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iPad mini iPad mini vs iPhone 5

gdeusthewhizkid

gdeusthewhizkid

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 14, 2008
753
41
NY|NJ
hey guys,

Its finally that time and i have some extra money to spare and im thinking of pulling the plug on a ipad mini or iphone 5. problem is i can't decide which one to go with. I bought a iphone 4s which I love a few months ago. Problem is im a heavy instagram user and im always taking pictures. im also a heavy surfer so the 4s battery life drives me crazy. I also watch a lot of tv shows and movies on my iphone 4s. It just doesn't cut it for me with the heavy media consumption that i do. I like the iphone 5 but im not in love with it to get it. I do however need more space and the ipad mini is perfect but it's a bit too expensive especially for the 32 gig.

any suggestions?
 
I hated watching movies & TV on my iPhone and your eyes won't be thanking you either. I highly recommend the Mini with its almost 8' screen.

I watch movies/videos plus trailers on it constantly and am very thankful for that much bigger screen real estate
 
if you feel like you will always have the mini with you, then go that route b.c a 4S is perfectly capable. Don't forget to add in the cost of the LTE model with a plan. If you have at&t, you would have to get on the shared plan or start a new account. If you only need the wifi version then go with the mini b.c it is obviously a far superior media consumption device than a phone. Plus with photo stream you can easily take a picture with your 4S and use the mini for everything else.

I guess what I am getting at is can you survive with a wifi only mini? If you cannot and are on an unlimited plan, I would get an iphone 5. If you can then get the mini
 
I have at&t how does the shared plan work? would it mess with my unlimited data plan...

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mattopotamus said:
if you feel like you will always have the mini with you, then go that route b.c a 4S is perfectly capable. Don't forget to add in the cost of the LTE model with a plan. If you have at&t, you would have to get on the shared plan or start a new account. If you only need the wifi version that go with the mini b.c it is obviously a far superior media consumption device than a phone. Plus with photo stream you can easily take a picture with your 4S and use the mini for everything else.
Click to expand...

you make great points. something to think about..
 
gdeusthewhizkid said:
hey guys,

Its finally that time and i have some extra money to spare and im thinking of pulling the plug on a ipad mini or iphone 5. problem is i can't decide which one to go with. I bought a iphone 4s which I love a few months ago. Problem is im a heavy instagram user and im always taking pictures. im also a heavy surfer so the 4s battery life drives me crazy. I also watch a lot of tv shows and movies on my iphone 4s. It just doesn't cut it for me with the heavy media consumption that i do. I like the iphone 5 but im not in love with it to get it. I do however need more space and the ipad mini is perfect but it's a bit too expensive especially for the 32 gig.

any suggestions?
Click to expand...

You're probably not going to see much difference between the 4s and 5 in terms of consuming "media" or battery life. There were some improvements to the camera, but I don't know how much you'd actually see in real life. In other words, the 5 will be a bit of an upgrade to your 4s, but not much. And it won't fix some of your key issues, like watching media. The extra .5" diagonally doesn't make watching tv shows that much better.

The mini, on the other hand, is designed for what you want to do. Apparently. Don't know if you want to cart it around all the time, cause it won't fit in your pants pocket like an iPhone will.

As far as price goes... The iPhone 5 upgrade will cost you whatever the price difference is between what you can sell your 4s for and the cost of the 5. With the iPad mini, you will likely need to keep your phone, so it's all out of pocket money. Likely to cost you a lot more. Only you can decide if it's worth it.

Clint
 
gdeusthewhizkid said:
I have at&t how does the shared plan work? would it mess with my unlimited data plan...

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you make great points. something to think about..
Click to expand...

Yes it would mess with your unlimited plan. You cannot add a device to that plan w/o losing unlimited data. Since it sounds like you use a lot of data, it is not worth losing it. You basically would have to either switch to a shared plan, or start a new plan with the mini (another hefty monthly bill). LTE is insanely fast on att with the iphone 5.

If I were in your shoes and the wifi only model could get the job done, I would do that. If not, it would be a side piece that you rarely use b.c of lack of internet.

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darngooddesign said:
If you find that the Mini becomes your main iOS device, you can sell your 4S and get a 4. This will pay for some of your iPad Mini.
Click to expand...

there is definitely a noticeable speed difference going from a 4S to a 4. The 4S to 5 or vice versa, not so much....but downgrading to a 4 will be highly noticeable.
 
mattopotamus said:
...there is definitely a noticeable speed difference going from a 4S to a 4. The 4S to 5 or vice versa, not so much....but downgrading to a 4 will be highly noticeable.
Click to expand...

