Hello All, I'm looking for some advice. I currently have an iPad mini w/ retina. Should I sell this and get an Air or is a mini good to use with textbooks? I think im going to rent them through Amazon kindle store.
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All iPads College Textbooks
- Thread starter armadadamra
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Personally I would wait until the iPad Air 2 comes out later this year, usually in October, that's what I'm doing as I currently have a iPad 3. Really only you can answer that question, are you happy with the screen size? If not get an Air if you are then stick with the mini.
Retina Mini would be great for textbooks. I'm currently using a 1st Gen Mini for my textbooks and it works out pretty well. Retina Mini would do everything faster and the text is sharper. I prefer the Mini form factor due to the size and weight. Easier to put in my bag with other things.
I have a mini and the form factor is great. I also use it for hand written notes via notability and data recording via the Office suite.
College Textbooks
No offense, but the people thinking the retina mini is great for reading textbooks either:
- have the smallest hands in the world
- posses the best eyes in the world
- don't know what they're missing
- all of the above
Here's a pic of a textbook app (inkling), using an iPad Air and a note 3 viewing the same material. It's not exact, but is a good comparison using a 1080p 5.7" Note 3:
No offense, but the people thinking the retina mini is great for reading textbooks either:
- have the smallest hands in the world
- posses the best eyes in the world
- don't know what they're missing
- all of the above
Here's a pic of a textbook app (inkling), using an iPad Air and a note 3 viewing the same material. It's not exact, but is a good comparison using a 1080p 5.7" Note 3:
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The photo that you posted is a bit of a spurious comparison, because the Note 3 is formatting things differently and makes it appear as if you can fit less on the screen. The retina iPad mini and the iPad Air have the exact same resolution and will render the screen the exact same way. Text and graphics will appear physically smaller on the mini, of course. I don't find the difference to be that great, but I respect that not everyone perceives it that way.
I access my textbooks on both my retina iPad mini and iPad 3. I have no problems reading on either device. A larger screen is always nicer and I'll preferentially go for my iPad 3 when I'm at home, but most of my reading is done out of the house and on the iPad mini. If a graphic is very detailed and tiny then I can always zoom in - something that I do on both the mini and full-sized iPad.
My advice: if the price difference doesn't matter and if the iPad Air is perfectly portable for you then go ahead and get the Air. If the mini would go with you more places (and thus get more use) then get the mini. If I had to choose one of my two devices, I'd keep the mini instead of the full-sized iPad.
I had a mini, and I definitely prefer reading textbooks on my Air. Most textbooks are scanned, and the bigger screen accommodates the text with pictures and stuff since they can't be scaled.
In your position, I would try out the retina mini, as you already own it. If you find it frustratingly small, then upgrading to the Air could be a good idea.
It's a matter of personal preference. I use the retina mini myself. Textbooks typically don't re-paginate, and text may be a little small. But I find the portability of the device well worth that compromise. I teach math, and sometimes I'll hold the mini in one hand and write equations out of it onto the board with the other. For me it's the perfect size, but I certainly understand why other people prefer something bigger.
It's a matter of personal preference. I use the retina mini myself. Textbooks typically don't re-paginate, and text may be a little small. But I find the portability of the device well worth that compromise. I teach math, and sometimes I'll hold the mini in one hand and write equations out of it onto the board with the other. For me it's the perfect size, but I certainly understand why other people prefer something bigger.
I used a few textbooks through Amazon Kindle on my iPad mini. It's awesome. I feel like the iPad Mini is the perfect size, obviously it would've been a little better if I had the Retina version but I don't so can't really complain. I can read the text and everything on my Mini.
Totally inaccurate. You must have some of the worst eyes in the world if you think it's hard to see a book on an iPad Mini. The books actually render the same way as they do on the Air, not like they do on that Note in your picture. Due to the smaller form factor I chose it over the Air and would always choose it over the Air. This is important when you're a college student lugging around a bunch of other things in your bag. The size trade-off usually trumps the extra screen space for a college student. As such most students I see are using iPad Minis or Android tablets of similar size rather than the Air. I'd say it is you who doesn't know what you're missing.
I have no problems whatsoever reading off the rMini. I don't understand why people say it's hard to read anything because of the "smaller" screen when it's not all that much smaller than a regular sized iPad, just off by a few inches. I personally think it all boils down to user preference. I would never buy an iPad Air or a regular sized iPad for that matter because it's too big of a screen for me; if I wanted a bigger screen, I'll just stick with my rMBP, that's why I spent so much money on getting one. I'm going to start college again this September and I plan on utilizing my rMini for textbook reading. I just don't get why people keep bashing the rMini - to me, that's the perfect iPad size and I'm grateful that Apple created the iPad mini. If they hadn't, I wouldn't have bought an iPad to begin with.
All in all, I think you'll do fine with the rMini. I use it all the time for reading material and it works perfect for what I use it for. If you feel that it's not enough for you, then by all means, get the bigger alternative. I just believe that the rMini is more than enough
All in all, I think you'll do fine with the rMini. I use it all the time for reading material and it works perfect for what I use it for. If you feel that it's not enough for you, then by all means, get the bigger alternative. I just believe that the rMini is more than enough
It might be because, for them, it's harder to read anything because of the "smaller" screen.
I don't have great eyes and my ophthalmologist has suggested for me to think about getting bifocals. That being said I usually don't have issues reading text books on my rMini but it depends how well formatted the book is. Some are better than others.