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iPad Who switched from 1st gen mini to the air and how do you like it?
- Thread starter Misskitty
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My 1st gen mini had fully replaced my retina iPad 3. I loved the lightness and form factor and fully planned on getting a retina mini. Then, after checking out the iPad air and comparing it to the retina mini, I was astonished how light the air felt. Mini is still lighter, but the air was light enough.
Now, after a month+ or so of use with my air, I virtually never use the mini. I use the air even when reading at night in bed holding the air over my face. I don't notice much of a weight difference btw the mini and air at all. What I do notice is how much easier it is to surf the internet w/ the larger screen. I can surf easily in portrait mode and I don't have to zoom in an out all the time like I was doing on the mini.
I don't plan on ever going back to the mini form factor. THe air will only get lighter from here on out. It's already light enough IMO.
Finally, the speed difference in the air (and retina mini as well) cannot be underestimated. It feels easily like a 2 generation leap in performance - which it really is considering the fact that the mini was just a smaller iPad 2. I also love the 128 GB of space.
Now, after a month+ or so of use with my air, I virtually never use the mini. I use the air even when reading at night in bed holding the air over my face. I don't notice much of a weight difference btw the mini and air at all. What I do notice is how much easier it is to surf the internet w/ the larger screen. I can surf easily in portrait mode and I don't have to zoom in an out all the time like I was doing on the mini.
I don't plan on ever going back to the mini form factor. THe air will only get lighter from here on out. It's already light enough IMO.
Finally, the speed difference in the air (and retina mini as well) cannot be underestimated. It feels easily like a 2 generation leap in performance - which it really is considering the fact that the mini was just a smaller iPad 2. I also love the 128 GB of space.
I have the 1st gen mini and love(d) it use(d) it every day, my wife had an iPad4. Since she didn´t use it much, we traded the iPad4 to the Air while we still got a decent price. The Air is a difference like night and day to the iPad4, light and compact. I am using it a lot now while my 1st gen mini isn´t used so much anymore. Why? Probably due to the combination of screen and reduced size. The Air has brilliant colors and a nice resolution and is not no longer heavy to hold. I think though, that I will grab the mini when I leave home, since it´s just even more portable. My feeling is the Air has become a really nice livingroom gadget, while the mini still is best for travelling. But I am not sure if I would trade the mini to the rmini at this point. Since we got the Air now, we might get the rmini2 when it comes. (i´ll wait for iOS7.1 to see how my mini performs, it got a litlle sluggish with iOS7. If they straighten it out i´ll wait)
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I bought the Air after having a Mini for a year. The reason I went with the Air was eye strain, the fonts were just too small for the amount of time I spend on my iPad everyday. I love my Air, it's finally light enough to hold in one hand so No, I won't be getting another Mini. Not having to zoom in on everything in Safari anymore is wonderful.
I don't have the beta but my old (now my wife's) mini performs decently. I noticed it a tad sluggish on some games but I'm not a huge gamer. I got it for reading and now that my wife has it, she uses it for Facebook and surfing.
Well your wife should see an increase in speed with 7.1. The first gen Mini performs very well, as everything does with 7.2 betas. Roll it on!
Something tells me Misskitty is thinking about switching to rMini again, as she's getting sick carrying that shovel in her bag.
As a last resort, she's trying to find sirens online to sing sweet Air songs to her, but the outcome is imminent. Misskitty, you can hide, you can run, but you won't escape rMini!!!
I purchased an Air this past Fall after dropping my first gen mini and cracking the screen.
The comments in this thread are true. The form factor and weight of the Air is night and day better than any full size iPad before it. I used my Air primarily to read / surf at night, and on weekends. There really isn't much need to scroll around like I had to on the mini. All of that said, I have since ordered a new Retina Mini and plan to return to that form factor. The portability and size of the Mini are really what I want out of the tablet space.
The Air came damn close, and my wife is thankful to upgrade from her iPad 2, to it. If I didn't have a Macbook, I might have stayed with the Air.
The comments in this thread are true. The form factor and weight of the Air is night and day better than any full size iPad before it. I used my Air primarily to read / surf at night, and on weekends. There really isn't much need to scroll around like I had to on the mini. All of that said, I have since ordered a new Retina Mini and plan to return to that form factor. The portability and size of the Mini are really what I want out of the tablet space.
The Air came damn close, and my wife is thankful to upgrade from her iPad 2, to it. If I didn't have a Macbook, I might have stayed with the Air.
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Same here. I had a 3rd gen and then bought a mini which took over because of the thinness and lightness. The Air brings that with a bigger screen and faster CPU. I couldn't ask of more.
I have a first gen mini and picked up the Air on launch day. Had bought the 3rd gen iPad on it's launch day and while I liked it, it wasnt always the greatest to lug around. I fell in love with the mini and carried it everywhere but there were many occasions where I missed the larger screen (gaming, web browsing, comics). So when the Air was announced with the smaller form factor and the much lighter weight I jumped on it.
I feel bad my mini is currently going unused but I can't bring myself to sell it. My fiancee inherited my 3rd gen iPad to replace her iPad 2 and she's really happy.
As much as I love the mini, I'm really glad to be back to the larger screen.
I feel bad my mini is currently going unused but I can't bring myself to sell it. My fiancee inherited my 3rd gen iPad to replace her iPad 2 and she's really happy.
As much as I love the mini, I'm really glad to be back to the larger screen.
That's what I did BUT I returned the Air. The mini I have is a cellular model, I found I used it more than the Air, and I can get around the resolution with browsing. I just go to landscape and use mobile websites. I even changed to Mercury browser where you can incease font size. And I also found a post someone made back when on how to use increase the font size with the Safari browser as well.
The Mini will never be great for watching movies and videos but I like it better for games. AND I love the portability.
Go small or go home! :