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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2012-11-19, 23:38

You're already at the upper limit of "portable devices"!

It still kinda bugs me that I bought an iPad, period, although I've not used my iMac since I bought it...so that tells me that maybe it was a good, legit decision?

I have to draw the line at two. No way I'd want 3-4 toteable things (a laptop, phone and another 1-2 handheld/tablet devices) to keep up with! Especially if any of them were similar in size or function to each other. In fact, if I ever came across someone with an 11" MacBook Air, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and iPad mini (John Gruber, probably?), I'd just smack them senseless. On general principle.

BTW, I've yet to see an iPad mini in real life. And experience tells me that the staged (fake?) "beauty shots" on Apple's site never does the product justice. So I'm hoping to maybe see one soon and experience for myself what all the good, positive talk is about (I hear a lot about how light and "luggable" it is, and that seems to overshadow/outweigh the lack of Retina Display for many). As popular as they are now, imagine in another year or so when they get the display everyone knows is coming...that size/weight paired with that screen? It'll be quite a thing.

Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2012-11-20 at 00:01.
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torifile
Less than Stellar Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
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2012-11-20, 08:28

kieran,

I don't have a kindle because the mini is the same size as the Kindle Keyboard. It doesn't get as good battery life and isn't quite as good for reading long stuff, but it's so versatile, it's worth it to me.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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kieran
@kk@pennytucker.social
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
 
2012-11-20, 08:36

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
You're already at the upper limit of "portable devices"!

It still kinda bugs me that I bought an iPad, period, although I've not used my iMac since I bought it...so that tells me that maybe it was a good, legit decision?

I have to draw the line at two. No way I'd want 3-4 toteable things (a laptop, phone and another 1-2 handheld/tablet devices) to keep up with! Especially if any of them were similar in size or function to each other. In fact, if I ever came across someone with an 11" MacBook Air, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and iPad mini (John Gruber, probably?), I'd just smack them senseless. On general principle.

BTW, I've yet to see an iPad mini in real life. And experience tells me that the staged (fake?) "beauty shots" on Apple's site never does the product justice. So I'm hoping to maybe see one soon and experience for myself what all the good, positive talk is about (I hear a lot about how light and "luggable" it is, and that seems to overshadow/outweigh the lack of Retina Display for many). As popular as they are now, imagine in another year or so when they get the display everyone knows is coming...that size/weight paired with that screen? It'll be quite a thing.
I don't really notice how many I have because the computer & Kindle live in my work bag, but the Kindle was given to me by work, so I could always hand that back if the mini would replace it for reading. (We have about 25 books a year to read, so they just give out kindles like candy here)

Might just have to wait until the retina display gets put in this thing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile View Post
kieran,

I don't have a kindle because the mini is the same size as the Kindle Keyboard. It doesn't get as good battery life and isn't quite as good for reading long stuff, but it's so versatile, it's worth it to me.
So you do all of your reading on the mini now? I'd very quickly replace the Kindle Keyboard that I have if it was a suitable replacement.

No more Twitter. It's Mastodon now.
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Wyatt
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Near Indianapolis
 
2012-11-20, 09:04

Keiran, for me, the iPad replaced home laptop usage. It's really nice to have a (basically) fully capable computer that isn't the same type of thing I use all day at work. It's more functional than my iPhone, but it still feels less like I'm at work than a laptop does.

I don't have my mini yet (it should be here within the next two weeks), but my first-gen iPad does this quite nicely for me. I'm sure the mini will be even better, given how much lighter it is. You should head to your local Apple store and play with one for a little while. It's a damn fine device.
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torifile
Less than Stellar Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
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2012-11-20, 09:19

Yes, I do all of my reading on the iPad mini. I did on the iPad before that, but it was a little too big to be comfortable in bed. I was always torn with the full size iPad because I have an old kindle keyboard that was more comfortable to use. Like I said, the mini is the same size (and weight) as the KK so the only minor tradeoff is the slightly less great screen for reading.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Messiahtosh
Apple Historian
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2012-11-20, 11:44

I showed the iPad mini to a friend and he wanted to see if it would fit in his inner jacket pocket. It did. He will now be buying one.

