All iPads I own an iPad 3. Is it dumb to buy a mini or mini 2?

Having TWO iPads at the same time (and for one primary user, yourself) is a bit much. As to answer your girlfriend, why not compromise and say "You can use my iPad 3..."?

 

I currently have both an iPad 3 and a mini. I bought the iPad 3 at launch, and I got a mini when it came out to try. I ended up keeping the mini because I liked how light and portable it is, but when I'm home, I prefer the iPad 3's larger screen for most tasks. Whether or not having both the 3 and mini is too much depends totally on your personal situation -- whether you can afford it, whether you use them enough to justify the expense (I use my iPads so much I regularly run out of battery by the end of the day if I have just one, having two prevents this problem), etc. I wouldn't say it is automatically dumb to have both (or else I'd have to call myself dumb), but I wouldn't say it is a good idea for everyone, either. Sorry if that doesn't help, but it totally depends on you!

 

In my opinion multiple iPads are not really needed. You may like the smaller form factor but other then that they both run the same software and perform the same tasks. I say save your money.

 

I too have an iPad 3 and a Mini. For my personal use, I wouldn't consider it dumb at all. I use my iPad all the time and having two I always have one with a fully charged battery. Initially, I was going to sell the iPad 3 and keep just the mini, however not wanting to lose money on my 7 month old iPad convinced me to just keep it. Having two if you're a light user might not be that beneficial, but for my use it works great because I rarely touch my laptop these days.

No two people or situations are alike. Evaluate your own needs and decide from there. There are no wrong answers...to each his own.

 

i just have the ipad 4, i would buy a mini unless you plan on takeing it with u to travel one is enough for me

 

i would purchase a mini simply for the main purpose of reading. feels just right in your hands.

 

You're not dumb at all as I have an ipad 3 and mini. Otherwise we're both dumb. Kidding aside they both function differently. In my case, for on the go ipad I carry my mini and for home use I usually have my ipad 3.

 

Lol they both perform the same function, it's how use perceive the form factor that's differentiates them for you. No not dumb per se, but not everyone can afford the luxury of having both for different uses.

 

You really can't take your fullsized iPad wherever you go? You're acting as if it's a desktop computer.

 

Seems like complete overkill to have two devices that are nearly identical except for a small difference in screen size and form factor. Not worth it. It's not like the ipad 3 is humongous. Just live with it until iPad 5 comes out, which should be significantly lighter.

 

I currently own an iPad 3 and an iPhone 4S. If Apple releases an iPad mini w/Retina Display this year I will be nixing my cell phone at the end of its contract, turning my iPhone into an iPod Touch, selling my iPad 3 (or giving it to a family member), and then buy a mini. I will then use VOIP apps to turn a $130 total cell bill per month into a $30-50 bill. If that's similar to what you plan to do in the end, I wouldn't call it overkill.

 

I have an iPad 3. It's going to take a lot to make me upgrade. I don't take it as many places as my iPhone, so it's a product I expect to last longer before I ditch it. I went from an iPad 2 to 3 with my dad buying my old one to upgrade from his first-gen. The difference in the screen was easily worth it.

Now what? All the iPad 4 did is upgrade the processor and give it a Lightning port. I don't have a desire for LTE because I can't afford to jump to those share plans for an extra $30/month.

I think the mini has to go Retina before I would even think about going that route. Even then, I really like the 9.7 inches of screen space. It's about the same size as most magazines and larger than most books, so it's a decent size and just feels like a digital magazine or book. I don't think mini is something that would ever be the size to fit in a pocket of mine, so I pretty much thing I'll stick with mega.

But I can see the mini being a good thing for women. Most purses are easily big enough for an iPad mini.

 

The mini is perfect for traveling i think personally well worth the money. I watch the a lot tv series on my 9'7 inch and use the mini for games reading and going on the forum.I would get one and use it for a week and see what you think of it and make your mind up.Everyone can tell you what to do but it down to you at the end of the day it might suite you it might not.Only you can make the descision

 

I'd highly suggest a Kindle Paperwhite for reading. It's far less expensive than my iPad mini & a much better device for reading.

Plus I save money buying Kindle books since they send me daily sales prices that offer books at far less than Apple.

I put the Kindle App on my mini & iPad4, yet neither of those is as nice as the Paperwhite technology for reading.

That's why I bought all three. As much as I read it's well worth it.

 

You know it seems today that having two tablets is a luxury, but I expect that to change, as more people get one, perhaps prices will even come down in the future, use cases for these wonderful devices increase, and people will want to have multiples ones, either the same size or different for different situations.

