Mini or Standard iPad

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Sparky787

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#115253 19-Mar-2013 13:39

Going to do some purchasing, but which one do I want:

iPad Mini or iPad 3

Gaming vs Reading?
Wifi vs 3G

What do I want, guys?

Sparky

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#783913 19-Mar-2013 13:55

To be honest, I have both. When travelling the smaller form factor is amazing as it saves space and is easy on the hands. At home, I use prefer the larger screen.

For serious gaming you'd want the standard iPad for the grunt.

Definitely 3G for me as constant connectivity is a must for me as well as location services (find my iPad)

mattwnz

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#783932 19-Mar-2013 14:13

You mean the ipad 4, the 3 is no longer sold. The ipad 3 isn't much more powerful than the ipad mini, and the extra power goes into powering the retina display. The ipad 4 however is a lot more powerful. WHat you want depends on what you want it for. But if it is going to be use a lot fo 3d games, then the ipad 4. The mini is best for travel, but lacks a retina display, which the next version will likely have, which is why I wouldn't buy one.

Sparky787

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#783958 19-Mar-2013 15:24

Both are very good reasoning, I believe.

I am finding that I prefer it for the light day to day stuff (emails, news, weather etc) but still use my laptop for Hard Core stuff (eg gaming, Study etc)

Perhaps wait for the next generation of iPad mini and get one with 3G, just for sh*ts and giggles.

Sparky

Handsomedan

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#783975 19-Mar-2013 16:10

I have an iPad 2 wifi, which I tether to my iPhone for connectivity on the go.

I'd love to trade it in for a Mini, as the vast majority of what i do is done on the bus. A smaller form factor would just work for me, personally.

In a perfect world, I'd have a 64gb Mini and a 128gb iPad 4.

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#783979 19-Mar-2013 16:17

You mean do I want Ipad 5 or mini retina in April

kendog

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#784064 19-Mar-2013 19:50

I have used the 2 for a year, the 3 for a year and the mini for 5 minutes.
I would love a mini with retina. Seemed like a great size and real light.

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#784113 19-Mar-2013 21:37

I have an iPad 3rd gen. Because I use my iPad more than my Mac and I have an iPhone when ultra-portability matters I just can't see that the Mini would suit my needs.

I take the full size iPad to work every day and rarely leave the house for more than a couple of hours without it so I personally find it highly portable but obviously in some situations the extra portability of the Mini would be an advantage.

In short only you can decide based on your intended use.

dickytim

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#784191 20-Mar-2013 07:04

For reading I find the Ipad a bit heavy, so if that is your number 1 use I'd try the mini.

For gaming, browsing etc I would suggest the full size.

3G all the way! It has the GPS chip as well as 3/4G

I have the ipad4 and to be honest I am on it all the time! I love the fact I have 3G and for $19 a month I get 500mb of data, which is plenty unless I do testing at work, in that case I get them to top me up anyway.

Oh and I know you didn't ask but retina over standard screen all the way, but that being said if you have only ever seen the standard screen it is not bad, just when you use the retina display and get used to it everything else looks just meh!

Sparky787

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#784209 20-Mar-2013 08:52

joker97: You mean do I want Ipad 5 or mini retina in April

Well said!

I am thinking Mini with Retina

Sparky

Sparky787

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#784211 20-Mar-2013 08:54

dickytim: For reading I find the Ipad a bit heavy, so if that is your number 1 use I'd try the mini.

For gaming, browsing etc I would suggest the full size.

3G all the way! It has the GPS chip as well as 3/4G

I have the ipad4 and to be honest I am on it all the time! I love the fact I have 3G and for $19 a month I get 500mb of data, which is plenty unless I do testing at work, in that case I get them to top me up anyway.

Oh and I know you didn't ask but retina over standard screen all the way, but that being said if you have only ever seen the standard screen it is not bad, just when you use the retina display and get used to it everything else looks just meh!

In regards to retina. I have been using an iPad3 at work for testing, and every time I have to switch back to the 2nd Gen, it's like I need to get new glasses! I don't think I could handle anything less then retina display.

Sparky

Handsomedan

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#784237 20-Mar-2013 09:31

Funny...I have a standard display on my iPad 2 and a retina on my iPhone...don;t really notice the lack of Retina on the iPad.
I am sure that if I migrated to a retina iPad, I'd find it hard to go back, for whatever reason, but it's a funny thing...I just don't think the iPad non-retina display is that bad...in fact it's not bad at all.

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da5id

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#784357 20-Mar-2013 11:58

Every morning in bed I check out my RSS feeds and my facebook on my iPod Touch, so I thought I'd get an iPad.
I had visions of me sitting up in bed reading my iPad with the big screen.

I bought an iPad 3. Sadly though, it never got the morning in-bed use I intended. It's way heavier than I thought it would be. Almost (but not quite) like lugging a laptop into bed. Perhaps the new iPad 4 is lighter (and I hear that it is).

For the use I intended, I would have bought an iPad Mini instead.

Satch

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#784371 20-Mar-2013 12:29

da5id: Every morning in bed I check out my RSS feeds and my facebook on my iPod Touch, so I thought I'd get an iPad.
I had visions of me sitting up in bed reading my iPad with the big screen.

I bought an iPad 3. Sadly though, it never got the morning in-bed use I intended. It's way heavier than I thought it would be. Almost (but not quite) like lugging a laptop into bed. Perhaps the new iPad 4 is lighter (and I hear that it is).

For the use I intended, I would have bought an iPad Mini instead.

You might like to hit the gym every once in a while ;-)

Sparky787

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#784382 20-Mar-2013 12:37

Satch:
da5id: Every morning in bed I check out my RSS feeds and my facebook on my iPod Touch, so I thought I'd get an iPad.
I had visions of me sitting up in bed reading my iPad with the big screen.

I bought an iPad 3. Sadly though, it never got the morning in-bed use I intended. It's way heavier than I thought it would be. Almost (but not quite) like lugging a laptop into bed. Perhaps the new iPad 4 is lighter (and I hear that it is).

For the use I intended, I would have bought an iPad Mini instead.

You might like to hit the gym every once in a while ;-)

Hahaha, I completely understand where da5id is coming from. Just yesterday my sister was telling me about how while lying in bed, she dropped her 2nd gen on her face. Sounds like it hurts.

Sparky

Handle9

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#784386 20-Mar-2013 12:44

I bought a second tablet a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want a full size device as I wanted it for work and the non retina display of the mini was a deal breaker for me. I ended up buying a Nexus 7 3G and it is excellent. At 216 ppi the resolution isn't as good as the ipad 3 which my wife has but the portability is absolutely superb. I bought a car mount and it makes a great car device with music, podcasts and navigation. I've stopped using a kindle to read with as this as the ability to go cross platform and is good to read on.

Once a retina mini is released I'll probably trade this in (we have a macbook, ipad and my wife has an iphone so we're in the Apple universe) but for $490 with 32GB and 3G it's excellent.

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