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The iPad Mini UK Thread

S

Saturnine

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 23, 2005
1,499
2,532
Manchester, UK
Well we may as well get started.

I'll be getting my hand on one of these babies as soon as I can! I think I'm in the minority but I've wanted a smaller, lighter, iPad for ages. I do have extremely small hands so using a regular iPad for any length of time without propping it on something was a nuisance!

Let the preorders countdown commence...
 
I'm thinking of getting one, I know it is iPad 2 spec, but using it as a ereader, since I realised I have too many books to lug around that are heavy when I travel and being able to use my apps such as games make it even better. Plus I love the design more than the iPad.:)
 
Doc Evils said:
I'm thinking of getting one, I know it is iPad 2 spec, but using it as a ereader, since I realised I have too many books to lug around that are heavy when I travel and being able to use my apps such as games make it even better. Plus I love the design more than the iPad.:)
Click to expand...

Exactly how I use it too. The iPad gets uncomfortable for prolonged one handed use (for me anyway.) For me it's more suited to watching movies on the train (on it's smart cover.) iPad mini would definitely hit the spot for e-Reading though it's a shame it doesn't have a retina display.
 
-Garry- said:
Exactly how I use it too. The iPad gets uncomfortable for prolonged one handed use (for me anyway.) For me it's more suited to watching movies on the train (on it's smart cover.) iPad mini would definitely hit the spot for e-Reading though it's a shame it doesn't have a retina display.
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I too wanted a smaller iPad since I see people travel with iPad and they look so silly when they take photos with it.

You can read on your iPad mini, while you answer your phone with the other hand.

It's the perfect size Apple should of released long ago.
 
I sold my iPad 3 a couple of months ago. It was too heavy to lug around and I have a Nexus 7 which is all the things PS accused it of being but it meets my need. iPad Mini is perfect for me. I have a MB Air 11" and that and the Mini and an iPhone 5 is just the perfect portable combo.
 
I was holding out for this but the specs are pretty poor IMO although as usual for apple they have designed a cracking looking device. I think I will get the Nexus.
 
So the iPad Mini's specs are much lower than that of it's new big brother, but most likely due to heat dissipation over a smaller surface area and the limitations of a smaller battery.

Anyone got idea of how it benchmarks compared to it's competitors such as the new Kindle and Nexus?
 
I'm getting one, selling the ipad 3 and its down to the size, our lass has 2 and I'm not too bothered about the retina screen tbh!!, any idea what time pre order will start but gathering by comments on this site we should not have to worry about getting one !!
 
I'm planning on getting one for mum for xmas.

Do you guys think there'll be enough stock to pick one up from a retail store before then? Or should I think about preordering?
 
skippymac said:
I'm planning on getting one for mum for xmas.

Do you guys think there'll be enough stock to pick one up from a retail store before then? Or should I think about preordering?
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Nobody knows for sure with these things until they launch. But if you definitely want to get your mum one then unless you don't currently have the money i'd just preorder.

It saves scrabbling round for one in the month after the launch.
 
THFourteen said:
Nobody knows for sure with these things until they launch. But if you definitely want to get your mum one then unless you don't currently have the money i'd just preorder.

It saves scrabbling round for one in the month after the launch.
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That's the thing, I don't have the money :S don't get paid for a couple of weeks, and I just wrote off my car too :/
 
THFourteen said:
Nobody knows for sure with these things until they launch. But if you definitely want to get your mum one then unless you don't currently have the money i'd just preorder.

It saves scrabbling round for one in the month after the launch.
Click to expand...

Suggest you look for the anandtech article where they benchmark the iPad 2,4 (essentially the iPad 2 on the smaller die process). Not sure they compared it to current tabs.

In practical terms it'll run everything an iPad 2 does as well as an iPad 2 and look slightly better doing it (slightly increased PPI and better screen tech). It's more expensive than it's rivals but apple have never been about the specs or being the cheapest and that's not why we buy their products.

It's at the kind of price where I'd consider seeing if my brothers wanted to get together to get one for my mum for Christmas. It seems very desirable.
 
I'm so tempted to buy one. I've been holding out to buy an iPad and was gonna eventually get an ipad 3 but now the 4th gen has come out and the mini I'm not sure which to go for. My mum has an ipad 2 which is great so I'm thinking its gonna be round about the same as using the mini.

