All iPads iPad air or iPad mini:Can't Decide

[Hey Jude]

Perusing through posts, debating myself to sleep as well. Did you follow up on this? Even an improvement on color, if at all?

Unfortunately, my day was hijacked a bit, so didn't get a chance to follow-up. I will admit that I decided to keep the Mini and return the Air despite its screen shortcomings. I have not used the Air since the Mini's arrival, and unless viewed side by side, I haven't noticed the slightly washed out screen.

I have a calibrated 11" MBA for those times when color fidelity is absolutely critical, but I don't believe that my average client will notice the difference when they view their images on my Retina Mini, however YMMV

I will calibrate the screen and report back tomorrow for those still on the fence.

 

[richardmu]

Bought the Air on Nov 1 and am very pleased with it.

Gave my iPad 2 to relatives and sold my 7" Kindle Fire HD to someone in the pub. A buying opportunity then arose so I picked up the new mini yesterday.

Getting to like it although was a bit unsure at first. The screen is very good but not a patch on that of the Air. Nowhere near as vibrant looking even compared to the old Kindle.

I will probably keep it for the smaller form factor but if I had to choose between the two and size wasn't a major factor then the Air is definitely the one to go for.

 

[Beta Particle]

I've got the mini after having two generations of the iPad. I have to say that I like the mini because it fits in my coat pocket and it is easy to read standing on the Subway. But in almost any other situation the full size iPad is superior. I don't regret my Mini purchase because of the days I can leave my briefcase or man bag at home and still have a tablet with me. But I can see why Apple hesitated to enter this size space. It just is not as nice an experience as using the fullsize Air. It is nicer to carry around a mini, but not to use it.

I just wanted to say that this is a great post, and I wish I had read it before I bought my mini.


Buy the mini if you want a device to carry around with you all the time.
It's ideally suited to reading books rather than watching videos or playing games.

If you plan on using the device primarily at home, I would get the Air without question.

 

[skiltrip]

The one time I wished I had the larger screen is when I was passing my mini around the table at a meeting to view a PowerPoint presentation that my boss sent me. The other 99‰ of the time I'm loving the mini form factor.

 

[Valinor]

I just wanted to say that this is a great post, and I wish I had read it before I bought my mini.


Buy the mini if you want a device to carry around with you all the time.
It's ideally suited to reading books rather than watching videos or playing games.

If you plan on using the device primarily at home, I would get the Air without question.

Depends on how big your pockets are. Mini wont fit in my pockets, or even if it fits, it will stick out. So I'll always have to have a bag with me. Thats why I went for the Air. Its now light enough to carry around and I like the bigger screen.
Also the colors of the rMini looked really dull to me, couldnt make myself spend that much money on a dull looking screen.

 

[Hey Jude]

Calibrated Screen - iPad Retina

I finally got around to "calibrating" the screen, and I have posted a few images for those interested. I literally completed the calibration a few minutes ago, so not much time to review the effects, but my initial observation is the greens appear to be more saturated with calibration on, and if that is the only difference, I can live with it.

I have not edited the on/off images except for resizing:

 

[ucfgrad93]

It all depends on how big a screen you want or the ease of portability.

 

[AttilaTheHun]

It all depends on how big a screen you want or the ease of portability.

I have the firts mini and my wife the ipad 2, the ipad is very have and too big to hold, that's the reson I bought the mini.
but after playing with the ipad air , I liked it it has the big screen it's light not too big to hold ,that took care of my dilema.
BTW like your frase now it's not my folt for misspaling it's the pencil....

 

[Misskitty]

Surprised no one has mentioned it

Typing on the mini is still more comfortable than typing on the air with split key board. Though i have gotten much better at it over the past 4 days, nothing beats the mini.



The split board takes a lot of hand eye coordination and has a steep learning curve. But due to smaller key size, it actually has less travel distance for your thumbs to go compared to the mini.

 

[Beta Particle]

I finally got around to "calibrating" the screen, and I have posted a few images for those interested. I literally completed the calibration a few minutes ago, so not much time to review the effects, but my initial observation is the greens appear to be more saturated with calibration on, and if that is the only difference, I can live with it.

I have not edited the on/off images except for resizing:

The problem is not really the display's calibration, but the fact that it has a limited gamut. Calibration can only reduce gamut, it cannot increase it - that depends on the panel type and the backlight used.

Surprised no one has mentioned it

Typing on the mini is still more comfortable than typing on the air with split key board. Though i have gotten much better at it over the past 4 days, nothing beats the mini.

The split board takes a lot of hand eye coordination and has a steep learning curve. But due to smaller key size, it actually has less travel distance for your thumbs to go compared to the mini.

I can't agree with this at all - I hate typing on the mini. The split keyboard on the mini is too close together when it's vertical, and the keys are too small with the "large" keyboard when it's vertical.

When the mini is horizontal, the large keyboard is similar in size to the vertical keyboard on the Air, but I don't like typing with that one at all when I'm holding the mini in one hand - the weight of the device is unbalanced when held like that.

With my iPad 3, I could type out a message using the split keyboard without even having to look at the screen, so there's no hand-eye co-ordination required.

 

[Hey Jude]

The problem is not really the display's calibration, but the fact that it has a limited gamut. Calibration can only reduce gamut, it cannot increase it - that depends on the panel type and the backlight used.

