OT New Ipad Mini with retina display

[AZHuskiePop]

I have been using the original kindle for two years. I am thinking of getting the new Mini with retina.
The kindle is great for reading but has some limitations for WiFi use.
I know there are good, maybe even better,android tablets but almost my entire family are using IPads and I phones. If you don't comply your seem to be out of the loop.
I know there is an AP to access my cloud library of books for the IPad . I have accumulated a lot of reference material.Not sure if that is available for Androids.
For an old guy the kindle keyboard drives me crazy.
Looking for input on the validity of my argumentss.

 

[OklahomaUconn]

I use a ipad 3 and its perfect in terms of weight,size,capabilities. Its like a computer except no flash. If you get a tablet just go with the full size version unless you travel alot.

 

[rariggidy]

The Retina Mini has an amazing screen, but at that price it is laughable. $350? Maybe. But when you can get the Nexus 7 with the same quality screen (323 ppi vs rMini's 326) for pretty much half the price; I will take the cheaper one every day. Not even considering the fact that the android system has all the same apps, more free apps in general, and you can customize EVERY aspect of the tablet. iPad lets you buy apps and change a wallpaper. Not innovative anymore.

 

[Huskyforlife]

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD528LL/A/refurbished-ipad-mini-with-wi-fi-16gb-black-slate
don't spend 400 on the retina, you can get the same thing just without the same screen quality and apple refurbished for 250

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...etina-display-wi-fi-16gb-black-4th-generation
this is the best deal imo though

 

[BearJWS]

I love my iPad Mini. It's the perfect size to hold in one hand and type with the other (at least for me). The lack of Flash is annoying on some sites, but it's very easy to use otherwise. It has larger screen space than other similar sized tablets. I like the GPS feature and you can download apps to see what is nearby when traveling or even look at the stars above. Make a list of what you really intend to use it for. My suggestion is to go to Best Buy (or whatever Mega Electronics Store is nearby) and try out all that you are interested in. I looked at all the competitors, they just weren't up to snuff for my tastes.

Note: We have a Kindle Fire & it's ok, but it's heavier and does a lot less. I rarely touch it. I did not like the Samsung Galaxy maybe it was because when testing it out, the silly alarms they had attached to them kept going off (including the sales guy trying to show us). It just wasn't as smooth for me. I'm sure other's feel elsewise.

Also - You can 0% Finance the iPad Mini, if price is an issue.

 

[Scot-e]

I am a Apple guy. I have two mac books and an iPad. Once I sell this current company I am moving to an iPad only existence- they rock.
I had a Nook for reading books and shortly after I bought my iPad I stopped using it and simply put the Nook app on my iPad- works great. You can download plenty of apps that make the iPad serviceable for work when you are traveling and it blows away any Kindle for surfing the web and watching media content. Nice to have one small device that can nearly do it all.

 

[dogpause]

My only advice would be to not let $150 be the basis for your decision. However, I do agree that a trip to the Best Buy playground will give you the answer.

 

[jleves]

The iPad mini is stuck in a bad place. Apple wants to be the premium vendor charging premium prices for arguably the premium devices. But the mini sits in a price bracket that doesn't lend itself to premium purchases. Now the new iPad Air is in a really perfect place. It is the premium tablet - I'm not an apple guy, but it is the best full size tablet you can get and they just made it lighter (big plus), thinner (small plus), faster (good bump) with a smaller bezel (some like this - some don't - your finger can travel onto the touch screen) and best in class battery life. It's the best full size tablet you can get if you're willing to pay for it. That makes sense. The mini however has serious competition for people who don't want to afford a full size or too small for people who want the best tablet available. Plus it starts at 16GB of storage which is way too limited for a $400 device. I think it's going to crash and burn. The Nexus 7 is just a better value overall. Also on such a small display, retina is just overkill and drains battery life for no real tangible benefit. In the 7inch size, anything more than 1080p is just overkill in my opinion. If they had made it with that same SOC, 1080p display, w/ 32GB of storage for $350, they have a competitive product. Although the display is better than 1080p, it's unnecessary, decreases battery life and only has 16GB which is a huge issue at $399. Making you pay an extra $130 for LTE on the mini is just robbery. $529 for a mini with 16GB of storage and LTE is not going to fly.

People will pay the premium for the iPad Air (which I think is a brilliant marketing name), but not for the mini. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[ffg53]

People are still talking about iPads not playing Flash? What antique web sites are you going to that still use Flash? It's a dead technology.

 

[FriarJ]

I have the ipad mini and I love it, but for reading NOTHING beats the Kindle paperwhite. If surfing the web, reading magazines and such is what you want then the mini is the right pick but for reading black and white, the paperwhite is great. You can see it in bright light which you cannot do on the mini and it lights up just perfect for night time reading, the ability to change font size easily is also really appreciated by my tired eyes sometimes.

