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iPad mini Updated: Walked in for iPad 4, walked out with iPad mini! Then walked in again... :(

rowspaxe said:
I think this stated backwards, landcape being long side up. Anyway, Mini is a good technical reader in landscape, but you will need to scroll. The ipad in portrait fis ok fpr techincal reading, but it is a little small--being less that 9.7" and text page is 11+"--so it feels a little cramped. Bottom line--neither is perfect for technical reading, and buyers need to make their compromises.
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landscape as in home button to the right or left side, portrait as in home button being on bottom, facetime cam up top.

The retina IS the better reader period. If you objectively look at the retina screen, it is truly remarkable when rendering high quality pdfs. The mini in landscape mode will require scrolling vertically that's why portrait orientation is much better and more natural for documents on the retina ipad - it can render everything in fine detail without the need to zoom. When you scroll, you are just scrolling down a page at a time.

I don't read pdf's in landscape orientation unless they are car brochures.
 
toondw said:
Horses for courses as they say. Mini suits some not others......me being in the latter. Enjoy, whatever the size.........just within 6 months I bet the retina mini will be out! ;)
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right on, I have fat fingers which make the mini UI impractical for me. Others I know, will find the mini perfect for them. iPhone is different as the UI is designed for phones and not compressed.
 
Anti-Lucifer said:
You don't have to zoom anything on either ipad mini or the ipad 4. But if you want to read text, there's no comfortable way to do that naturally on the ipad mini because of the combination of low resolution screen and smaller screen size, the text in pdf is harder to read without zooming.

There's no need to zoom anything if you just want to look at an image in the pdf but to see the actual details, there's NO WAY you don't ZOOM in on an ipad mini vs an ipad retina.

Especially when you use it in portrait like I do all the time, the mini was designed to be held in portrait mode anyway. It just feels natural, while the bigger retina brother is more natural holding it landscape. Bottom line is with the ipad 4, you have the rendering power for large high quality pdf's and the viewing of pdf's on the retina is just second to none. That would be the biggest concern if reading pdf's is your main objective on the ipad mini. I would NOT recommend the mini for pdf viewing - for epub books and web content, it'll do just fine. For high quality pdf's, it's not going to cut it.
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Thanks. I just sent back my iPad 3 and I'll probably just pick up an iPad 4 LTE within the next 2 weeks.
 
16 days in....

Damn, when comparing the iPads again side by side, it's startling to see how good the retina display is.

Anyway, 16 days into the new iPad 4, I've grown accustomed to the A6X already and the iPad mini withdrawals no longer exists. I'm happy to say until the iPad mini retina arrives, the iPad 4 is really gonna be used to the max.

I travelled for a few days with the ipad 4 and I popped my iPhone 5 LTE sim in the iPad 4 and with LTE, the iPad just blazes thru the Internet. Sure the size isn't as ideal as the mini, but with the retina screen, it's just icing on the cake.

Can't wait to have ios 7 installed!
 
The 'real' ipad successor is due out soon? Lol. You're in denial.

Oh wait, didn't read the whole thread. So you were in denial!!!
 
Alright, I have racked up over one month extensive usage on the new iPad 4.

Ill stress some points that isn't debatable:

* iPad 4 screen size is great for movies, gaming, and web browsing bar none.

* iPad 4 retina screen resolution is second to none. No debate whatsoever. Colors and color accuracy is astonishing.

* iPad 4 battery life with 1/3-1/4 brightness lasts forever. Not literally but subjectively.

* iPad 4 after a very extensive one month+ usage on the iPad exclusively, it is very fast. Most important note is that hi quality PDFs render without lag or perceivable lag unlike A5/A5X.

* iPad 4 gaming is a wash. It's technically superior but frame rates are still a problem for games like asphalt 7 and galaxy on fire 2 hd at retina res. most other games actually look better like nova 3, the dark knight rises.

* iPad 4 8-pin lightning is better especially when holding landscape mode while plugged in. I have the 12 watt charger still feels the same time to charge as iPad 3.

* iPad 4 is too heavy to be used in bed unless u prop it against your chest, your arms, your leg, your bed, and or someone else's body part.

* iPad 4 is still too heavy to be used for gaming unless u have a stand or propped against one or more of the above. Also, it's quite too large for gaming since the bezels and weight actually hinder gaming at times (specifically games with on screen joypad).