I posted my findings at the request of another poster. I was on the fence because as a photographer color fidelity is important for those times when it's easier for me to whip out the iPad instead of my 11" MBA. I am not an expert, nor am I interested in convincing anyone to purchase one model over the other, I simply reported back, as promised.

I can only state that after viewing my calibrated Mini against my uncalibrated Air, I am getting richer, more saturated colors. I have no interest in calibrating the Air's screen because I don't intend to keep it as, for me, the issue is settled.

Now, I'm going to see my way out of this thread

ETA: a clarification: my pictures are more saturated vis-a-vis the uncalibrated Air, however after surfing a bit the Air's screen is more saturated overall. HTH someone.

 

[chiu]

I just wanted to say that this is a great post, and I wish I had read it before I bought my mini.


Buy the mini if you want a device to carry around with you all the time.
It's ideally suited to reading books rather than watching videos or playing games.

If you plan on using the device primarily at home, I would get the Air without question.

I agree with you totally! I have an iPad air wifi version I use it mostly at home and take it with me when i travel, thats the main reason i went the bigger screen. But either way both the iPad Mini and iPad 5 are great!!

 

[Misskitty]

The problem is not really the display's calibration, but the fact that it has a limited gamut. Calibration can only reduce gamut, it cannot increase it - that depends on the panel type and the backlight used.

I can't agree with this at all - I hate typing on the mini. The split keyboard on the mini is too close together when it's vertical, and the keys are too small with the "large" keyboard when it's vertical.

When the mini is horizontal, the large keyboard is similar in size to the vertical keyboard on the Air, but I don't like typing with that one at all when I'm holding the mini in one hand - the weight of the device is unbalanced when held like that.

With my iPad 3, I could type out a message using the split keyboard without even having to look at the screen, so there's no hand-eye co-ordination required.

Do you have big hands? So your prefer the split keyboard on the air? I admit it feels really awkward at first, but once you get a grasp of things, its pretty nice on the fingers becaise theres literally zero travel distance for your thumbs.

The mini full keyboard in horizontal, i would say is the largest id go in terms pf key size. There is still quite a bit of thumb travel.

How long did it take for you to type on the split keyboard without having to look at the keys? Cause ive noticed that im starting to having to look less amd less at the keys when typing. I actually quite like it.

 

[Beta Particle]

Do you have big hands? So your prefer the split keyboard on the air? I admit it feels really awkward at first, but once you get a grasp of things, its pretty nice on the fingers becaise theres literally zero travel distance for your thumbs.

I do have big hands, but I've not used an Air. On my iPad 3 though, I preferred to use the split keyboard when holding the device vertically.
With an iPad 3 there's enough space between my hands that this is comfortable to hold, and it's very easy to type out messages with your thumbs when holding the device this way.

Before the split keyboard was introduced, I would either use the vertical keyboard, holding the iPad in one hand and using the other to type, or the horizontal keyboard with the iPad flat on a desk. (similar in size to the MacBook keyboard)

I don't find the split keyboard comfortable on the mini because my hands are too close together when using it.

The mini full keyboard in horizontal, i would say is the largest id go in terms pf key size. There is still quite a bit of thumb travel.

This is similar in size to the larger iPad's vertical keyboard.

I suppose I'm too used to the split keyboard on the larger iPads, and always holding the device vertically though. The horizontal keyboard doesn't let you see much on the screen, and I find it awkward to hold the device horizontally while typing in the other hand. (though the light weight of the mini helps)

When held vertically, the mini is just too wide for me to hold comfortably with one hand across the back of it, and the bezel is too thin to hold it securely at an edge while typing. And trying to type with thumbs on the larger keyboard while holding the device in two hands is very slow for me.

How long did it take for you to type on the split keyboard without having to look at the keys? Cause ive noticed that im starting to having to look less amd less at the keys when typing. I actually quite like it.

I picked it up fairly quickly as I touch-type on a regular keyboard, so I know the layout of the keys. Adapting to using my thumbs to type that way didn't take too long. If you make mistakes, autocorrection usually takes care of it.

I can only state that after viewing my calibrated Mini against my uncalibrated Air, I am getting richer, more saturated colors. I have no interest in calibrating the Air's screen because I don't intend to keep it as, for me, the issue is settled.

But you can only view calibrated images inside the Spyder app - it does not actually create a system-wide display profile the way that display calibration does on a Mac. So even if it gave you perfect color (which it won't) it's not really any help.

 

[HappyDude20]

I posted my findings at the request of another poster. I was on the fence because as a photographer color fidelity is important for those times when it's easier for me to whip out the iPad instead of my 11" MBA. I am not an expert, nor am I interested in convincing anyone to purchase one model over the other, I simply reported back, as promised.

I can only state that after viewing my calibrated Mini against my uncalibrated Air, I am getting richer, more saturated colors. I have no interest in calibrating the Air's screen because I don't intend to keep it as, for me, the issue is settled.

Now, I'm going to see my way out of this thread

ETA: a clarification: my pictures are more saturated vis-a-vis the uncalibrated Air, however after surfing a bit the Air's screen is more saturated overall. HTH someone.

And I truly do appreciate you taking the time to humor/help me. Thank you, honestly.