 

[Fishy]

No modern tablet plays Flash.

I have an iPad Mini and like it. They will sell a gazillion of them.

But I have to say that the Kindle Paperwhite is better for reading. After staring at a computer, phones and every other screen during the day, if I start reading on yet another glowing screen, my eyes start to hurt. I would never have bought one, but my wife did, and it's really, really nice.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

No modern tablet plays Flash.

I have an iPad Mini and like it. They will sell a gazillion of them.

But I have to say that the Kindle Paperwhite is better for reading. After staring at a computer, phones and every other screen during the day, if I start reading on yet another glowing screen, my eyes start to hurt. I would never have bought one, but my wife did, and it's really, really nice.

Is there a piece of tech that you don't have? I would like to send you a box stamped and addressed back to me and have you throw in all your old discarded stuff. It would almost certainly upgrade my crappy stuff. Do you still have the table that was a computer screen (or something like that)?

 

[hungry husky]

I use a ipad 3 and its perfect in terms of weight,size,capabilities. Its like a computer except no flash. If you get a tablet just go with the full size version unless you travel alot.

+1. I love my iPad 3. I use it to watch a lot of videos (HBOGo mainly). I also have pretty large hands and stubby thumbs so the larger display is more suitable for freaks like myself.

 

[Drumguy]

No modern tablet plays Flash.

I have an iPad Mini and like it. They will sell a gazillion of them.

But I have to say that the Kindle Paperwhite is better for reading. After staring at a computer, phones and every other screen during the day, if I start reading on yet another glowing screen, my eyes start to hurt. I would never have bought one, but my wife did, and it's really, really nice.

+1 The Mini or any other tablet is still nowhere near as pleasant to read on as a paperwhite. I have a Nexus 7, iPad2 and paperwhite for the record.

 

[hungry husky]

+1 The Mini or any other tablet is still nowhere near as pleasant to read on as a paperwhite. I have a Nexus 7, iPad2 and paperwhite for the record.

A bit excessive, no?

 

[Drumguy]

I don't think so. I deal with tech as part of every day life. I'm a CPA with small business clients. We use so much tech in every facet of our work. We have online portals and mobile apps to view your returns or copies of documents. They need to be available in any browser or device. (And maybe yes, it's a little excessive as those aren't my only devices! )

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[hungry husky]

I don't think so. I deal with tech as part of every day life. I'm a CPA with small business clients. We use so much tech in every facet of our work. We have online portals and mobile apps to view your returns or copies of documents. They need to be available in any browser or device. (And maybe yes, it's a little excessive as those aren't my only devices! )

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Not hating, probably nice to have that flexibility.

 

[FriarJ]

No modern tablet plays Flash.

I have an iPad Mini and like it. They will sell a gazillion of them.

But I have to say that the Kindle Paperwhite is better for reading. After staring at a computer, phones and every other screen during the day, if I start reading on yet another glowing screen, my eyes start to hurt. I would never have bought one, but my wife did, and it's really, really nice.

I forgot to mention that there is a browser app available for the iPad called Skyfire that allows you to watch flash videos. I have used it to stream Patriot games when they are not on the TV on the West Coast. So if you have to watch Flash that app does the trick.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Agree with Fishy the paperwhite is the better reader, especially if you go outdoors.

As for the Mini, it is nice, but do you want to use the Kindle app? Do you still buy ebooks from Amazon? If so, you should know that while the iPad has a Kindle app, Apple disabled any access to the Amazon store. If you get an Android tablet, including the Kindle HD but others as well, the Kindle app has access to the store. It's pretty annoying on my wife's ipad. I oder stuff for her on my Nexus 7. You may want to look at the Nexus 7 as a cheaper alternative.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Agree with Fishy the paperwhite is the better reader, especially if you go outdoors.

As for the Mini, it is nice, but do you want to use the Kindle app? Do you still buy ebooks from Amazon? If so, you should know that while the iPad has a Kindle app, Apple disabled any access to the Amazon store. If you get an Android tablet, including the Kindle HD but others as well, the Kindle app has access to the store. It's pretty annoying on my wife's ipad. I oder stuff for her on my Nexus 7. You may want to look at the Nexus 7 as a cheaper alternative.

Can I access my library of reference material already on my cloud.
Not to mention the 20 or 30 games I have purchased for my 5 year old. Grandson

 

[HuskyHawk]

Can I access my library of reference material already on my cloud.
Not to mention the 20 or 30 games I have purchased for my 5 year old. Grandson

What OS do those games run on? If Android, they will run on Android. If iOS they will run on Apple. Standard e-book formats will be viewable on any tablet device, as they all have readers (Kindle or otherwise).