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iPad Replace my 1st Gen with?

T

thatguyjeff

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 16, 2012
22
1
Help me decide what to/not to do here.

Got me a 1st gen ipad, 64G, wifi only.. I was an "early adopter," so I've had the thing since go. It works great. Original battery still holding strong. Not a mark on it, etc., etc.

I've been eyeing the mini. Not sure why, I just am. I would say I spend 40-50% of my time on my 1st gen reading ebooks, 30% web surfing, the rest games and email. It's all casual/personal use. Plus I have a couple younger kids (7 and 2) who I let play as well.

The wife says - if I get a new ipad - I have to get rid of the old one. What about the kids using it, I say. She says she thinks they're too young to have an expensive "toy" like that. I had an old android phone that I handed down to the 7 yo when I got my iphone and he plays games on it. Service is cancelled, but the wifi still works. And he doesn't treat the device with much care - so wife says no ipad dedicated to the kids.

I have a the plain, small (no keyboard) basic kindle since I read so much. But I mostly read at night and that model doesn't have a light on it. I prefer the backlit, digital display for reading over the e-ink style. A paper-white may be in the picture. I also thought about maybe just a basic Kindle Fire - but I love how my iphone synchs over wifi with my ipad when I take pictures. My iphone has totally replaced my digital camera. And if I go with a kindle fire type, I'll loose that nice picture synching feature, right?

So why do I need a mini? I don't, but I want one. What am I gaining? I'm thinking I can sell my old ipad on CL for about $200? What do I get for my additional $300 in getting the mini? Is it worth it?

Thoughts, experience, etc. appreciated.

Edit to add - it would be nice to also have both my iphone 5 and my ipad mini using the same charger as well. At the moment I need one 30 pin and one 8(?) pin, or whatever it is. So that's another bonus I guess.
 
thatguyjeff said:
Help me decide what to/not to do here.

Got me a 1st gen ipad, 64G, wifi only.. I was an "early adopter," so I've had the thing since go. It works great. Original battery still holding strong. Not a mark on it, etc., etc.

I've been eyeing the mini. Not sure why, I just am. I would say I spend 40-50% of my time on my 1st gen reading ebooks, 30% web surfing, the rest games and email. It's all casual/personal use. Plus I have a couple younger kids (7 and 2) who I let play as well.

The wife says - if I get a new ipad - I have to get rid of the old one. What about the kids using it, I say. She says she thinks they're too young to have an expensive "toy" like that. I had an old android phone that I handed down to the 7 yo when I got my iphone and he plays games on it. Service is cancelled, but the wifi still works. And he doesn't treat the device with much care - so wife says no ipad dedicated to the kids.

I have a the plain, small (no keyboard) basic kindle since I read so much. But I mostly read at night and that model doesn't have a light on it. I prefer the backlit, digital display for reading over the e-ink style. A paper-white may be in the picture. I also thought about maybe just a basic Kindle Fire - but I love how my iphone synchs over wifi with my ipad when I take pictures. My iphone has totally replaced my digital camera. And if I go with a kindle fire type, I'll loose that nice picture synching feature, right?

So why do I need a mini? I don't, but I want one. What am I gaining? I'm thinking I can sell my old ipad on CL for about $200? What do I get for my additional $300 in getting the mini? Is it worth it?

Thoughts, experience, etc. appreciated.
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar boat - I'm still rocking an iPad 2 (parents have my 1st gen) - I'm going to hold out until the mini gets a retina display (if it ever does).
 
thatguyjeff said:
Yeah - retina display is nice and all, but not that important to me right now.
Click to expand...

If it's not important than I would say pull the trigger! I use my mini for a lot of the same stuff you do, and it works flawlessly for what I need. It's truly a great device and I know you would love it if you indeed decide to purchase.
 
Having owned some smaller Android tablets, I can tell you that I was never really happy with the 7-8" form factors. For ebook reading yeah, it's okay, but for everything else it's just too small in my opinion. Email, web surfing, etc; the smaller screen just didn't cut it for me. The iPad mini is a little bit bigger than the Nexus 7, but I wouldn't go for anything smaller than the 10" iPad again personally.
 