* iPad 4 speakers are way better placed than the mini. On the mini you end up covering the speaker holes! Especially when playing in landscape orientation!

* iPad 4 does render web pages faster. Try is test: double tap zoom in on CNN.com. On the iPad 4 it's instant. On the mini there is perceptible lag. And on most heavy JavaScript sites like tmz.com and perezhilton.com and even commenting systems on sites render faster on the iPad 4 and its noticeable.

The main features that stand out on the iPad mini over the iPad 4 are:

* size/ergonomics/thinness/no bezel
* weight of device (superb)
* fit and finish but iPad 4 is as sturdy
* gaming on the mini is too good. Best device for gaming.
* battery life on par with iPad 4 (subjectively)
* way better device for photography vs an iPad 4 (taking photos not viewing photos since the screen is really not as accurate as iPad 4).
* superb device for portable use anywhere but at home. iPad 4 size is just great for use at home. Elsewhere else it's just big.

Overall I am very satisfied with the iPad and have been since my iPad 1/2/3 except when the mini was introduced. I will without a doubt say that if the retina mini was released I would've opted to stick with the mini. But the overall power especially on high quality PDFs of the iPad 4 has no equal.

At the end of the day if you have such extensive use of an iPad 4, it's very hard to decide if you want to stick with the mini. If only the mini had at least an A6, it would perhaps be much more worthy over an iPad 4 if you don't factor in the superior ergo, size, and weight of the mini.

The vast majority of the market for a mini is they want a compact yet very screen estate valued device. They aren't looking for a specific use like I am but they can live with a general powerhouse tablet that has such great ergo size and weight. The iPad 4 is great for viewing games. Movies. And web. They need to shave off a bit more on the iPad 5 and I'm sure many will jump back on the iPad big.
 
2560x1600 with 300ppi of the Nexus 10 versus 2048x1536 with "only" 264 ppi of the iPad 3/4.
 
Your thread is interesting OP and enjoyed the read. It was interesting to see how your views transformed as you progressed.

You discovered what I too discovered. I fell in love with the Mini and feel it is really the future. However the lack of retina for me was tough. I read alot, I enjoying web surfing, and use spreadsheets & PDF's for work. As such, I couldn't depart from my iPad 4. People have said the lack of retina on the Mini is not a deal breaker, but for me, it is really tough to do all the things I mentioned on a smaller non-retina display. So....

I kept both! My Mini is my car/airport/coffeeshop device. And my iPad is my home/office/hotel device. There are always trade-offs with mobile devices and not really "one device to rule them all solution".

Thanks for chronically your journey.
 
Drumroll. And what will you do if the ipad5 does indeed cut back on the size and weight and throws a few more enticing things into the fold?

I went with the 4th gen after 1st buying the mini. The decision I really feel is rather easy to tell the truth if one does not mind the size and weight of the 4 which to me is rather negligible. The larger iPads were never bricks. :)
 
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darngooddesign said:
I was confused by your inclusion of colors and color accuracy in your quote.

You are correct that the N10s screen is a little higher res.

It will make the vast number of android tablet apps really shine.
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My bad, I'm not very good at selecting text on my iPad, still. By the way, I love the screen on my wife's iPad 3, I just hate when people post misleading info, especially when they preface it with "points are not debatable".
 
Anti-Lucifer said:
Hey guys, another update:

So after spending numerous hours with my new ipad 4 and I have come to a dilemma; I really on the edge of returning the ipad 4 and going with a mini AGAIN.

I created another thread regarding the ipad 4 A6 processor - something is very strange with the ipad 4- I'm very use to my iphone 5 and the fact it can task switch to any app and that app will instantly respond; it's such a joy to use a phone that has such extreme fluidity in overall user experience, I was expecting the same thing on my ipad 4 since it's clocked faster than my iphone 5; but it's NOT! Quite the opposite, in fact, the task switchign is identical to my ipad 2/ipad mini!

I'm really not happy with paying for the ipad 4 when the performance after I have personally used it and review it as being an ipad 3S - but the performance is not even the same as an ipad 3S. It's identical to an ipad 2/3/mini! What I mean is that even though the mini was in 1024x768, the games ran very well, sure some games like Shine race (vector unit), real racing 2 had slight issues like framerate drops/stutter, it's still extremely playable and enjoyable due to the size. ON the ipad 4, it's quite large, my hands are hurting from holding it in bed from playing and reading. And to top it off, I find the task switching on the ipad 4 to be lame, with a 4-6 second delay between switching apps and those apps responding right after!

