1rottenapple
macrumors 603
I love the original mini but the game I play at the moment keeps crashing a lot and so were websites I go to. The processor is old now... I hope next yrs mini is even better, and lighter.
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iPad mini Mini vs rMini
- Thread starter ron7624
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I love the original mini but the game I play at the moment keeps crashing a lot and so were websites I go to. The processor is old now... I hope next yrs mini is even better, and lighter.
Yes, I'm thoroughly enjoying my new rMini - there is no way in hell I'd trade it back. Also, my plan to trade my original Mini for a larger iPad came to frutation. (is that a word?)
Anyway, I put up my original Mini on CL for 100 dollars too much as an asking price with a note that I'd be interested in trading for a 4, wifi only model.
In less than an hour, I got a text message asking if a 3 that was wifi+data would do the trick, and I responded positively. I am really enjoying the larger tablet (when at home).
Since it is a data model, I ordered a sim from T-Mobile. So if my ATT wifi went out and ATT home internet went out, I could still be connected. I paid the 10 bucks for the starter kit and it is being shipped to me in a day or so. However, after ordering I'm finding out that free data costs 10 dollars a month. Go Figure.
EDH667
macrumors 65816
200 MB a month with a T-Mobile SIM will be free, don't worry about the talk of $10.00 a month. With an iPad 3 you may have more trouble activating the SIM. Follow the discussion at: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1665485/ .
S1njin
macrumors 6502a
No one could pay me to go back to the original non retina mini! No way in heck! Too much of a difference in the sharp screen and app performance, plus streaming video is faster.
The A7 processor is super IMHO
The A7 processor is super IMHO
You're looking for the word "fruition".
Too bad the Mini1 doesn't have an A6... 😎
i have owned all the iPads since the first one and the iPad Mini Retina is my favorite of all so far 🙂
MrXiro
macrumors 68040
The Tmobile data is free... especially in your case. Not sure if you're confused by the tons of misinformation on these pages but once you put the SIM card in, turn off wifi and turn on Cellular you will get a prompt screen in safari that asks you to create an account. Stick to the basic and you get 200mb a month totally free.
This worked like a champ. Thanks!!
The sim used 1.5 mb of data to sign me up for the 200 mb of free data and all looks good. I've turned cellular data off in settings and will leave it off unless I take it out for a test drive. It was showing 4g with 2 bars, and I live in an area notorious for poor service.
It's good to have as a backup, and if ever needed, I'll have it.
Regards
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Did you have to order the "Internet ONLY" sim? I have a spare nano sims from tmobile from when I ordered two for my unlocked iphone 5. Was wondering if I needed to order a separate sim for the ipad.
EDH667
macrumors 65816
You made that wrong choice, what you should have done was trade your ipad mini 1st gen for an air.
The air is pretty much a big mini. The screen size on it is sooooo nice! Its hard to go back to a 7.9" screen after.
robeddie
Suspended
Me too. Bought a 32 gig refurb mini from the apple store last week for $339 and couldn't be happier. I swear even with my glasses on I can barely tell the difference between retina and non at a normal viewing distance (iPad in lap while I sit on couch).
I seriously wonder if half the folks who rave about the retina screen are holding it up 6 inches from their face or something.... or just so swept away by apple marketing and confirmation bias that they justify the extra bucks they spent by convincing themselves there's a HUGE difference.
Of course, now those very same retina zealots will flame me here. Oh well 🙂
I don't disagree at all. I have a rMini though and I notice the difference immediately. However, if my primary usage was media and game consumption I would rather buy a larger capacity first gen mini over a retina.
But I do a lot of reading of pdfs, articles, and ebooks for work, school, and design and the retina comes in handy especially on tables/charts that are very small and need to be zoomed in. They don't take up much space and all are stored in the cloud anyway. But I'm not a resolution freak when it comes to watching videos and viewing pictures (content creation is a different story though), so the first gen mini should suffice for most. The $299 and even the deals at $200 are amazing. With that said, there is still a difference in the screen that is noticeable immediately for me.
Only flame I'd give would be about your casting aspersions at those who can see a very distinct difference and calling people names. Why exactly did you feel that was necessary?
I think visual acuity makes a significant difference in the ability to perceive the differences. For me it's primarily with small text on web pages, emails, or magazine/newspapers (WSJ for instance).
I compared mini1 against rMini side by side. Small text that was fuzzy and difficult to read on the mini1 was crisp and easily read on the rMini. Same as when I went from an ipad2 to an ipad3. I could see a very distinct difference from 12-18" away and don't ever hold an ipad 6" away.
I still think the mini1 is a fine device, and if retina doesn't make a huge difference to the buyer then they're a great deal with some of the recent specials. Use the device that fits your needs/budget.
x-evil-x
macrumors 603
You do know there is sooo much more than just the screen that's been improved right. Just don't update passed ios8 on that mini. Ios7 on it is already slow. It will only get worse.
On their website, I ordered a sim for a tablet.
However, before you buy anything, use Sim that you have.
Turn off wifi, put the sim in your device and turn it on.
If/when it takes you to setup, follow the path of no purchases, i.e. no upgraded plans that they WILL offer.
I wound up with a totally free plan and there is an option in place to sell me-automatically-more data if I go over my free 200 Meg's. It used 1.5 Meg's for the entire setup process.
You will know soon after you turn your device on if it will take you to the sign-up area. If you get to the sign-up area you should be good to go. If not, spend 10 bucks and go that route. Good luck!!
Firstly, I have an air. My wife's. Granted I can't use it much, but it have it and know just how sweet it is. I didn't have the bucks to buy another new iPad. Hell, I've bought 2 new iPads in the last three weeks. (With AppleCare )
Secondly, I prefer my rMini to her Air. That's just me.
Thirdly, I didn't have to come up with any cash to get the larger retina screen. It is basically a new toy that cost me nothing, that I can enjoy using at home.
Depends on the games. Lots of newer games just can't run reliably on iOS 7 with only 512MB of RAM. One of the big reasons I wanted to upgrade. XCom and Infinity blade III were crashing left and right.
dmk1974
macrumors 68030
Only screen and processor improved. Side by side, I don't notice any difference in speed. Mainly reading, browsing, and e-mail. I don't game on it.
What else am I missing on the "sooo much more" list?
x-evil-x
macrumors 603
i guess your original mini has the same processor speed and 2x's wifi speed built into it. Im sorry but i notice a huge difference. No choppiness with ios7. If you don't notice it now just wait till ios8. The original mini was built with 2 year old technology(a5). At least it was close to 2 years old. it will be dated as they update the software.
its like going from an iPad 2 to a rmini... or air...