Last edited:
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Wow, nothing like getting too personal when supplying an opinion. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Get the mini, you'll not regret it, if the smaller form factor is something you're looking forward too, then the iPad mini won't disappoint :D
 
thatguyjeff said:
Help me decide what to/not to do here.

Got me a 1st gen ipad, 64G, wifi only.. I was an "early adopter," so I've had the thing since go. It works great. Original battery still holding strong. Not a mark on it, etc., etc.

I've been eyeing the mini. Not sure why, I just am. I would say I spend 40-50% of my time on my 1st gen reading ebooks, 30% web surfing, the rest games and email. It's all casual/personal use. Plus I have a couple younger kids (7 and 2) who I let play as well.

The wife says - if I get a new ipad - I have to get rid of the old one. What about the kids using it, I say. She says she thinks they're too young to have an expensive "toy" like that. I had an old android phone that I handed down to the 7 yo when I got my iphone and he plays games on it. Service is cancelled, but the wifi still works. And he doesn't treat the device with much care - so wife says no ipad dedicated to the kids.

I have a the plain, small (no keyboard) basic kindle since I read so much. But I mostly read at night and that model doesn't have a light on it. I prefer the backlit, digital display for reading over the e-ink style. A paper-white may be in the picture. I also thought about maybe just a basic Kindle Fire - but I love how my iphone synchs over wifi with my ipad when I take pictures. My iphone has totally replaced my digital camera. And if I go with a kindle fire type, I'll loose that nice picture synching feature, right?

So why do I need a mini? I don't, but I want one. What am I gaining? I'm thinking I can sell my old ipad on CL for about $200? What do I get for my additional $300 in getting the mini? Is it worth it?

Thoughts, experience, etc. appreciated.

Edit to add - it would be nice to also have both my iphone 5 and my ipad mini using the same charger as well. At the moment I need one 30 pin and one 8(?) pin, or whatever it is. So that's another bonus I guess.
Click to expand...

Wait for the ipad 5. End of....
 
1) No point to getting rid of a 1G as they are all but worthless on resale market. From $ perspective you'd almost be giving it away. Repurpose it like you suggested. It's still fine for many things, if a little slow with some of the newer apps.

2) I wouldn't buy any iOS device right now. Where as the 4 is a speed bump of the 3 and the mini a shrunken iPad 2, I have a feeling the 5 is going to be all new and the mini will have retina. Of course, if you are game to buying now and selling the second the invites are announced you could come out OK, but then you'll have a few weeks where you'll be iPad-less.

If you are bent on buying something now get a 16GB mini. They are relatively inexpensive so less harm to wallet, and probably easier to sell if you want to upgrade when the retina mini comes out.

FWIW I'm have a 3 and a mini. I didn't need the mini, didn't even plan on buying one until I put my hands on one. I now split my iPad time 50/50 between the 3 and mini. Mini is especially great when reading in bed, even with the "lousy" screen.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
FWIW I'm have a 3 and a mini. I didn't need the mini, didn't even plan on buying one until I put my hands on one. I now split my iPad time 50/50 between the 3 and mini. Mini is especially great when reading in bed, even with the "lousy" screen.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what's making me hesitate from getting the mini. I read a lot of PDF's for studying/annotating on the iPad 3. Is the text on pdf's noticeably fuzzy?

I've played with the mini a bit but haven't had time to load a pdf on it in the Apple Store.
 
Just upgraded my 1st gen

i just upgraded from a first gen to a third gen iPad. i had the same question as you, here are my thoughts on the decision:

1. iPad mini is best served by people who are taking it on the go. it is much easier to lug around than a full size iPad, and i don't think you lose that much going with the smaller screen.

2. full size iPad is better for gaming since it has the quad core GPU & retina display.


using these 2 points, i decided to go with the full size iPad because my iPad never leaves the house & 50% of my time on it is spent gaming.