I really do not think the ipad 4 is worth the money- the performance of the web surfing after a few hours I have noticed to be quick - but it's no as quick as my iPhone 5! No joke, it seems the A6X has to be burdened by the retina display! I know buying the ipad mini is like rebuying an ipad 2 I sold for a huge loss, but I'm just not going to say the ipad 4 is anything better than even an ipad 3!

Until they optimize it for the A6X, I don't think iOS 6.0.1 is good on the ipad 4 at all. I don't see how this A6X can perform the way it does in comparison to the older iPad 2/3/mini.

:confused::confused:
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I have a Wi-Fi 64 gb 4, task switching is instantaneous and fluid. Maybe you should return for a new ipad 4 it may be defective.
 
I went in and saw the new iPads, and the first reaction was how awesome the mini was.

The iPad Mini is really seductive at first. Then you see the iPad 4 with a retina display and have a choice: smaller and lighter, or larger with incredible screen and resolution.

That is how it divides, when you boil it down. I want an iPad to "replace" an old PowerBook G4 from 2004; the old notebook is used primarily for email, web browsing, and minor music-video playback, and Pages. With a desire for the strongest-fastest-highest res., I go with the iPad 4.
 
The fourth gen iPad speed increase is negligible over the third gen iPad as there is nothing apart from a fraction of a second faster app switching or pdf rendering that the user actually feels. To me the only benefit is the retina display. All other factors, the Mini wins! I look forward to threads comparing the iPad and iPad Mini based only on screen real estate and slight weight difference. There are too many variables now to make a clean comparison between the two.
 
I do not see the mini wins for everything else. How about web browsing, movies, games, reading? Speed I haven't done any extensive analysis.

And I am sure folks going with the 4 feel the same way, the 4th gen wins everything except size and weight.
 
Apple I hope your reading this there is a HuGe market I mean HUGE number of people who did not buy the mini until it got retina !!!! It's the perfect in between device of an iPhone an MacBook and it needs to be at least 1080p or better yet what the iPad 4 is so we don't ever see pixels ! A lot of people are saying when it comes out only then they will upgrade . I waited out the iPad 4 and mini to see the second gens . But I need a tablet for class and meetings now !! Hurry up don't mess this up
 
Anti-Lucifer said:
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Outstanding post. Over the past week, I had a chance to use an iPad Mini several times, in a casual environment (vs. just standing in an Apple store), games, movies, email, etc. Was actually a family gift for our ILs, so I did all the setup, downloaded and configure dozens of apps and whatnot.

The form factor is just astounding. It just disappears in your hand, there's no sense of weight, and the width combined with the reduced side bezels really do make it easy to hold in one hand.

I've got a iPad 1, 4 (and had a 3), I love the retina display, it's a big difference in books, docs, PDFs, other text based apps like email/web/RSS. Like A-L pointed out, PDF rendering/scrolling is much faster, so are apps like iMovie, Snapseed, and other graphic intensive situations like some "heavy" web sites.

For me, and my usage model, I still prefer the iPad 4, but holy smokes, the Mini is very compelling. I take a Mini over a 1/2, very possibly over a 3, but not over my 4 :)
 
AppleRobert said:
I do not see the mini wins for everything else. How about web browsing, movies, games, reading? Speed I haven't done any extensive analysis.

And I am sure folks going with the 4 feel the same way, the 4th gen wins everything except size and weight.
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dead on robert...
 
Great Thread

Very interesting and highly beneficial reading! Great points on both sides have finally allowed me to make an informed decision that I feel extremely comfortable with. As much as it kills me to wait, I'm going to be patient and go with the iPad Mini 2. Between the posts here and the actual hands on time I had with both devices, my internal debate is over! On the one hand, the retina display and the speed of the iPad 4 are amazing. However, after picking up the Mini, the iPad 4 just seems awkward. Rather than "settle" for either, I will be eagerly anticipating the release of the iPad Mini 2, which will hopefully be the best of both worlds. If anybody else is on the fence about this, I would suggest waiting also. Now let's just hope those March release date rumors are true!
 
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