"We are reviewing some 9,000 recent UNHCR referrals from Syria. We are receiving roughly a thousand new ones each month, and we expect admissions from Syria to surge in 2015 and beyond." - Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
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MBHockey
skates=grafs
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York
 
2012-11-23, 11:33

finally got around to seeing and using one for a little while. It certainly is very light and pretty! But for me, that's about where it ends. I use my iPad 3 mostly for schoolwork (constantly reading/annotating books-turned-PDFs in PDF Expert), along with the standard facebook/email/iMessage/web browsing usage.

It's too much of a pain to use the Mini since PDF pages are nearly unreadable if not zoomed in. The non-retina screen does not help this cause. On the ipad 3, i can read these books very easily without having to zoom in. Also, annotating is nicer on the 3 because the screen is physically larger. Lastly, it's noticeably slower than my iPad 3 when using PDF Expert. Pages are rendered faster and it's generally a smoother experience on the iPad 3 (not surprising.) Of course, the mini is more portable. And this is a pretty big advantage. When i wear my white coat around the hospital my iPad 3 fits in the outer pocket, but just barely, and I can't use the inner pocket on that side for anything else because that side is so stretched out. The Mini obviously fits a lot better. You don't even realize it's in there.

I'll keep my eye out for the next gen with the retina screen to see if that improves unzoomed page readability to the point where it would be less of a hassle to use than it is currently, but something about the iPad 3 screen size feels right for what I need right now. As my needs change over the next few years as I progress into residency, i can see myself getting a Retina mini simply because I won't be reading so many textbooks in such detail. It'll be more "quick referencing" at that point.
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Wyatt
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Near Indianapolis
 
2012-11-27, 08:31

I finally got my mini yesterday, and I've played with it a bit (though not as much as I would have liked). The size and weight are ideal for me. Just based on that alone, it's a far better fit for me than the 10" iPad.

I've actually been pleasantly surprised by how readable PDFs have been for me. I've had no issue reading PDFs on it at all. MBHockey had me pretty worried about that, since it's one of my top uses for the device, but I'm happy with the experience so far.

My only real complaints are with accessories.

First, the iPad is a little bouncy when it's propped up by the smart cover. That's the position I use it in the most at work, but I'm usually typing on a BT keyboard, not touching it, so I guess it's not a huge issue.

My other problem is that my Pogo Sketch stylus doesn't always register on the screen. I hand-write notes in Penultimate in a lot of my meetings, and the stylus isn't working very well for that. I've got another type of stylus on order, and it should be here today. Hopefully I'll have better luck with it.

Overall, this thing is a remarkable upgrade from my first-generation iPad, and the smaller size makes it much more likely that I'll reach for it instead of my phone.

Next I'm looking forward to playing games on it, to see how touch buttons feel on the new screen size. I'd imagine some games will need updating to display larger buttons on the mini, to make them easier to tap.
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torifile
Less than Stellar Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
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2012-11-27, 09:22

The stylus issue continues to plague me, too. I have Cosmonaut that worked very well at first and now (after several months of use) it just doesn't register on my iPad's screen unless it's angled just right. It's very frustrating, to be honest. I also have a jot pro, but its hard tip actually scratched my iPad's screen (my gen 1 so I wasn't too upset). I'd love to find one that works consistently...

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Wyatt
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Near Indianapolis
 
2012-11-27, 11:14

I really like my Sketch on the first generation iPad, but it's inconsistent on the new one. I can get it to work, but I have to hold it nearly perpendicular to the screen, which feels really unnatural. I'll let you know if I have better luck with the one I just ordered.
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Brave Ulysses
BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope.
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2012-12-01, 01:08

I finally saw an iPad Mini in person today.

It is beautiful.... and I think I may "trade down" to it from the full size iPad 3. The size just seems much more practical. It just looks better too... the proportions look right. And the weight is a major improvement.