If you can afford to own two, lead the way - tomorrow we'll each have as many as they show on Star Trek.

 

I have an iPad 3 and plan on getting a mini. Mostly because I can carry the mini more easily when traveling or just out and about.

I didn't get the first one because I had issues with my iPad 2 running out of memory. Lots and lots of 'low memory' crashes so I upgraded to the 3. Hopefully the next mini has at least a gig of RAM. If not, then I'll skip it too.

I see no issue with having both if you have a good use case. For me I travel a lot and even my iPad 3 begins to weigh a lot after close to 30 hours of sluffing through airports. And I read a lot for long periods so the weight of the mini would be nice. Would replace my old Kindle and my iPad 3 with one device.

I also want to upgrade to the next full size iPad but if Apple decides to put both out this fall I'll probably skip the next full size. Too much money all at once, especially in the fall before Christmas. I can't believe they seem to be releasing all new products at the same time. I would have sprung for both if they were released 6 months or so apart. Sigh.....

 

I can see an iPad with no cameras maybe since some people do have work restrictions around cameras. However, I can't see an 8GB mini as that would fill up too fast.

 

It seems silly but it depends on how you use them. I sold my iPad 1 which I retired to my kitchen when I bought the iPad 3. I do want an iPad back in my kitchen so I can see owning an iPad Mini and an iPad 3 with the 3 being in the kitchen. If I feel as thought I want a bigger iPad, I can either swap them or just wander to the kitchen, grab a beer and the iPad.

 

I also have an iPad 3, which I bought at launch, but plan on buying a mini to replace it. My wife has an iPad 2 which I will either resell and put the money towards the purchase of the Retina Mini, or it will go to my 5 yr old. My iPad 3 will go to my wife, it will be an upgrade for her.

I currently have a Coby Android tablet (MID7065) that I have been playing around with to get a feel for Android and I have some of her apps on there from the Play store so that if she should drop it it won't be so expensive. Battery last for about 5 hrs or so but the screen sucks. Wifi is definitely not as good as my iPads. So far there isn't much that I am really liking about Android other than I can put a SD card into it for extra storage and can copy movies to it a bit easier than my ipad. Other than that though, I prefer my iPad and iOS.

I use the iPad every day. The Coby tablet is a toy to tinker with and for my daughter to use and watch her movies on, plus it is smaller and lighter for her to use a bit easier than trying to hold an ipad.

I would say hold onto the iPad 3. See if the new mini comes out with retina and with features that you are willing to spend money on. Then you can resell the 3 if you want and put the money towards the new mini.

I for one am not buying a mini until it rivals or exceed my iPad 3 though. Same processor or faster, 1 GB of RAM or more, retina screen, and I am hoping for HD front facing camera and hopefully the iP5's 8 MP rear camera but can live with the 5 MP if it comes with it.

 

I have both the 2 and the mini. The mini is a superior ebook reader for me, so comfortable to hold in bed, or on a sofa, for extended periods of time, and just the right size for ebook reading (to be specific, I'm referring to proper ebooks, not pdf's).

So if spending a bunch of time within the kindle, ibook, stanza, kobo etc type app is what you do, I say get the mini. Otherwise, I dont see too much value in owning a mini if you already have a 3.

Funnily enough my situation is similar to Jessica's above, where the ipad2 has been relegated to a permanent kitchen spot, so the family can use it as a skype interface more than anything.

 

I've got an ipad 3 and a mini, and use both very differently, the 3 is my go to device in the house, whereas the mini travels everywhere in my laptop bag.

Is it necessary? no

Is it a luxry? definitely.

Does it work for me? definitely

If you can afford to have both, and you want to do it whats stopping you?

In time i guess each will be rolled out to different functions, just like my original ipad now sits on my treadmill to watch netflix, and my ipad 2 is now in use by my wife.

 

I seem to think if you are going to buy something and you are going to use it then the price of the product is worth the money me personally i use the mini many hours of a day its is actually what i'am using now to type to you on via bluetooth i think personally the mini comes in its own when you are traveling around it perfect nothing to big to carry around with the screen big enough to view things on.

Explains to us what you are thinking of using a mini for?

i have a 9'7 inch iPad 1st generation and the only time that i use that iPad is purely just for watching tv on via Eye Tv or watching Tv Series a part from that i never really use it the mini has all the attention.

i use my mini a least 6 hours of a day and the 9'7 inch iPad about 1 hour to watch media

The only person that can answer your questions is yourself

 

We have both in our household so I can see the merits of both. But, for one person, it seems like complete overkill. Do you have an iPhone?