I had the first-gen Mini and loved it. I didn't even mind the low-res screen too much because it was so light and easily handled and carried. Then the Air came out and I decided to try it. Bought it the first night it went on sale. Used without a case of any kind, it is surprisingly light, and the screen on mine is virtually perfect, with just a barely noticeable hint of the "book spine" effect, which I don't notice in use. But adding a case of any kind pushes it over that lightness threshold, in my opinion. There are things that are probably easier to do on the Air, such as reading magazines (which I do) and content creation (which I don't do very much because I have a Macbook Air and a Mac Pro for those jobs). I really, really wanted to make the Air my "keeper," but every time I have used it, in the back of my mind was the light and easy-handling Mini, now with a retina screen. Apple's holiday return window is slipping away, so I knew I needed to make a final decision soon - Keep the Air and forget the Mini (for now), or return the Air and get the Mini Retina. Today I decided. The Air is sitting here boxed up with an RMA# to be shipped back to Apple for a refund. (I don't live near an Apple Store.) I can get a 64 gb cellular Mini Retina for the same price as my 32gb cellular Air. I know what I'm giving up - great screen, ease of reading small text, and I know to some degree what I'm getting - lighter weight, easy handling, good for book reading (which I love). I know all about the color gamut issue, but it wasn't an issue on the old Mini so I doubt that it will be now. Just hope I get one with a nice screen without some of the yellowing and image retention issues mentioned here.
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iPad Hope I made the best decision...
- Thread starter mrgossett
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Sounds like you made the right decision for you.
I love the Air and wouldn't trade for the mini but I did try to talk my husband into getting the mini just to have one in the house. I wouldn't mind getting a mini also but I can't justify it, especially the extra cost of pricing up a cellular plan. We like having our electronics mobile and our carrier doesn't have a great tethering option. I have the original month by month unlimited plan for my iPad so there is no way I'm giving that up.
I love the Air and wouldn't trade for the mini but I did try to talk my husband into getting the mini just to have one in the house. I wouldn't mind getting a mini also but I can't justify it, especially the extra cost of pricing up a cellular plan. We like having our electronics mobile and our carrier doesn't have a great tethering option. I have the original month by month unlimited plan for my iPad so there is no way I'm giving that up.
My only regret with my rMini is not getting the cellular model. I can't really put the $180 or whatever it is toward it though, when I can just tether from my iPhone 
It would be nice to have it be instant 3g though.
It would be nice to have it be instant 3g though.
My only regret with my rMini is not getting the cellular model. I can't really put the $180 or whatever it is toward it though, when I can just tether from my iPhone
Definitely like having cellular. I take my iPad along with me all the time and like to stream, use GPS and just be able to use the iPad the same as I would at home.
The only thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to watch football live without a sling box (which I don't have). Can anyone give me some tips?
NFL or collage? I don't watch much NFL but for collage. ESPN WATCH and CBS sports usually covers the games I want to see. (SEC) with ESPN watch you need a cable or Sat subscription. CBS sports app is free to watch. As for the NFL, I think there is a dedicated app for them, like the MLB app. Plus ESPN Watch will do this too as I imagine CBS would. If they're playing in those channels.
Better idea: Keep both
Dont know how many times it has to be said, theres zero point in owning both.
Would you buy a 13" laptop and a 11" laptop? Exactly
OP, the mini is the better choice, its meant to be carried with you. Its form factor just cant be beat, and anyone who finds the screen too small, please book an eye exam with your optomitrist.
The text on the original Mini was never an issue because it can be enlarged for most things, especially in reading apps such as iBooks.
Heres a great review. One of the best ive read from someone who has used both the air and mini for the past month. I agree with everything he said.
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/12/12/ipad-mini-retina-display-thoughts-one-month/
You made the right choice.
Honestly if need a device simply for couch surfing, id rather get a $200 chromebook than an air as it will be much more productive and comfortable and its 1/3 the price, oonce you factor in skin, overpriced smart cover for the air.
In fact, thats what im going to do today. Pick up a chrome book for stationary bed use and keep the mini. $500 on a couch tablet that cant multitask? No thanks.
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What happened to the Dell V 8?? Isn't your eyesight good enough for using the mini in bed? And
isn't that a little like having both? Don't know how many times it has to be said.
I though smart people bought iOS devices...
Smart people diversify. Titanic was a good ship for a while...
I though smart people bought iOS devices...
This smart person does.
All my devices are iOS. But then what do I know - I bought the Air and the rMini and haven't had a moments regret even though everyone knows they are the same.----------
Smart people diversify. Titanic was a good ship for a while...
Diversification is good in investing. Not so sure in tablets.
This smart person does.
Well, not everyone. If you keep track of the people who are giving others a hard time for picking one over the other or both, it's always the same 3-4 characters. Hardly worth worrying about.
Well, not everyone. If you keep track of the people who are giving others a hard time for picking one over the other or both, it's always the same 3-4 characters. Hardly worth worrying about.
Not keeping me up at night.
Just can't help responding to some of this - My Bad.It's good at least to get yourself fluent with other platforms, especially with the ones that are really good. When times comes to jump the ship, you'll be ready, instead of being totally clueless with how to lower and operate the escape boat when Titanic is sinking...
It only cost me $300 to get both Nexus 7.2 and Venue 8 Pro, $100 less than the entry level rMini - thanks to generous holiday sales. I opened other worlds for myself which I used to blindly dismiss before. And I like all 3 of them!
Im using the mini for reading in bed and around the house and anywhere outside of the house. Having the chromebook in bed gives me a bigger screen and bigger than the air, but gives a full keyboard and is 1/3 the price. WHen im in bed on the web, no matter how comfortable the mini is to type on, whenever I have longer bunches to type and have the option between full keyboard or on screen i will always choose the keyboard. Its nice to have this option.
A chromebook and mini is a lot better than owning two ipads that are the exact same thing just different size. I like variety, having everything ios, why? I had an iphone and ipad for 2 years and honestly it was boring to me. Same OS, same functionality. But i like to explore, i dont like to be generic.
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