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iPad Bought an Air on a whim...

nooaah

nooaah

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
1,600
165
Philadelphia, PA
So, I'm in NYC on business this week and walked past the 5th Ave Apple Store (the cube). I've passed this store dozens of times and never bothered walking in due to the crowds. Well, 8:30PM on a Monday gave me reason to take a peak...

Within 15 minutes I walked out with a 32GB Air, a Logitech keyboard, and a Smart Cover. I told my girlfriend a year ago, when holding a Mini in a Vegas Apple store, that if the full size iPad was like this [the Mini], I'd buy it without a second thought. At the time, I'd given up on the iPad for a number of reasons. Of course, she bought me a Mini for Christmas even though I said it wasn't ideal due to lack of retina - I ended up loving that thing, anyway.

Flash forward - The Air is the best tablet on the market without question. This thing is blazing fast, very lightweight for me, and the screen is beautiful. My girlfriend will hate me for buying this only a year after she dropped $700 on a Mini - but this thing is just PERFECT. I'm on cloud 9 right now. :D

Well worth the upgrade for those still thinking about going from a Mini 1st gen to an Air...
 
nooaah said:
So, I'm in NYC on business this week and walked past the 5th Ave Apple Store (the cube). I've passed this store dozens of times and never bothered walking in due to the crowds. Well, 8:30PM on a Monday gave me reason to take a peak...

Within 15 minutes I walked out with a 32GB Air, a Logitech keyboard, and a Smart Cover. I told my girlfriend a year ago, when holding a Mini in a Vegas Apple store, that if the full size iPad was like this [the Mini], I'd buy it without a second thought. At the time, I'd given up on the iPad for a number of reasons. Of course, she bought me a Mini for Christmas even though I said it wasn't ideal due to lack of retina - I ended up loving that thing, anyway.

Flash forward - The Air is the best tablet on the market without question. This thing is blazing fast, very lightweight for me, and the screen is beautiful. My girlfriend will hate me for buying this only a year after she dropped $700 on a Mini - but this thing is just PERFECT. I'm on cloud 9 right now. :D

Well worth the upgrade for those still thinking about going from a Mini 1st gen to an Air...
Click to expand...
I had same thoughts as you also. Had mini for a year and went to retina mini. Using that for a few weeks made me wonder what it would be like with full size iPad again that isn't bulky. So ordered up an Air and love it. Mini was great but was starting to feel cramped. Enjoy yours!
 
nooaah said:
So, I'm in NYC on business this week and walked past the 5th Ave Apple Store (the cube). I've passed this store dozens of times and never bothered walking in due to the crowds. Well, 8:30PM on a Monday gave me reason to take a peak...
Click to expand...

That was my first Apple Store experience and I found that there was someone in charge of assigning customers to sales people so the crowds didn't matter. I was sold on Apple by the time I left and now instead of a Palm PDA (this was a few years ago) and a desktop PC I now own an iPod touch, an IPad (my third) and a MacBook Pro. I'm local to the store, and I'm accustomed to being surrounded by tourists in midtown, so I felt right at home. The young man helping my even took out his own iPhone so we could compare data entry techniques.
 
jrs22 said:
That was my first Apple Store experience and I found that there was someone in charge of assigning customers to sales people so the crowds didn't matter. I was sold on Apple by the time I left and now instead of a Palm PDA (this was a few years ago) and a desktop PC I now own an iPod touch, an IPad (my third) and a MacBook Pro. I'm local to the store, and I'm accustomed to being surrounded by tourists in midtown, so I felt right at home. The young man helping my even took out his own iPhone so we could compare data entry techniques.
Click to expand...

Well, I avoided previously because I wasn't going in with the intention of buying anything. But yeah, that store is absolutely brilliant. They're letting me return the Air and then re-buy it so I can apply the store credit I'm getting from the Mini trade in. This company is always a joy to deal with and it's a huge reason for their unbelievable brand loyalty.
 
I have to agree. I love the service they provide. Last fall I was stuck choosing a new laptop (going from an older 15" MBP) and the guy spent ages with me with a pros and cons list with my final two options. Amazing. And I'm very happy with the 13" MBP I ended up ordering later that night. :) The Air was tempting but simply didn't serve my needs as a photographer.

I too bought the Air on a whim (wanted the 4, but the refurbs sold out, and the rMini was my backup choice but no sale on it). I haven't opened it up yet but I'm pretty darn excited.
 
congrats

Congrats nooaah...enjoy your iPad Air. That's great.

I followed your lead and stopped by this evening, despite 5th Avenue being packed I was out of there in 15 minutes with a perfect (to me) iPad Air. The service was lovely.

I usually go to this store early in the morning to test/play around with potential purchases. I've never purchased a dud Apple product there at night (today included) so I have my new time to go despite how chaotic and busy this store is in the early evening. Be still my quaking wallet. :D
 
I also bought an iPad Air on whim on release day.

I actually went into the store looking for a smart cover for my old iPad mini... instead walked out with the iPad Air and a smart cover for that one instead.
 
rmhop81 said:
I had same thoughts as you also. Had mini for a year and went to retina mini. Using that for a few weeks made me wonder what it would be like with full size iPad again that isn't bulky. So ordered up an Air and love it. Mini was great but was starting to feel cramped. Enjoy yours!
Click to expand...

Mini cramped? RealLy? Dont know why so many say this.

And im shocked so many in this thread are getting rid of their minis for the air. NOOOO!
 
Misskitty said:
Mini cramped? RealLy? Dont know why so many say this.

And im shocked so many in this thread are getting rid of their minis for the air. NOOOO!
Click to expand...

