iPad mini Mini owners: how do you find your experience with the AIR?

[Misskitty]

PRrimarily 1) finger typing 2) thumb typing 3) viewing in both positions 4) portbability amd versaility.

After 4 solid days of using the air, as much as i love the bigger screen on the air (it does give a whole new experience), the mini still wins cause nothing will beat it for comfort and portability. I find that if you use the air for a few hours, then go to the mini, you really do miss the extra screen real estate

The thing with the air is that, even though its lighter than previous ipads, its still a big device. Compared to the mini, it feels huge.

Holding the mini and typing on it cant be anymore comfortable. Whether its landscape or portrait, the weight is perfect. On the air, its more comfortable than previous ipads but at the end of the day, its still too big.

Thumb typing>finger typing. This is why the mini was such a relief cause you could type on it just like you would with your phone. Cause really who the the hell finger types on their phones?

Unless you have big hands to thumb type on the air in landscape, your hands will scretch and a major chore just to reach the centre, and it isnt exactly the best for the hands. My hands will cramp.

So you split the keyboard, which even though ive gotten better with it after using it for a few days, it doesnt come close to the mini cause the keyboard size on the mini was perfect, whereas the keys on the air split Are sooooo tiny. You go from a keyboard thats too big, to one thats now too small. The keys are way too narrow IMO. I cant be the only one who thinks this? Apple should have put two adjistments levels for the split keyboard. Theres no happy medium.

Wanna know something odd? I was comparing the two, the air when split, the keys are the exact same size on the mini split! WTF? They should be bigger. How does that make any sense.

I can type so fast, whether thumb or finger, on the mini. Air, better than previous but once you add a case onto it, it still feels like a reg ipad.

I typed so much on my mini over the past year because it was so comfortable and natural. Ipad air, still feels like a full size ipad, which felt like a chore to me when i had an ipad 2.

 

[vincenz]

I owned an Air for a week before taking it back for an rMini. I've had the ipad 1 and 3 before this, but was a little underwhelmed by the Air. Yes, it's much lighter, but it was still a little heavy for extended 1-hand usage over a long period of time. The rMini solved that. Yes, the screen is smaller, but portability wins out in a device like this. I also don't think iOS scales well for the larger ipad. I never liked how it worked on that 9.7" screen, but didn't think much of it after using it for a while. If they do come out with a 13" one, they should have an iOS that takes advantage of the screen.

Typing is way easier on the rMini for sure and I love how I can palm the mini from behind if I choose to.

 

[Misskitty]

I owned an Air for a week before taking it back for an rMini. I've had the ipad 1 and 3 before this, but was a little underwhelmed by the Air. Yes, it's much lighter, but it was still a little heavy for extended 1-hand usage over a long period of time. The rMini solved that. Yes, the screen is smaller, but portability wins out in a device like this. I also don't think iOS scales well for the larger ipad. I never liked how it worked on that 9.7" screen, but didn't think much of it after using it for a while. If they do come out with a 13" one, they should have an iOS that takes advantage of the screen.

Typing is way easier on the rMini for sure and I love how I can palm the mini from behind if I choose to.

How did you type on the air? Finger or thumb? Split or full keyboard?

 

[RickTaylor]

I haven't owned an Air, so can't give a fair comparison. My experience has been limited to playing with the demo in an Apple Store, and trying out my brother's Ipad 3 (which is different of course, but has the same size screen). I think it's difficult to tell how one will find a device without at least a few days of trying it out, and as tempting as it is, I'm not willing to buy an Air, knowing I'm almost certainly going to return it.

Certainly I was surprised at how natural thumb typing in portrait mode feels on the mini. While not as good as having a keyboard, I've used it to take meeting notes. When I've tried to thumb type on the larger screen device, it's been more awkward.

There was a period where I was considering the Air. During that time, I became more conscious at just how convenient the mini was, how I could use it holding it in one hand while writing on a chalkboard with the other, or carry it around effortlessly as I was navigating using the gps. The Air is amazingly light, and only a few inches larger than the mini, but I'm pretty sure those few inches would make a difference the way I used the device. And of course for me the clincher is the mini fits in my jacket pockets.

 

[scupking]

I had a iPad 3 then first mini, then tried out the air for a week returned it and bought the minir. I thumb type on my iPads like I do with a phone and it's much easyer with the mini. The air is nice if you like the bigger iPads but once I went with the original mini I couldn't get use to the big ipad again. I can tell the mini is a little slower then the iPad air but not by much. For me the rMini is great!

 

[Robster3]

PRrimarily 1) finger typing 2) thumb typing 3) viewing in both positions 4) portbability amd versaility.

After 4 solid days of using the air, as much as i love the bigger screen on the air (it does give a whole new experience), the mini still wins cause nothing will beat it for comfort and portability. I find that if you use the air for a few hours, then go to the mini, you really do miss the extra screen real estate

The thing with the air is that, even though its lighter than previous ipads, its still a big device. Compared to the mini, it feels huge.

Holding the mini and typing on it cant be anymore comfortable. Whether its landscape or portrait, the weight is perfect. On the air, its more comfortable than previous ipads but at the end of the day, its still too big.

Thumb typing>finger typing. This is why the mini was such a relief cause you could type on it just like you would with your phone. Cause really who the the hell finger types on their phones?

Unless you have big hands to thumb type on the air in landscape, your hands will scretch and a major chore just to reach the centre, and it isnt exactly the best for the hands. My hands will cramp.

So you split the keyboard, which even though ive gotten better with it after using it for a few days, it doesnt come close to the mini cause the keyboard size on the mini was perfect, whereas the keys on the air split Are sooooo tiny. You go from a keyboard thats too big, to one thats now too small. The keys are way too narrow IMO. I cant be the only one who thinks this? Apple should have put two adjistments levels for the split keyboard. Theres no happy medium.

Wanna know something odd? I was comparing the two, the air when split, the keys are the exact same size on the mini split! WTF? They should be bigger. How does that make any sense.

I can type so fast, whether thumb or finger, on the mini. Air, better than previous but once you add a case onto it, it still feels like a reg ipad.

I typed so much on my mini over the past year because it was so comfortable and natural. Ipad air, still feels like a full size ipad, which felt like a chore to me when i had an ipad 2.

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