Three reasons why buying a first-generation iPad mini may be foolish
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silverblack
macrumors 68030
With a 6-month life cycle, buying anything from Apple at full price is foolish. The only way you know you won't be screwed is to wait for it to show up at refurbished store.
Well that's why I wouldn't buy anything but the basic version at this time. I'm sure there will be a better version later but likely that will be a year away. In many ways this is less a risk than buying the first gen iPad was. It takes improved internals from the iPad2 and from what I hear has a new screen that is thinner than the iPad2 screen. "Apple is said to already be employing GF2 display technology in the new iPad mini. That helped to make the device 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the full-size iPad."
If you wanna go to the party ya gotta buy one to show.
If you want to sit at home and wait a year that's your choice but I'm gonna get the 16GB to use when I'm out of the house. Don't be such a Bobby Buzzkill.
If you wanna go to the party ya gotta buy one to show.
If you want to sit at home and wait a year that's your choice but I'm gonna get the 16GB to use when I'm out of the house. Don't be such a Bobby Buzzkill.
gaby4ever25
macrumors newbie
Who's to say the 2nd gen mini will have a retina display
I will be pre-ordering the mini. I've always wanted an ipad, however the size and weight have been big negatives, so the mini is perfect for me, even with "old tech" and a higher price than other tablets.
Also, it's not a given that the next mini will have a retina display, so I'd rather have the mini now, enjoy it for however long it takes for the mini to get retina display.
I will be pre-ordering the mini. I've always wanted an ipad, however the size and weight have been big negatives, so the mini is perfect for me, even with "old tech" and a higher price than other tablets.
Also, it's not a given that the next mini will have a retina display, so I'd rather have the mini now, enjoy it for however long it takes for the mini to get retina display.
Ayemerica
macrumors 65816
Let's wait for the next thing around the corner and never buy anything...
The original iPad was expensive, unknown of its uses and predicted as a niche market.
100Million iPads later, it's time for the iPad line to diversify and become another apple product line that gets updated when needed.
The original iPad was expensive, unknown of its uses and predicted as a niche market.
100Million iPads later, it's time for the iPad line to diversify and become another apple product line that gets updated when needed.
Noisemaker
Guest
Right from the mouth of a "Loyal Android User". Biased dreck.
I also love how an $80 difference is just so much more, but he recommends spending $170 more for a full sized iPad. Oh really? Just a little double standard there.
6 month lifecycle?
I love how Apple goes with yearly launches for so, so long. Then all of a sudden, ONE tweaked redesign is moved to a new launch date. Suddenly EVERYTHING will be updated on 6 month cycles.
Get real.
It was a one-time deal to get the iPad onto lightning connectors in the same year. That's it. Just because you're butthurt that you don't have the shiniest iPad anymore, it doesn't mean that you got "screwed" or that anyone else did, for that matter.
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master-ceo
macrumors 65816
bigjnyc
Suspended
" If youre going to buy someone an iPad for the holidays, you might as well spend an extra $170 for the fourth-generation iPad"
Thats a silly reason, why would you spend 50% on a gift..... usually people budget for a certain price on xmas gifts and going 50% over that price would be too much.
Thats a silly reason, why would you spend 50% on a gift..... usually people budget for a certain price on xmas gifts and going 50% over that price would be too much.
ThatsMeRight
macrumors 68020
I completely disagree with the article. Apple will not drop the price. They rarely do. They are more likely to raise prices than lower them.
Their second argument: it's not a Retina display. That's correct, but is it really worth waiting for over a year (or maybe even two years)? That's 700 days without iPad.
Their third argument (the $499 iPad only costs $170 more). Well, but the onliest difference in specs between the iPad mini and the iPad 4 is its 9.7" Retina display and the A6 chip (X-variant, for Retina graphics).
A retina display is important, but I do not think people are willing to pay an extra $170 for it and lose the lightness, thinness and small size.
how about an extra 50$, iPad 3 refurb only cost 379 and its just as good as new one.
ThatsMeRight
macrumors 68020
Well, than it is a tougher choice, of course. You'll still miss features like FaceTime HD and the lightning connector, though.
It's also the question for how long refurbished iPad 3s will be (widely) available.
Southernboyj
macrumors 68000
I don't know about you.. but I haven't made FaceTime call in probably a year.