Uh, I hope that was meant to be humorous! Otherwise, what concern is is to you whether other people pick the Air or the mini?

Yes, I do find the mini feels cramped. After all, it IS smaller than the Air, therefore it should be natural that some people will find the mini feels more cramped than the Air. What is so surprising about that?
 
Misskitty said:
Mini cramped? RealLy? Dont know why so many say this.

And im shocked so many in this thread are getting rid of their minis for the air. NOOOO!
Click to expand...

And some Air owners ditch theirs for the rMini because it is more portable. 1lb isn't portable enough? Nooooo

It can go both ways. Welcome to the world of user preferences. Aren't you glad that Apple has two models to choose from?
 
Resistance is futile, you will be part of the borg :p

Seriously good buy and congrats. I love my iPad :)
 
Misskitty said:
Mini cramped? RealLy? Dont know why so many say this.

And im shocked so many in this thread are getting rid of their minis for the air. NOOOO!
Click to expand...

i love the form factor of the mini don't get me wrong. but 90% of what i do i do on an iPad. This wasn't a big deal when I had a 1st gen mini, but after I got retina in the 2nd gen...it made me wonder what an iPad Air would be like. I've had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Gen iPads but hated how heavy and thick they felt so went for the mini. For the air to be the same form factor as a mini is awesome. Plus, i never really did take the mini anywhere. I would take it on work trips twice a year, but an Air isn't gonna be like i'm carrying around a big desktop with me. The retina mini made me want to get an Air if that makes sense? lol

btw, i still have 2 1st gen mini's, but i'm thinking of selling them soon.

I have the same thoughts with MacBook Air. Since 2010 we always had an 11inch MBA, but after this recent update we decided to go with a 13 as a bigger screen would be pretty nice. The 11inch will be sold soon, but kinda the same route for iPads as well. Bigger screen is nice.

I would like to have a retina iPad mini AND an iPad Air, but is it necessary? I see so people have both, but to me that's overkill. I've kept around our 11inch MBA, but again that's overkill. who knows, maybe ill end up keeping our 1st gen mini's too? idk, we'll see!
 
Last edited:
rmhop81 said:
I would like to have a retina iPad mini AND an iPad Air, but is it necessary? I see so people have both, but to me that's overkill.
Click to expand...

Ideally I'd also love to have both the mini and the Air but just can't rationalize it especially when I also own an iPhone.

Will be interesting to see what screen sizes Apple will come out with for the iPhone next year and it may help blur the line between the mini and the iPhone. Already I can get by with an iPhone on the go but a slightly larger screen would be nice.

However to me the Air is wonderful and extremely convenient around the house.
 
rmhop81 said:
i love the form factor of the mini don't get me wrong. but 90% of what i do i do on an iPad. This wasn't a big deal when I had a 1st gen mini, but after I got retina in the 2nd gen...it made me wonder what an iPad Air would be like. I've had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Gen iPads but hated how heavy and thick they felt so went for the mini. For the air to be the same form factor as a mini is awesome. Plus, i never really did take the mini anywhere. I would take it on work trips twice a year, but an Air isn't gonna be like i'm carrying around a big desktop with me. The retina mini made me want to get an Air if that makes sense? lol

btw, i still have 2 1st gen mini's, but i'm thinking of selling them soon.

I have the same thoughts with MacBook Air. Since 2010 we always had an 11inch MBA, but after this recent update we decided to go with a 13 as a bigger screen would be pretty nice. The 11inch will be sold soon, but kinda the same route for iPads as well. Bigger screen is nice.

I would like to have a retina iPad mini AND an iPad Air, but is it necessary? I see so people have both, but to me that's overkill. I've kept around our 11inch MBA, but again that's overkill. who knows, maybe ill end up keeping our 1st gen mini's too? idk, we'll see!
Click to expand...

The air comes no where even close to the mini for portability. Its much heavier and about 40% larger. The mini is the best on the go tablet. The air is more for in the house or office. Its just not practical like the mini is. Thats why the mini outsold the 4th gen ipad in the past year, cause people want more portability. I cant even remember the last time ive seen someone in public lugging around a full sized ipad. Most leave them at home cause theyre just too cumbersome. Its like lugging around a solid marble tile.
 
Misskitty said:
The air comes no where even close to the mini for portability. Its much heavier and about 40% larger. The mini is the best on the go tablet. The air is more for in the house or office. Its just not practical like the mini is. Thats why the mini outsold the 4th gen ipad in the past year, cause people want more portability. I cant even remember the last time ive seen someone in public lugging around a full sized ipad. Most leave them at home cause theyre just too cumbersome. Its like lugging around a solid marble tile.
Click to expand...

i don't know where you frequent, but all I see are full size iPads. People are even taking photos with them.

I have yet to see a mini in the wild. and all these android tablets? who owns all these things? i never see them in public.

Sure the mini is great for portability, but you can't stick the thing in the pocket of your pants. I live in texas so I rarely wear a fleece or a jacket...where would i store my mini that an Air wouldn't fit?
 
rmhop81 said:
i don't know where you frequent, but all I see are full size iPads. People are even taking photos with them.

I have yet to see a mini in the wild. and all these android tablets? who owns all these things? i never see them in public.

Sure the mini is great for portability, but you can't stick the thing in the pocket of your pants. I live in texas so I rarely wear a fleece or a jacket...where would i store my mini that an Air wouldn't fit?
Click to expand...

No offense, but people who take pics with their ipad in public are morons. Its the most oxymoron thing ever. Just because you see more with full size doesnt mean its better. Its the same type of people who buy 17" 10lb laptops.
 
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