keyboard, but it's fast enough. I can't get used to doing it on the mini, though, the keys are too small and spaced too close together. And on the iPhone, I just tap with a single finger, there's no way I have any hope of accurately hitting those tiny keys with a thumb!
I think typing styles on touch devices is a very individual thing, and there is going to be a wide range of styles, with different people having different devices they find easiest to type on. It's a thing where other's opinions / experiences are almost useless at predicting your own, you just have to try it yourself to see what works for you.
I have had a couple of the larger iPads and have no desire for the mini. I guess if I couldn't handle 1.5 pounds for long periods without pain, I would probably go with the mini, but that has never been an issue. I prefer a larger screen for everything (video, text, magazines, etc.), so it really becomes about weight/size vs bigger screen. For me, the weight difference isn't enough for it to be a factor. I find it easy to find a way to rest the iPad and it can easily be balanced with a couple fingers.
I have a BookBook case which adds even more weight, but it makes it easy to prop up like a book and carry anywhere like a book without a separate bag. To me, the difference in weight just isn't a factor.
As you mentioned, if I carried a purse, I might go with a mini. However, I don't, so I can't think of any reason I would prefer it (other than price). I have a Kindle and still read books on the iPad unless I am out in the sun.
I have a BookBook case which adds even more weight, but it makes it easy to prop up like a book and carry anywhere like a book without a separate bag. To me, the difference in weight just isn't a factor.
As you mentioned, if I carried a purse, I might go with a mini. However, I don't, so I can't think of any reason I would prefer it (other than price). I have a Kindle and still read books on the iPad unless I am out in the sun.
Not really, it isn't.
I type 100+ wpm on a real keyboard - getting anywhere near half that on either idevice is extremely difficult and error prone.
Yeah see, I don't want to have a hard time reaching the middle. On the full sized I struggle. On the mini I can reach it, either typing with 2-4 fingers or just thumbs. I used to type really fast on my iPod Touch, so I think I will be able to do well on my mini as well.
I think the way I want to use it is more like a phablet, I definitely don't want to have to plan on propping it up regularly. I can handle the bigger one, its just more inconvenient and the lighter one is simply more comfortable.
Have you tried splitting the keyboard? (Settings>General>Keyboard>Split Keyboard=On, then with thumbs on keyboard swipe thumbs to opposite sides of screen.)