I realize that, but if the Mini becomes the OP's go-to device the speed difference may not be a bother if the iPhone isn't used for very much. Some people have even moved down to dumbphones because they use the Mini almost exclusivley.
 
darngooddesign said:
I realize that, but if the Mini becomes the OP's go-to device the speed difference may not be a bother if the iPhone isn't used for very much. Some people have even moved down to dumbphones because they use the Mini almost exclusivley.
Click to expand...

That makes complete sense. But the issue still becomes the cost of data. You have to have a data plan with the iPhone. He would almost be better using a dumb phone for text and calls and getting a high plan for an LTE mini.

The issue with that is his imessages would go to the ipad and normal text to his cell....unless he wanted to dump imessage all together. Honestly, if you cannot use the wifi version and have unlimited data the LTE model is a poor decision IMO
 
mattopotamus said:
That makes complete sense. But the issue still becomes the cost of data. You have to have a data plan with the iPhone. He would almost be better using a dumb phone for text and calls and getting a high plan for an LTE mini
Click to expand...

Most people will save enough to pay for the top-tier Mini in less than a year.
 
darngooddesign said:
If you find that the Mini becomes your main iOS device, you can sell your 4S and get a 4. This will pay for some of your iPad Mini.
Click to expand...

i still have my 4 which i use like a ipod touch. but the screen is a issue for me now. when i do get the mini im thinking of dropping iphone all together and checking out the samsung note 2. Im hearing great things about that phone...
 
gdeusthewhizkid said:
i still have my 4 which i use like a ipod touch. but the screen is a issue for me now. when i do get the mini im thinking of dropping iphone all together and checking out the samsung note 2. Im hearing great things about that phone...
Click to expand...

A mini and a Galaxy Note? Isn't that overkill?
 
gdeusthewhizkid said:
i still have my 4 which i use like a ipod touch. but the screen is a issue for me now. when i do get the mini im thinking of dropping iphone all together and checking out the samsung note 2. Im hearing great things about that phone...
Click to expand...

I'd suggest waiting until you've had your Mini for two or so months. You may find you don't use your iPhone for much, in which case the things you use your Note for would be the things you use your Mini for.

However you may not find the Mini to be pocketable enough to take everywhere in which case a larger screen phone may work best for you.

PDFierro said:
A mini and a Galaxy Note? Isn't that overkill?
Click to expand...


Not necessarily. The Mini isn't small enough to take everywhere.
 
Keep the 4s and get the mini. iPhone 5 is great but the mini is a whole new category and the 5 is really an unnecessary upgrade - battery life isn't much better than the 4s.
 
Mjmar said:
Keep the 4s and get the mini. iPhone 5 is great but the mini is a whole new category and the 5 is really an unnecessary upgrade - battery life isn't much better than the 4s.
Click to expand...

well LTE is a pretty big difference if you live in an area that supports it...especially on att unlimited plan. The throttle speed on non-LTE is at 3gb....with LTE it is 5gb
 
I'm getting the mini LTE to double as my "iPhone". No phone plan. I don't make or take that many calls anyway, so Mini plus Line2, Talkatone or Skype is going to cover both jobs for me. At worst, I'll be spending $20/month for LTE data to make the VOIP go (though most months, I'll skip the data toll and just use wifi for VOIP).

OP, depending on how many calls you take & make, you might want to consider the VOIP apps. With the savings over an iPhone or Android phone plan, you could buy this mini and the next 2. VOIP is not quite the same as dedicated voice services (especially for inbound calls) but if your use is mostly data/texting with only a little voice, this could be a good option that can also save you a lot of money.

In my case, most of my inbound calls end up going to voice mail anyway. So if I just make that the norm, I still get all my calls just as quickly as now and call people back exactly as I do now. Instead of shelling out $100/month for an iPhone or Android plan, I'll just use wifi the vast majority of the time and LTE only when I really need it (maybe once or twice each year).
 
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In your situation, I'd totally get the mini. It's totally my go up device at home and with iMessage I can use it to text most of my contacts.
 
Mjmar said:
Keep the 4s and get the mini. iPhone 5 is great but the mini is a whole new category and the 5 is really an unnecessary upgrade - battery life isn't much better than the 4s.
Click to expand...
I am considering this.

Im not really impressed with the iphone5. not saying its bad. I just dont deem it necessary for me...
 
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