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iPad mini 32 gb wifi rmini or 16 gb cellular?

Q

quamsi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 18, 2013
261
235
I have enough in my budget for either a 32gb wifi rmini or a 16gb lte mini (with t-mobile free plan). I have wifi at home, but just a small smartphone for on the go. As far as storage goes, I'm okay with deleting apps to make room if the trade-off is worth it. Not a huge gamer, just a few basic casual games (solitaire, kiddie games, etc). I'll probably keep a few books and a handful of pdf's in storage. I do like to take pictures but again, if the trade-off is worth it I can utilize my cloud. I will probably have under 1k pictures stored. We have netflix so won't likely be downloading more than 1 or 2 movies at a time and deleting them after watching.

I keep going back and forth. What would you recommend? Thanks!
 
I opted for the 32GB and the cellular, but if I had to choose, I'd go with cellular, as I've found many situations when I needed/wanted access with no Wi-Fi nearby. You can always choose to move data to another storage device, but you can't choose to access cellular data if you don't have that capability built-in.
 
Have you owned an iPad before?

The reason I ask is to see if you maybe had a wifi only model and found yourself needing LTE.

I had a wifi only 1st gen and felt very limited on where I could use it. I went with the LTE 3rd gen and got a lot more use out of it. For example, I used it a lot when we moved and didn't have internet for a week. This was obviously not a dire situation, but it was nice to have.

However, I now work in an office with wifi and it is becoming more common at the places I go most often. That being said, I still went with LTE this time around just in case I need it at some point. The fact that I could get the free 200mb from T Mobile helped sway me as well.
 
TWO2SEVEN said:
Have you owned an iPad before?

The reason I ask is to see if you maybe had a wifi only model and found yourself needing LTE.

I had a wifi only 1st gen and felt very limited on where I could use it. I went with the LTE 3rd gen and got a lot more use out of it. For example, I used it a lot when we moved and didn't have internet for a week. This was obviously not a dire situation, but it was nice to have.

However, I now work in an office with wifi and it is becoming more common at the places I go most often. That being said, I still went with LTE this time around just in case I need it at some point. The fact that I could get the free 200mb from T Mobile helped sway me as well.
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I had the first wifi mini, my first apple product ever. It only took 9 days before it was stolen :(. I've been saving up ever since for this (and will be SURE to purchase insurance this time). I use my data on my phone when I'm out from time to time. Not heavy, but for directions or to check bank balances, it's not fabulous as it's an older windows phone but works in a pinch.
 
I have a poor sense of direction, and use the gps on my Ipad constantly. That alone makes the cellular model worthwhile for me. If it weren't for that, it probably wouldn't be worth it to me; I have wi fi at home and work, and even many of the places I go out to have it as well.
 
quamsi said:
I had the first wifi mini, my first apple product ever. It only took 9 days before it was stolen :(. I've been saving up ever since for this (and will be SURE to purchase insurance this time). I use my data on my phone when I'm out from time to time. Not heavy, but for directions or to check bank balances, it's not fabulous as it's an older windows phone but works in a pinch.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you could get by with the wifi only. Think about places that you might use the iPad, do a lot of them have wifi?

I am not sure about your area, but at this point I am surprised when places don't have wifi in my area.
 
TheAppleFairy said:
If you really want a 32 gb cellular version, couldn't wait until next paycheck or save up another $100 before buying?
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That's been kicking around in my head for the past hour too. I keep justifying every upgrade. "It's only $100... I could make that in just a few hours if I stay up later tonight (I work from home)" Blah blah, where does the insanity end?? I started out thinking about getting a 16 gig wifi rmini and now I'm up to debating on a 32gb lte. :p
 
quamsi said:
That's been kicking around in my head for the past hour too. I keep justifying every upgrade. "It's only $100... I could make that in just a few hours if I stay up later tonight (I work from home)" Blah blah, where does the insanity end?? :p
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I know the feeling, but I think it's worse to be disappointing in the end and wished you had more space or cell service. If you get the 32 gb wifi version, maybe you can tether your phone for internet on the go?
 
TheAppleFairy said:
I know the feeling, but I think it's worse to be disappointing in the end and wished you had more space or cell service. If you get the 32 gb wifi version, maybe you can tether your phone for internet on the go?
Click to expand...

I wish that were an option. I have pre-paid cell service and they won't allow it.
 
quamsi said:
That's been kicking around in my head for the past hour too. I keep justifying every upgrade. "It's only $100... I could make that in just a few hours if I stay up later tonight (I work from home)" Blah blah, where does the insanity end?? I started out thinking about getting a 16 gig wifi rmini and now I'm up to debating on a 32gb lte. :p
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I can tell you that I'm very glad that I went with the 32GB cellular model, as I've found both the cellular capability and the extra storage to be quite useful. For me, it's the most ideal configuration.
 
quamsi said:
That's been kicking around in my head for the past hour too. I keep justifying every upgrade. "It's only $100... I could make that in just a few hours if I stay up later tonight (I work from home)" Blah blah, where does the insanity end?? I started out thinking about getting a 16 gig wifi rmini and now I'm up to debating on a 32gb lte. :p
Click to expand...