If you are curious why 3rd gen, the Microcenter near me was still selling them cheap & the 4th gen didnt really have anything for me to warrant the extra cost....
 
I sold my 32gb 1st gen for 160 but could have easily gotten 200 if I was more patient. I didn't look at it as giving it away though. The iPad 1 is very much antiquated in performance, especially if you've used anything faster for any period of time. I actually bought my Mini before selling the Ipad 1, thinking we would keep the iPad 1. I couldn't stand using it anymore and neither could my wife.

If someone is willing to give me money for something I don't want anymore, woot.
 
Luis2004 said:
This is exactly what's making me hesitate from getting the mini. I read a lot of PDF's for studying/annotating on the iPad 3. Is the text on pdf's noticeably fuzzy?

I've played with the mini a bit but haven't had time to load a pdf on it in the Apple Store.
Click to expand...

Yes. It is pretty fuzzy. Anyone who says it isn't is lying. Likewise, anyone who says its not readable is also lying.
 
Luis2004 said:
This is exactly what's making me hesitate from getting the mini. I read a lot of PDF's for studying/annotating on the iPad 3. Is the text on pdf's noticeably fuzzy?
Click to expand...

Not fuzzy, just slightly more pixelated looking than a Retina screen. But it's def. readable and useable. I love my mini even still, but I do go to the iPad 3 for longer reading. For casual use the mini rocks.
 
I also have a 1st gen iPad decked out and it works great. 3 years after getting it I don't feel the Mini is a very big upgrade honestly. I would wait for the Mini 2 for sure! That will feel like a much bigger upgrade.
 
Well I pulled the trigger and got the mini. Had it two days now. Holy cow is it way faster than my 1st gen. Pretty happy with it so far. Size/form factor is a definite plus for me.

Decided to keep the 1st gen as well.

Anyway, thanks for the input everyone.
 
- Mini really is smaller/lighter than iPad 1, for travel this is great

- Mini type/font is smaller, some will need reading glasses even if they did not for iPad 1

If you do not need a replacement today, tomorrow may bring a less expensive model 1 Mini (refurb) and/or Retina display Mini
 
thatguyjeff said:
Help me decide what to/not to do here.

Got me a 1st gen ipad, 64G, wifi only.. I was an "early adopter," so I've had the thing since go. It works great. Original battery still holding strong. Not a mark on it, etc., etc.

I've been eyeing the mini. Not sure why, I just am. I would say I spend 40-50% of my time on my 1st gen reading ebooks, 30% web surfing, the rest games and email. It's all casual/personal use. Plus I have a couple younger kids (7 and 2) who I let play as well.

The wife says - if I get a new ipad - I have to get rid of the old one. What about the kids using it, I say. She says she thinks they're too young to have an expensive "toy" like that. I had an old android phone that I handed down to the 7 yo when I got my iphone and he plays games on it. Service is cancelled, but the wifi still works. And he doesn't treat the device with much care - so wife says no ipad dedicated to the kids.

I have a the plain, small (no keyboard) basic kindle since I read so much. But I mostly read at night and that model doesn't have a light on it. I prefer the backlit, digital display for reading over the e-ink style. A paper-white may be in the picture. I also thought about maybe just a basic Kindle Fire - but I love how my iphone synchs over wifi with my ipad when I take pictures. My iphone has totally replaced my digital camera. And if I go with a kindle fire type, I'll loose that nice picture synching feature, right?

So why do I need a mini? I don't, but I want one. What am I gaining? I'm thinking I can sell my old ipad on CL for about $200? What do I get for my additional $300 in getting the mini? Is it worth it?

Thoughts, experience, etc. appreciated.

Edit to add - it would be nice to also have both my iphone 5 and my ipad mini using the same charger as well. At the moment I need one 30 pin and one 8(?) pin, or whatever it is. So that's another bonus I guess.
Click to expand...

If sounds like your iPad 1 is in great condition. Save it for down the road when collectors will be looking for one :)
 
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