ThatsMeRight
macrumors 68020
I don't know, but not everybody is exactly the same like you. Just because it's useless for you, doesn't mean it's useless for someone else.
ckurt25
macrumors 65816
Here is how I'm looking at the sub par specs of the mini -
It's $329 and in 6 to 12 months when the next one comes out, the iPad mini 2 should sell for $329 and will hopefully have retina, more ram and a better processor. At that time, I expect to be able to sell the original iPad mini for $200-$250 on ebay. The original iPad (2 1/2 yrs old) is selling for over $200 even today.
So basically I'm "renting" the iPad mini for $10 a month. I'm okay with that. If I sold my original iPad for $200 today I would have "rented" it for $10 a month.
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For many people it isn't about the choice of the refurb 3 for just a few $ more. We'd rather have the mini because of the size.
Would you rather have a used Cadillac CTS for X price or a new ATS for Y price? It depends on what your needs are.
It's $329 and in 6 to 12 months when the next one comes out, the iPad mini 2 should sell for $329 and will hopefully have retina, more ram and a better processor. At that time, I expect to be able to sell the original iPad mini for $200-$250 on ebay. The original iPad (2 1/2 yrs old) is selling for over $200 even today.
So basically I'm "renting" the iPad mini for $10 a month. I'm okay with that. If I sold my original iPad for $200 today I would have "rented" it for $10 a month.
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For many people it isn't about the choice of the refurb 3 for just a few $ more. We'd rather have the mini because of the size.
Would you rather have a used Cadillac CTS for X price or a new ATS for Y price? It depends on what your needs are.
mattopotamus
macrumors G5
I always find it funny when they say, "for only $170 more"....that is more than 50% of the price of the mini...The difference between a low $300 gift and a $500 gift is a pretty big deal.
s15119
macrumors 68000
Where do you get this 6 month life cycle? You're just making stuff up. All my old iPads still work the same as they did last week. No one was screwed over. You're making up your angst out of whole cloth.
mattopotamus
macrumors G5
Best thing about apple products his how well they hold value
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he means in 6 months a new mini will be out....like they did with the ipad 3 and 4
darngooddesign
macrumors Core
The mini is Obsolete out the door.
It's only obsolete when Apple no longer supports it. We can expect two more years of OSes for it.
I bought the iPad 1 and 2 at release and almost surely will put my pre-order in for the mini tomorrow morning.
Returned the 3 as I didn't like the minor bump in weight and thickness. It felt a tad clunky compared to the 2 and the retina screen did not have the wow factor I was expecting.
Why wait for the next gen of any idevice in the hope it will have all the things you think the 1st gen is missing. The next one will be different but not always better!
I assumed the next upgrade of the new iPad would be thinner and lighter and was proved wrong on Tuesday. Better specs sure but still the same form factor as the earlier one, maybe even a little heavier. At least I still have my 2 and am extremely pleased with it.
Returned the 3 as I didn't like the minor bump in weight and thickness. It felt a tad clunky compared to the 2 and the retina screen did not have the wow factor I was expecting.
Why wait for the next gen of any idevice in the hope it will have all the things you think the 1st gen is missing. The next one will be different but not always better!
I assumed the next upgrade of the new iPad would be thinner and lighter and was proved wrong on Tuesday. Better specs sure but still the same form factor as the earlier one, maybe even a little heavier. At least I still have my 2 and am extremely pleased with it.
nostresshere
macrumors 68030
Why is buying something that you want a bad choice? If you want the latest, greatest, then you should wait about 10 years when the last model comes out.
These comments are so childish and illogical.
d123
macrumors 68020
Your entire supposition is asinine, 1 product has a 6 month "refresh" and suddenly all Apple products have 6 month lifespans. Quite a jump there.
Good idea, but if it do that, could you explain how I fold it in half to fit in my jacket pocket? Or what parts do I remove to halve the weight?
Techwriter
macrumors regular
Yesterday, I believe we saw the future of the regular iPad. The iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad Mini all look very similar. As soon as Apple has the technology, the full-sized iPad is going to resemble these devices also.
As soon as the iPad Mini has retina and a better processor, I'll upgrade. But that could be two years. I don't want to wait that long to begin using it.
As soon as the iPad Mini has retina and a better processor, I'll upgrade. But that could be two years. I don't want to wait that long to begin using it.
