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MacChinoNyc

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 14, 2008
427
7
My main uses will be reading/studying from pdf's, reading ebooks, youtube, netflix, optimum app to watch tv, team viewer to connect to my windows machine, browsing, and light gaming. Just looking for sound advice :)
 
I would go to a store where you can try both and try some of the things you will use it for. That will give you a better idea.
 
Either one will suit your stated uses. They both have the same processor, RAM and screen resolution.

So do you like a little one or a big one?
 
The bigger screen is probably more suited to remoting into another computer. However the mini makes eReading a pleasure. So I may get one for that reason when the lte model is released.
 
Reading and studying from pdfs, Air. Else you will be constantly resizing on a mini, pinching and focusing and resizing. Not fun.

Take it from someone who reads a lot of pdfs on portable devices. You will want the larger screen, it will be very much worth the minor additional size, weight and cost. It matters.
 
The bigger screen is probably more suited to remoting into another computer. However the mini makes eReading a pleasure. So I may get one for that reason when the lte model is released.

It's released, some have popped up locally. They just aren't as readily available it seems.
 
I use the Ipad mini extensively for reading pdfs, and while I wouldn't want anything smaller, it works wonderfully for that purpose.

Everyone is different, and no one can tell you which will be better for you. If you can, put up a typical pdf document you'll be reading into dropbox or somewhere you can download it, then try viewing it on both devices in an Apple store.
 
Get the AeroPad. I mean the MACpad Aero Light. Or the new new new new new iPad with Retina.
 
Why is it that when people ask about which iPad people always post about some non iPad device? If the person was in the market for a non iPad they wouldve said so in the op.

Maybe because the same question/thread starts all over again every 18.3 hours. Folks give their opinion, and the OP tries to figure it out.
 
like others have said both are good for your uses. I've gone from a full-size to mini and now back to the full-size since the form factor is much more appealing to my needs. I look at spreadsheets throughout the day and need the bigger screen, the mini never really felt right since the spreadsheets have many columns.
 
Main reason I ask here is because I've never owned an ipad. I'm sure there are alot of users here that have experience with ipads, so that is why I ask :)

So far not many opinions on video watching on the rMini or air?

And yes I have to get to a store this weekend.
 
Both are equally good in many ways. It is really come down to the physical size. Display vs pocketable. I prefer air for bigger display. It's easier on my eye.
 
Both are equally good in many ways. It is really come down to the physical size. Display vs pocketable. I prefer air for bigger display. It's easier on my eye.

That is one good reason.

And, if you wait a few minutes, you will hear the opposite.

Both are great. Different strokes for different folks, as discussed many many times in the past week.
 
I have an iPad 3rd generation and ended up buying a Nexus 7 because I couldn't read for long periods of time with the iPad.. it was too heavy for comfort. I'm also trying to figure out if the Air will be small enough, or if I should go for the mini.

It seems like I may have to wait a while though, for the air to pop up in Taiwan. If you get a chance to compare them at an Apple store, please post :)
 
If you don't plan on carrying it around, get the air. The larger screen is much nicer and it's light enough for all of your needs. If you need something to carry around with more ease, get the retina ipad mini.
 
The larger screen of the Ipad Air is a bit easier to look at and operate. Personally, I think movies look a bit nicer larger. The Ipad mini is more compact and potentially easier to carry around. It's a trade off; you just have to decide which is more important to you.

I prefer the Ipad mini. It slips into my jacket pocket and goes everywhere with me. When I lecture at a white board, I can effortlessly hold the mini in one hand while I write down problems I'm reading from it with the other. the mini is just so easy to take out and do things with while I'm doing other things, without getting in the way.Sometimes the smaller screen means enlarging something on a web page to see it better, or having to make a little effort to hit a smaller button on some page, but for me the advantages in portability our worth it. As they say, your mileage may vary.
 
I watch a ton of video on my iPad. Movies and tv on NetFlix and from iTunes , live tv and my dvr'd shows on Slingbox, TWiT netcasts. I like to watch in full screen so the Air works better for me.
 
Main reason I ask here is because I've never owned an ipad. I'm sure there are alot of users here that have experience with ipads, so that is why I ask :)

So far not many opinions on video watching on the rMini or air?

And yes I have to get to a store this weekend.

Air is better for tv/movies, i had a mini and sold it for a iPad 4 just for that, now have a air. I use net stream for tv.
 
I could imagine the air being better for movies. How about typing, I hear the rMini is better. I'd be curious to know the real world battery life on the rMini but I can only imagine the ipad air having incredible battery life. Does watching alot of videos/streams drain the air's battery unusually fast?
 
I find typing with my thumbs natural on the ipad mini. When I've tried to do it on my brother's ipad, it's been a bit more awkward (but perhaps I might have learned if I'd owned one). I've used the mini for taking meeting notes, but for serious work I touch type and use a laptop. Many of the things that work better on an Air are things I'd prefer to do on a laptop anyway, which may be a reason why the compromises of a smaller device don't bother me so much.

Anandtech did an article on the Ipad Air in which he compared its battery life with that of other machines, including the older mini, and the battery life was better. I would guess that will remain true with the retina mini.

http://anandtech.com/show/7460/apple-ipad-air-review/8
 
I think he was joking with future iPad names... :)

I was joking at people who write Ipad or Imac or MAC or Iphone or IPhone or any of those variants where they can't seem to spell the name correctly, either from ignorance or laziness, and while I am not one of those Internet forum grammar police type of persons, I found it funny that they used rMini with the small r like in MBPr (MacBook Pro with Retina) but couldn't get iPad right. So I had some fun with it changing Air to Aero. Gotta remember too that only US Apple products are made from Aluminum, whereas overseas almost all all products are fashioned from Aluminium (al-oo-min-ee-um) and that airlines are often Aero... not Air.... :D
 
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