Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad mini How bad is reading on the 1st gen ipad mini?

M

MacChinoNyc

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 14, 2008
427
7
I mean pdf files, web browsing, magazines? How about videos(Netflix,tv apps)

I'm considering buying this later as I'm not sure I'd need the new rMini.
 
I do it, and while its not as crisp as the retina device I think it handles it decently.
 
some people find that staring at a non-retina screen burns their eyes, others like myself get used to it and think its fine. I think if you look at things with a lot of tiny details, technical drawings/blueprints for example, you'll want the higher res screen.

A cheap used one represents a really good value, and you won't worry about taking a $200 or so tablet places that you would a $400 tablet. You'll also save money cause you can find one with cases and the like; maybe even with Apple Care.
 
The biggest issue, imo, is that small text is not sharp enough to read comfortably, and this leads to a lot of zooming and panning. I own an iPad specifically because I don't want to have to do that.
 
MacChinoNyc said:
How is battery life?
Click to expand...

The new ones get outstanding battery life, but people have rerouted everything from 10 hours to 16 hours on the old ones. It depends on what you are doing, but from regular use you should just need to charge it every couple of days, or just top it up overnight.
 
I regularly get 12+ hours of run time from my mini. Its an att model but I don't use cellular often.

I use it for notetaking, reading books, web browsing, games, and used to use it for WatchESPN (but thats available for AppleTV now).

Given that, I opted to get the Mini Retina.... While to do read books and web browse, I think I'll enjoy it more with the better display.
 
IMHO magazines are unreadable on a non-Retina screen. Books are passable but eyes tire faster than Retina, but honestly for long distance reader nothing beats an e-ink reader.

Videos are fine on the old mini.

That said, I wouldn't spend new money on the previous mini. $ down the shoot, penny saved, pound foolish and all that b/c you will end up wanting Retina and it's more versatile b/c of the improved screen. It's why so many original mini owners are now trading it in for Retina as soon as they can find the model they want in stock.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
IMHO magazines are unreadable on a non-Retina screen. Books are passable but eyes tire faster than Retina, but honestly for long distance reader nothing beats an e-ink reader.
Click to expand...

I disagree about everything except the e-ink reader. Books are fine as are magazines if you look at them in single-page portrait mode. Its subjective so if you need to make sure for yourself by going into a store and looking for yourself.
 
darngooddesign said:
I disagree about everything except the e-ink reader. Books are fine as are magazines if you look at them in single-page portrait mode. Its subjective so if you need to make sure for yourself by going into a store and looking for yourself.
Click to expand...

Why would I need to go to a store and look for myself? Up until a Wed I owned an original mini and have owned Retina iPads since the 3, so easy screen to screen comparison in my home. Magazines are extremely pixelated (on the Zinio app at least). Books are passable but not great and eye strain sets in earlier b/c the eyes have to do more work.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Why would I need to go to a store and look for myself? Up until a Wed I owned an original mini and have owned Retina iPads since the 3, so easy screen to screen comparison in my home. Magazines are extremely pixelated (on the Zinio app at least). Books are passable but not great and eye strain sets in earlier b/c the eyes have to do more work.
Click to expand...

I should have said "the OP should" instead of "you should" in my post.

This is why I said it was subjective. I can both read magazines (Newsstand and Zinio), books, and comics without any issues or eyestrain on my Mini so the OP really needs to go and see one for himself.
 
darngooddesign said:
I should have said "the OP should" instead of "you should" in my post.

This is why I said it was subjective. I can both read magazines (Newsstand and Zinio), books, and comics without any issues or eyestrain on my Mini so the OP really needs to go and see one for himself.
Click to expand...

Ah. Makes sense now. Agree everyone should check it w/ their own eyeballs.
 
MacChinoNyc said:
How is battery life?
Click to expand...
Exceptional. I primarily use my iPad mini at work for referencing material and taking notes. I've never bothered to look at the "usage since last charge" numbers so this comment will be difficult to extrapolate to your own usage, but even on 13-hour workdays with Bluetooth tethering to my iPhone, I've never managed to get the battery much below 40% (I think the lowest I achieve was 38%). On an average day, the battery is above 50%.

I've taken the Mini on long flights and even with a solid 3-4 hours of constant reading the battery remained above 70%. (Note that was on an airplane, where the screen brightness probably dimmed to a low setting and where all wireless functions are disabled.) It's an extremely impressive device for battery life.

As far as reading goes, I had no issues. Bear in mind that the pixel density is greater than the iPad 2. It's noticeable that it isn't a retina display, but it doesn't jump out at you as badly as the iPad 2 screen (which I find almost painful to go back to). I'm upgrading to a retina Mini so that I can write notes with thinner strokes and smaller writing, but I never had any issues reading typed text on my 1st-generation Mini. I can't recall ever thinking to myself, "I wish that this was a retina screen" while reading an e-book or PDF.

I have an iPad 3, so it's not the case that I've never used an iPad with a retina display before. Going between the iPad 3 and the first-generation Mini isn't a huge deal, either, although if given a choice I do prefer the better crispness of the retina display.
 
I've used the classic mini extensively for reading pdfs, and while I'm looking forward to the retina upgrade, it's been fine for this purpose.
 
Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display vs iPad Air

http://goodereader.com/blog/tablet-slates/apple-ipad-mini-with-retina-display-vs-ipad-air

"Welcome to yet another installment of the Good e-Reader Video Comparison Series! Today we check out the Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display and the Apple iPad Air. Over the course of the video we check out the reading experience with eBooks, magazines, newspapers, and comic books. As an added bonus we look at audio/video to see if the aspect ratio difference is noticeable."
 
OldPP said:
Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display vs iPad Air

http://goodereader.com/blog/tablet-slates/apple-ipad-mini-with-retina-display-vs-ipad-air

"Welcome to yet another installment of the Good e-Reader Video Comparison Series! Today we check out the Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display and the Apple iPad Air. Over the course of the video we check out the reading experience with eBooks, magazines, newspapers, and comic books. As an added bonus we look at audio/video to see if the aspect ratio difference is noticeable."
Click to expand...

Why would the aspect ratio be different on two 4:3 devices?
 
OldPP said:
Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display vs iPad Air

http://goodereader.com/blog/tablet-slates/apple-ipad-mini-with-retina-display-vs-ipad-air

"Welcome to yet another installment of the Good e-Reader Video Comparison Series! Today we check out the Apple iPad Mini with Retina Display and the Apple iPad Air. Over the course of the video we check out the reading experience with eBooks, magazines, newspapers, and comic books. As an added bonus we look at audio/video to see if the aspect ratio difference is noticeable."
Click to expand...

Jeez, what a cheesy, inaccurate introduction, didn't even bother with the video after reading it. There is no aspect ration difference, and the reviewer also writes that the iPad mini retina doesn't have a 128GB option?? That site also refers to an iPad 5 and an iPad mini 2, which are not the names of the devices.

I mean why include details if you know nothing about the device? Why not mask your ignorance by including less details??
 
Regardless, in that video review the ipad air looked better to me at least for my needs. Now how did this thread go from the ipad mini 1st gen to the ipad rMini to the ipad air.....Apple you did it again....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back