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iPad Have any former mini 1st gen owners converted over to the Air?

M

Misskitty

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 18, 2010
448
2
How did you find the transition? What have been your biggest challenges or adjustments? What do you miss from the mini 1st gen?
 
Transition was incredibly easy...the Air is so light and thin, it wasn't difficult to come from the 1st gen mini.

I absolutely love the big screen size. I don't need to zoom at all when web browsing. Like holding a small laptop screen in my hands. The resolution is amazing. Smallest texts appear like print. Contrast and saturation is incomparable. Much brighter screen too. Newsstand magazines are an absolute joy to read on the 10" screen.

MUCH faster on the Air. Web pages load rapidly. Scrolling is seamless. No struggling to load dense pages (the verge, cnet, nytimes, etc...)

I do miss prolonged one-handed use. And reading books is not quite as enjoyable (the mini is the perfect form factor for this). Thumb typing in portrait is a breeze on the mini.

All in all a MUST have upgrade for me. No question. Extremely satisfied.
 
I converted and it was a cakewalk. I can still thumb type since the bezels have been trimmed. The screen is gorgeous.. And it's only 1/4 of a pound heavier so it's just as portable! Couldn't be happier!
 
j.benj said:
I converted and it was a cakewalk. I can still thumb type since the bezels have been trimmed. The screen is gorgeous.. And it's only 1/4 of a pound heavier so it's just as portable! Couldn't be happier!
Click to expand...

Same here. +1
 
I just converted thanks to Target's Black Friday sale. I had an iPad 2 and 3 so when the mini was first released I was excited for it's smaller size. Sadly, I barely used I over the past year. So I sold it and got an Air. I also just got an iMac so my iPad air is now my mobile computer and I absolutely love it. I'm just looking into getting a keyboard case and then it'll be a great mobile computer. I missed the larger size and retina display, and the A5 in the first gen mini definitely seemed a bit sluggish so the iPad Air was an upgrade for me in every sense
 
To me personally it was worth keeping because it includes cellular and it is more portable if I feel the need.

I bet many held on to the 1st gen Mini despite getting an Air.
 
I ended up trying both and staying with the rMini. Yeah the colors on the Air are better than on the Mini and the extra screen real estate is definitely nice. But, after a year with the Mini's form factor, the full size iPad just felt awkwardly large in my hand (male with average sized hands). Typing on the keyboard is more awkward, and I found myself reaching more to navigate around the device. The Air is WAY lighter than the fourth gen iPad. But, it's not quite light enough that I want to use it one handed for more than a minute or two. Yes, I can do it. But it's awkward since the screen is so much larger and I definitely noticed my wrist getting tired. Two handed use is totally effortless and deserving of the "Air" moniker. But I really want a tablet that can be comfortably held in one hand. The Mini still fits that bill better than the Air, though the gap has narrowed considerably.

So, it's the rMini for me. But the specs of the two tablets are so similar that it really becomes a matter of personal preference. I don't think you can go wrong either way.
 
I had the 1st gen mini and am deciding between the Air and the rMini. I have both now and will return one.
 
I'm upgrading from the first gen mini. I bought the retina mini then exchanged it for the air. It's weird using such a big tablet again but refreshing to have so much more screen. I switched because I got a note 3 and the mini didn't provide that much more real estate so I figured I'll give the air a shot. So far I love the change.
 
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