Upgrade from original iPad

iaind

iaind

iaind

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Joined
26 Feb 2009
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Exeter
Hi all. I've had the original iPad since launch day (told myself they were stupid pointless devices, played with a friends one and ran straight out to buy one....) but it's getting a bit long in the tooth now. Browsing (it's main purpose) is slow and browsers (chrome and safari) fall over regularly. Battery isn't what it used to be either, so it's time for an upgrade.

I'm torn though - the obvious choice would be the current 4th gen iPad (16gb wifi is fine) but the iPad mini is tempting too.

The mini is more comfortable to hold and a lot cheaper to buy - but the screen isn't great and it's effectively iPad 2 hardware... Seems to be quite a bit slower than the 4th gen.

The 4th gen has the epic screen and much better spec, but the upgrade cost would be nearly double the amount. Is it worth it?
 
The mini has a better screen than your iPad. It's faster. A lot of Apple products use the same A5 processor so it's not going to be dropped any time soon from a software standpoint.

It depends what you want. If the size of your iPad has never annoyed you then stretch to the retina iPad. I have the Mini and love it. It's the perfect size for me.
 
Yeah I am leaning towards the mini. The size of my current one has never bothered me, in some cases (watching movies and things) it's been a good thing. However, the extra portability of the mini would be handy and I dont feel that its so small it would make it less useful.

It's main purpose is a web browsing device, so I just want something responsive that doesnt need to be zoomed in and out constantly to read text. This is the case with my friends BB playbook, so assumed the mini would be the same as they're similar sizes...... having looked at one, it definitely doesnt seem to be the case.

The only concern with the spec of the mini is the fact it's a chip thats only one step up from my current ipad. Apple have a nasty habbit of killing older tech with software updates - my ipad was fine on 4 but since 5 its been a pig. Same with iphone 3Gs on IOS3 (or 4, i forget). I just dont want another useless device next time they roll out an update!
 
Apple's bad support is quite arbitrary, sometimes it seems to line up neatly with chip generations but not always. I would take the original release date as the main indicator in which case you shouldn't have a problem with either the Mini or the 4th gen iPad.

For web browsing I would want the full size iPad with retina display personally because I just think it's the best thing out there for that task. However for cost and portability the Mini might just swing it.
 
All depends how you use it. If it's mainly out and about I'd say get the mini as although both are portable a smaller tablet is a lot more convenient.

If it's mainly in the house then the iPad 4 is the better choice. The screen is incredible and it's large size is much better for web browsing.

You can get about £100 for an iPad 1 on the recycle sites too.
 
Morfik said:
All depends how you use it. If it's mainly out and about I'd say get the mini as although both are portable a smaller tablet is a lot more convenient.

If it's mainly in the house then the iPad 4 is the better choice. The screen is incredible and it's large size is much better for web browsing.

You can get about £100 for an iPad 1 on the recycle sites too.
Click to expand...

My current one has never left the house so maybe the full size one is the way forward...

Yeah I was planning getting rid of mine that way - Mazuma will give £80 in argos vouchers and I can buy the replacement from there
 
Not used an iPad mini but would definitely go for a iPad 4. I have 2 & 3 and a 4S iPhone so if its just mainly for browsing I would deffo stay full size plus the retina display is worth it.
 
I had looked at the nexus and surface, but given how much use I've had from the current one I don't see the point in trying to reinvent the wheel - getting something different for the sake of it is pointless and its a risk that I might not get on with it as much.

Went into town yesterday and had a good poke around at the apple store - after shoving hordes of 13 year olds out the way. The mini really is a lovely device to hold and use but the screen and performance on the full size ipad can't be ignored.

As I was happy with the form factor of my current ipad and just needed an upgrade, I left with a new full size one. Only a 16gb wifi but I don't use much storage space and can tether to my phone if I ever want to go mobile.

I'm more than happy with the decision, it's blisteringly quick and the screen is gorgeous.
 
I've had a iPad 4 since launch and a 3 before that, my wife got a Mini for Christmas and I must say I was and am still very impressed by the Mini. At first I thought the mini was so good that the next time I upgrade my iPad it would be to a Mini.

However now I've gotten used to seeing it around and having the luxury of being able to compare the iPad 4, Mini and even a Nexus 7 to each other I've changed my mind, any size and weight advantage the Mini has pales in comparison to the retina screen and speed of the iPad 4 so at this juncture I would get the iPad 4 but of cause that will all change when the Mini retina is unleashed!!!

On another controversial note! although the Nexus 7 can't hold a candle to the build quality and comprehensive Appstore of the iPad, Jellybean is a far better and more fun experience than iOS. Really hope Apple do something about this soon as iOS is getting a little old now :(
 
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