I'm gonna have to wait till they come out and have a look first before I decide. Probably for the weight I'd go for the mini but for the performance it has to be the 4th gen. It's a shame Apple didn't put a retina display on the mini that would of sealed the deal for me.

Anyone else deciding on either the mini or 4th gen?
 
daveathall said:
I must admit that this is the only thing that has me dithering.
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Pretty certain (well 50% certain ;) ) that the next ipad mini will be out in october next year.

But either way, i want the 32GB 4G version, but am going for the 16gb wifi version this time. Its cheaper, and i can probably resell it for £200 near upgrade time to get a proper one. £449 is too much for something that isn't as good as the 3rd gen ipad internally.
 
blergh! said:
... and in 4 months time when the new Ipad mini comes out???
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There won't be a new iPad mini in 4 months, but I would expect one in one year, and the moment it is my gen 1 iPad mini will be listed on eBay so I can pick up the new one (which will better meet my needs, assuming it gets an HD screen for starters).
 
THFourteen said:
Pretty certain (well 50% certain ;) ) that the next ipad mini will be out in october next year.

But either way, i want the 32GB 4G version, but am going for the 16gb wifi version this time. Its cheaper, and i can probably resell it for £200 near upgrade time to get a proper one. £449 is too much for something that isn't as good as the 3rd gen ipad internally.
Click to expand...

WilliamLondon said:
There won't be a new iPad mini in 4 months, but I would expect one in one year, and the moment it is my gen 1 iPad mini will be listed on eBay so I can pick up the new one (which will better meet my needs, assuming it gets an HD screen for starters).
Click to expand...

There is that, I must admit that I am really tempted to get the 16GB WiFi flavour, as both of you point out, resale value should hold up well. Stop it fellas, I didn't need much persuasion as it is, you might have just cost me 270 quid.:D
 
I have absolutely no issue with the specs, as I'm looking for an e-reader. The only reason I don't just get a Kindle is because it needs to handle PDFs nicely as well. But it doesn't have to be amazing for games or productivity. Now that I have a MacBook Air, I just want something to read ebooks, PDFs and RSS feeds on.

Despite the iPad 2 components, I think for my needs I could justify the difference in price between the Nexus 7 and the iPad mini because of the ecosystem and I even have iTunes credit to use. Also, for PDFs, the screen is bigger. I want a smaller device, but between them I'll take the one with the bigger screen. But the Nexus has better resolution and that leads to my problem...

If Apple update the mini with a Retina version maybe a year from now, do you think they will keep it at the same price? $329 (£269) for the first retina mini? If so, I think the best option is to wait it out, or get a much cheaper alternative to use until then.
 
Paulg2uk said:
I'm so tempted to buy one. I've been holding out to buy an iPad and was gonna eventually get an ipad 3 but now the 4th gen has come out and the mini I'm not sure which to go for. My mum has an ipad 2 which is great so I'm thinking its gonna be round about the same as using the mini.

I'm gonna have to wait till they come out and have a look first before I decide. Probably for the weight I'd go for the mini but for the performance it has to be the 4th gen. It's a shame Apple didn't put a retina display on the mini that would of sealed the deal for me.

Anyone else deciding on either the mini or 4th gen?
Click to expand...

I'm not, but I'll attempt to give some advice as a previous owner of the first and third gen iPads. What are you going to use it for, that's the question. They're both relatively powerful, they're both fairly portable. The real difference is that the 4th gen will be much better for games, and for being productive. Are you going to type often on it? Design graphics? Edit movies? If so, the 4th gen will probably be better for you than the mini. But if it's less of a computer and more of a consumption device (read books, watch movies, read blogs and RSS feeds) but with the added benefit of being able to check your mail etc, then the iPad mini looks like it could be better considering the weight and size too.

When I didn't have a laptop for a while, the iPads were the best things ever. Despite what some people say, you can get some serious work done on them. I did everything on my iPad. But now that I have a really portable laptop, the iPad has no need to be extremely productive anymore. Now it's for casually reading in bed, on the train, and these things I would rather do with a smaller device.

The iPad mini (based on my experience using iPad 2 in the past) will still be great for most tasks. It isn't really a debate about performance (unless you're all about the fanciest games). The real question is how practical it's going to be. What are your needs for the device? What are you going to do with it? When I had my 3rd gen iPad, I blogged on it, created a lot of media, and used it to do the same things I would do on a laptop. Now I want a smaller device to catch up with the news and to read books and academic papers. That's it.

So what about you?
 
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