I've made a huge mistake. I really needed a new computer--my Mac mini wasn't cutting it anymore, and I felt like it wasn't worth it to have my iPad Air because I was using my iPhone 6 so much for everything. (The bigger screened phone seemed to dramatically decrease my iPad usage.) I have also decided that the iPad Pro is not the right product for me as far as productivity, so I figured that my 13" rMBP and my iPhone 6 (and of course my trusty Apple Watch) would be the killer combo. I was wrong. It took about a month, but I have finally realized how much I miss having an iPad. With the weather getting a little colder, sometimes I like to just head up to bed a little early, get under the covers, and watch a movie or read a book. I can do those things on my iPhone 6 (and I do), but there is no device in that situation that is better than an iPad. I still don't care for iOS as a productivity platform, but it is the supreme platform for media consumption in my book. So here I am a month later, scouring eBay. I'm about to pull the trigger on an iPad mini 3. I know it was a BS upgrade from the 2, but since I'm now coming from no iPad at all, I figure the 3 is fine. The new model is overkill for what I like to do with an iPad and the 3 will save me some money. I feel like a bit of a chump. I don't know why I ever thought getting rid of my iPad completely, even with its decreased use, would ever be a good idea.
Well there's quite a few deals on various iPads to be had at Staples, Target and Best Buy...all of which price match. It just depends on how much you're willing to spend. Deals end tomorrow. Good luck!
I ended winning my auction for the iPad Mini 3--got it for $250. Didn't like any of the iPad 2's I saw as many of them were either in bad shape or priced too high. Anyway--I am relieved that I will have an iPad again soon. I love my rMBP but I've learned the valuable lesson that the iPad occupied a very important role in my gadget collection.
Can't--on contract with my iPhone 6 for another year. I am probably going to get whatever the Plus model is next year.
I assume that you meant Mini 2 when you said iPad 2, as I would not suggest anybody buy an iPad 2 at this point. I have one and it's still chugging along, but it's kinda chugging along... I was going to ask why you didn't go with the Mini 2 over the 3 since they're basically identical aside from Touch ID but if that was the case, I can certainly see why you'd want to go with the 3. Getting it for basically what Apple is selling for the price of a new 16GB Mini 2 is another plus. Indeed. There was a point in time where my iPad usage dipped and I contemplated selling it but I didn't, and boy am I glad about that. I use it on a daily basis and like you I love my rMB and 6+ but neither can really replace the iPad.
Ah, yes I did mean mini 2! Yeah, I was keeping a close eye on my max bids vs. what I could pay Apple for a refurb. I noticed a lot of people were selling because they didn't use the iPad much. I wonder if they'll be in the same boat as me in a month--scouring the Internet looking for another iPad.
Yes--I didn't see that story until about two days after the fact. Timing just didn't work out that way.
This story made me smile, mainly from sympathy as I'm in a very similar situation. I saw a really good contract deal for the Surface 3 LTE and since my iPad Air contract had finished I thought, why not? I liked the idea of a tablet that could be a netbooks-type laptop. Well... I had the Surface less than three days before I decided no way. It's going back and I'm getting myself an Air 2, which will be a nice upgrade over my Air. Typing this from my rMBP because the Surface's so-called 'touch' drives me nuts. It's not bad, it's just not ... iPad standard and I've had an iPad for nearly four years, so I'm spoiled. Like you, lesson learned!
I am with you. Had a surface pro 3 for like 3 days and said there are way too many compromises with this device as it wasn't excellent at anything. I went to a Macbook Pro from it and know what you mean.
This thread makes me kick myself as well. I did the same thing a month and a half ago. Sold my iPad Air 2 and got a Surface 3 so that I could get some more work done on the road and not carry my 13" retina MBP. Loved the Surface at first, but in the end it was a big mistake. So I've been iPad-less for awhile making do with my MBP and iPhone 6 (now 6s). And I can't stand it. Even though I never used the iPad for work I now realize how much I really used it at home for entertainment purposes / media device. I also miss using it as a video streaming device while doing cardio workouts. Rather than get another iPad Air 2 I am leaning toward getting the new Mini 4. I have a 10% off Best Buy move coupon plus $10 in rewards, so no time like the present to use them!
Holy... how? There are some iPad 1s at work and even before I had an iPad of my own, I knew they were WAY too old. And that was like 2 years ago...
Why can't you just use the Surface Pro 3 as a tablet? I played around with it in Best Buy. It isn't too heavy for its size.
I tried the Surface 3, not the Pro, so yeah that was even smaller than the Pro. I didn't like the feel of it while using it as a tablet and the way Microsoft chose to implement the battery re-charging really irritated me. There was no way to turn off the stupid auto dimming feature, I tried every method out there in the forums. It didn't use the standard Intel graphics software that could control it. Oftentimes it wouldn't charge while plugged in and in use because it would've been using too much power. The whole thing was just a headache. I've been spoiled by the smoothness of iOS and the usability of the iPad. It is just so much easier and more pleasant to use as a tablet.
I find both sizes to be great for watching movies in bed. I gravitated toward the mini this time because I like that it's about the size/weight of a paperback book.
So I've been using my new (to me) iPad mini 3 for a couple of days straight now. This is my first mini model--my iPads have always been full sized. My wife has been using the first gen mini for awhile now and still loves it, so I figured this would be a safe bet. I was right. Not only do I love having an iPad again, but I love having a SMALL iPad that's about the size of a large paperback. Maybe an iPad Pro is in my future someday when they get iOS up to snuff for my productivity needs, but for now, when I need something bigger, I pull out my trusty rMBP. The iPad mini is for reading/TV/movies/etc. So glad I'm back in the iPad fold though. The productivity things they HAVE done in iOS are quite nice. I can't do split screen on this model (not a big fan of this mode on iOS or OSX anyway), but I have already used slide over a lot for Twitter and iMessage.