All iPads For those who have both 9,7 and 7'9 inch ipads

[Thrifty1]

I recently sold my iPad 3 to get ready to purchase my iPad mini retina. My wife still has her iPad 3 so I can compare that to the iPad mini retina. I picked up my iPad mini retina today and below are the reasons why I prefer the mini over the full-size iPad.

1. Ability to hold it with one hand. If I need to zoom in on text I don't need to use 2 hands. I can double tap most text and it fills the width of the screen automatically.

2. Lightweight. I use my iPad a lot for reading PDFs and for watching streaming TV shows. Over long periods of time the iPad mini is much nicer to hold.

3. Screen size. I am able to type much easier in portrait mode with the iPad mini. My hands are average size and it was always a stretch to use my thumbs on the full-size iPad to hit all the keys. With the mini I can type much faster and more accurately.

4. Size. The iPad mini fits nicely in the inside pocket of many of my coats/jackets. I don't have to bring along a separate carrying case or bag to carry my iPad in. It also means I will bring it along places I never would've brought my full-size iPad in the past.

5. Text size. I see many posts regarding the difficulty in reading PDFs or text on the iPad mini. That does not bother me. I read many PDFs and search websites and I find the text is readable. It obviously is easier to read on a larger screen but again I don't find it difficult to read on the Mini. It may be partly due to the fact that the past few weeks I've used my iPhone 5 as I did not have an iPad. Going from the iPhone 5 to the iPad mini... text size obviously looks great.

It all comes down to personal preference. My wife used my iPad mini this evening and thought it felt like a toy and was too small.

If you have the opportunity to go to an Apple store or another retail store I would suggest spending a good 15-20 minutes using the iPad mini. Read PDF's, search the web, etc. Then you can make a decision based on the weight, size, and readability of text.

 

[Icaras]

My wife just got her riPad mini in today while I've had the Air for about two weeks now.

Now having both retina displays side by side, I still love the form factor of the mini more but the natural text size on the Air is still most natural. These I'm sure are the two primary opposing forces when deciding between the two. The mini feels great holding one handed but you'll find that you'll need to use your second hand constantly to zoom in and out. With the Air, I haven't ever had to zoom in on anything, but you must deal with the slightly heavier weight (which really isn't much more though) but I also don't particularly find it as easy to use one handed like the mini, especially with the Apple case on.

Two other things that will keep me with the Air: 1) I use some creative apps that would benefit with the larger screen, and 2) I hardly bring my iPad out of the house anyway. On top of that, I already received a sweet STM bag that's sized perfectly for the iPad Air so in the rare case I do bring it out, I'm pretty much all set.

But since my wife had the mini as well, we have the best of both worlds in the house

 

[catalyst6]

Have both...currently favor the air. I'm surprised as I thought it would be the other way around, but the screen is just so much larger and prettier than the rMini....and it doesn't even seem that much bigger.

I'm planning on keeping both, but if I had to pick one, I'd pick the air.

 

[SirHaakon]

I stopped by BB today and played with the rMini. It is nice, but I much prefer the Air. The Air physically is not much bigger then the Mini, yet so much screen real estate compare to the Mini.

The screen real estate is identical; things are just scaled larger on the Air.

 

[Elho]

Hmm there are some good pro's and cons here for the mini retina.

I was in an APR store yesterday but they only had the old mini to compare with the new air. So i dont know if that was a fair compairising.

Being used to my iPad 3, the air was really an improvement. Especially the form factor! At that moment i liked it a lot!

But i also think my iPad 3 is sometimes too big. Agree, i will use it mostly at home but i will never take it with me on the train, its just too big. I also still find it a bit silly to take it out. I think with a mini i will be taking it faster with me. Also it's more a private experience, people have to do more effort to read along.

I'm buying the 32gb version with camera adapter because i upload my photos directly from camera to ipad. The only concern that is left is that i hope that viewing and editing pictures with snapseed is as easy on a mini than on regular iPad.

For the rest i'm a big user of Flipboard and Pocket... I think those apps work better on a mini?

 

[double329]

The screen real estate is identical; things are just scaled larger on the Air.

How can 9.7 be identical to 7.9? That is not what my wife told me. I don't get it. You're probably thinking about resolution. I am referring to the physical size and how thing scales bigger like you said.

 

[DaCurmudgen]

I recently sold my iPad 3 to get ready to purchase my iPad mini retina. My wife still has her iPad 3 so I can compare that to the iPad mini retina. I picked up my iPad mini retina today and below are the reasons why I prefer the mini over the full-size iPad.

1. Ability to hold it with one hand. If I need to zoom in on text I don't need to use 2 hands. I can double tap most text and it fills the width of the screen automatically.

2. Lightweight. I use my iPad a lot for reading PDFs and for watching streaming TV shows. Over long periods of time the iPad mini is much nicer to hold.

3. Screen size. I am able to type much easier in portrait mode with the iPad mini. My hands are average size and it was always a stretch to use my thumbs on the full-size iPad to hit all the keys. With the mini I can type much faster and more accurately.

4. Size. The iPad mini fits nicely in the inside pocket of many of my coats/jackets. I don't have to bring along a separate carrying case or bag to carry my iPad in. It also means I will bring it along places I never would've brought my full-size iPad in the past.

5. Text size. I see many posts regarding the difficulty in reading PDFs or text on the iPad mini. That does not bother me. I read many PDFs and search websites and I find the text is readable. It obviously is easier to read on a larger screen but again I don't find it difficult to read on the Mini. It may be partly due to the fact that the past few weeks I've used my iPhone 5 as I did not have an iPad. Going from the iPhone 5 to the iPad mini... text size obviously looks great.

It all comes down to personal preference. My wife used my iPad mini this evening and thought it felt like a toy and was too small.

If you have the opportunity to go to an Apple store or another retail store I would suggest spending a good 15-20 minutes using the iPad mini. Read PDF's, search the web, etc. Then you can make a decision based on the weight, size, and readability of text.

This pretty much covers it. I've only had an iPad 3 until I picked up my rMini yesterday. The essential difference is that with my rMini, I can pretty much have it with me everywhere I go. I could do that with my iPad 3 too, it would just weigh a lot more and I would need some sort of bag to carry it. For me, the rMini is the perfect combination of features.

 

[Elho]

I think you are right. I'm gonna settle for the mini this time. I can always re-sell one day like i do now with my iPad 3.

I'm also in the market for a new Mac Mini, hooked up on a 23 inch screen. That will do if i need some more screen size i think...

 

[SirHaakon]

How can 9.7 be identical to 7.9? That is not what my wife told me. I don't get it. You're probably thinking about resolution. I am referring to the physical size and how thing scales bigger like you said.

2,048 x 1,536 is identical to 2,048 x 1,536. Yes, I'm thinking about resolution; that's how you determine screen real estate. The iPad Air's screen is physically larger, but you can't put any more elements on the screen - the real estate is identical. Everything is just blown up (at a loss of ppi), but you don't get any additional workspace as a result of the larger screen.

Think of it this way: you can blow up a 1 megapixel image to a 3 megapixel size, but you don't suddenly get 3 megapixels worth of detail. It will be larger, so perhaps easier for you to see - but it's not sharper. The iPad Air's screen is exactly the same as the rMini's, just blown up. The ppi is still decent (but it's clearly reduced) and you gain zero screen real estate in the process. Those are just the facts.