Sounds very familiar :)
 
Me personally, 32GB + Cellular. That's what I did on my new rMini. My view is you can never have too much memory, but you can sure have not enough. So, for me 32GB was a no brainer over 16GB. As for cellular, I have Wifi at home (who really doesn't nowadays), but I don't have it at work (company wifi won't allow BYOD yet) + the 2 hours commute time. So, if I want to have an internet connection during the 75% of my day that I'm not at home, I had the choice of tethering, or dedicated cellular. I tried tethering before, and it's great for in a pinch, but not when you routinely want a Cellular connection, as it becomes a pain to constantly reconnect it ever time it turns off. And since tethering is not an option for you anyways, I would lean toward 32GB + Cellular if you can swing the extra $100. And especially with TMobile's 200MB for free (if you get good TMob converage in your area).

That's my two cents. Good luck with your decision! Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!
 
I generally see 32GB as the minimum. I entertained the idea of a 16GB for this generation to save a little money. But when you consider it's only about 13GB available, now you're starting even lower. I don't know if you ever want to shoot video with the rear cam. I do occasionally, and the video does look nice. 10 min of video is about 1.1GB. If you take a lot of pictures (and who doesn't snap like crazy, it's digital!), that'll eat up some storage.

It's fine to manage your storage and delete what you don't need, as long as you can choose when to do it. I never wanted to be in a situation where I wanted to fire off some video, or whatever else, and be full.

Fact is, you may not need 32GB of storage, but if you need 14GB, you still need a 32GB model if you know what I mean.
 
skiltrip said:
I generally see 32GB as the minimum. I entertained the idea of a 16GB for this generation to save a little money. But when you consider it's only about 13GB available, now you're starting even lower. I don't know if you ever want to shoot video with the rear cam. I do occasionally, and the video does look nice. 10 min of video is about 1.1GB. If you take a lot of pictures (and who doesn't snap like crazy, it's digital!), that'll eat up some storage.

It's fine to manage your storage and delete what you don't need, as long as you can choose when to do it. I never wanted to be in a situation where I wanted to fire off some video, or whatever else, and be full.

Fact is, you may not need 32GB of storage, but if you need 14GB, you still need a 32GB model if you know what I mean.
Click to expand...

Good point with the video. When I had my mini last year for all of 9 days, I did really enjoy the rear camera to take videos of the kids. I didnt look to see how much memory it used up, but I did use it quite a bit. 32 gig cellular one is looking better and better.
 
U

Last year I skipped owning an iPhone and instead got by with a 32GB LTE iPad Mini. This year however, I have an ATT iPhone 5 and just bought the WiFi 32 GB rMini. With personal hotspot I have no need for the cellular version rMini. Since you have no hotspot connectivity I will suggest the LTE version but 16 GB is low. If you were to get hotspot connectivity on a phone soon, I'd totally suggest 32 GB memory storage over LTE. And when I need GPS, I let my iPhone take care of that so I can use my rMini for other things.
 
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If you're willing to manage your storage then you can probably survive with only a 16g unit. My husband did easily before his new overseas contract. Having LTE is a really nice option and with no hotspot capability you will certainly appreciate it (unless you plan to never take your iPad out of the house). Even if you find free wifi most places those are very insecure. Plus you get the GPS chip.

However, as most have pointed out a 32g with LTE is probably your sweet spot. If you're looking for justification then you need to consider that you are more likely to be happy with the 32g/LTE for a couple of years. If you choose one over the other chances are you'll be thinking upgrade in a year or so. In the long run you might actually save money by spending the extra $$ now. At least that's how I justify it (not that it stops me from upgrading but I do try).
 
nostresshere said:
How do you download and save Netflix movies. I though they were all streaming???
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Sorry for the confusion. What I meant was that because we have Netflix it's rare that I'd actually purchase or download a movie, probably just for a car trip or something.
 
If you'll be taking your iPad around with you when you go places, get the cellular model.

If it's gonna only be used at home, get Wi-Fi.
 
Thanks everyone. I think I've decided to go for the 32 gb LTE later next month.
 
quamsi said:
That's been kicking around in my head for the past hour too. I keep justifying every upgrade. "It's only $100... I could make that in just a few hours if I stay up later tonight (I work from home)" Blah blah, where does the insanity end?? I started out thinking about getting a 16 gig wifi rmini and now I'm up to debating on a 32gb lte. :p
Click to expand...
Very familiar. But I found the 16gb on my mini 1 to limited. You get tired of deleting apps for space.
Anyways, once you decide rMini 32gb, you'll think: OW LOOK! its the same price as the Ipad Air 16gb! But wait.... 16 isnt enough, 32gb! But now its the same price as the rMini 32GB +LTE :p

I managed to order the rMini 64gb LTE :p (even though the biggest reason was the 100 euro discount I got, which made it same price as 32gb LTE)
Now I'm thinking about selling it and buying the Ipad Air 32gb LTE :(

On the other hand..... i can buy 2 ipad minis for the price of the Ipad Air and Retina mini :( And except for the screen, the Ipad mini is just fine for browsing and gaming and has jailbreak on ios6 available :(

Basically, everyone sell your Ipads, lets go on a group holiday. xD
 
Horns of a dilemma :)

I bought a 16gb wifi model --- double whammy, to tide me over until my Mini LTE gets here, and I have found it to be extremely limiting. The apps that I use most often ---not a gamer, took up a lot of space and streaming requires data so there goes that idea.

For me, GPS is a requirement and for streaming on the go, so LTE gets my vote. You might be able to do a better job than I in managing your storage;)
 
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