The screen was noticeably not as sharp but weirder to me was seeing UI elements so much smaller
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2012-12-01, 01:42

I've still not seen one in real life. Just haven't had a chance yet. Maybe next weekend.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2013-01-26, 16:40

Surprised Anna with a custom dodocase for her mini:





So cool. I may have to order one for myself. (except I picked the colors for her that I would've ordered for me )

So it goes.
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murbot
Hoonigan
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
 
2013-01-26, 16:45

Does it hold it in there well? I've seen a couple videos of people tipping it to the side and the iPad falls out. Kind of made me wary of ordering one. Maybe these guys just had a lemon...
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2013-01-26, 16:58

Yeah, it's snug. I was a little worried about that too, but it's a nice tight fit.

The other thing I was a little concerned about was the big sticker on the inside cover they show on their site. I thought it might be hot-glued on, but no, it's just a sticky-backed thing that's peeled off easily with no marks.

Honestly, it's the coolest thing ever. Anna friggin loves it.

These people seem to know what they're doing. I have a bookback from them for my mini and it's the tits.

We're book-people though (if that's a thing), so the handcrafted nature of it evoked many a squee from the both of us.

I might even love it better than my moleskines. Which before today I would expect Anna to burn me at the stake for saying.

So it goes.

Last edited by 709 : 2013-01-26 at 17:16.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2013-01-26, 17:12

I LOVE the Dodocase. I've had one on my iPad 2 since I bought it a few years back. It's very snug in there and holds it great. It adds nice bulk, if that makes sense. I highly recommend it.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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murbot
Hoonigan
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
 
2013-01-27, 17:42

Cool, thanks guys. Thinking of grabbing one for my iPad4. They look great.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2013-01-27, 19:12

I'd bet the house that you'll be very happy with it. Great pickup.
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Dorian Gray
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
 
2013-03-31, 18:07

I’ve managed to resist buying myself an iPad mini thus far, but I did just a day ago get one for my mum’s 60th birthday present. Retina means nothing to 60-year-old eyes with an out-of-date eyeglass prescription. (I was tempted to get an iPad 2 instead, for the larger display, but I know my mother would use the camera a good bit, and the iPad mini has a vastly better camera.)

Engraved, too. No font choice (I guess it’s Myriad Pro?). Good old Apple.
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Dorian Gray
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
 
2013-03-31, 18:24

Incidentally, Apple has just updated its US iPad website with a new Why iPad section, following the similar addition to the iPhone website. I suspect this will make its way to other countries’ websites too.

They’re getting defensive.
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Chinney
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, ON
 
2013-04-01, 12:12

I was going by the Apple Store today and looked at the Mini - only the second time I have seen one. As I have posted before, it would just be too small for my needs. But dang if it is not a sexy thing. Perfect for reading books, light email, light web browsing, etc. If all I needed was a 'consumption' device, I would definitely buy it instead of a full-sized iPad. I have suggested to my wife - who strictly uses her iPad that way, and struggles to wedge her 1st Gen full sized model into her purse/bag - that the Mini would be a good update for her, but so far she has not been interested. I'll bet if she actually held one she would change her mind. But she is definitely not one to hang around, or even to go in to the Apple Store unless strongly prompted. She has no inherent interest in technology, although she does take advantage of what it can do if it is given to her.

When there's an eel in the lake that's as long as a snake that's a moray.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2013-04-01, 20:36

Don't you have a reseller in Canada like we have Best Buy that carries them? Surely you can get her into one of those.

I'm planning to get my wife a mini, but not until the Gen 2 is out. Then I might buy a refurb 1st Gen based on the actual improvement to the mini. My wife would love one and it really would be great for her too.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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Wrao
Yarp
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
 
2013-04-09, 11:33

Some months on and I am amazed at how much the iPad Mini has integrated into my life. It is basically a part of me at this point. I keep finding new apps and ways to use it that satisfy increasingly more needs and I am consistently amazed with how well it is put together, and also how well it accomplishes everything I need it for. It seems crazy but in a way, I almost don't see myself ever needing to upgrade this thing and that is just staggering when I look back at my computer history and see every 3-5 years I was spending $1400+ on a new computer only to eventually spend ~$500 on this quasi-computer small tablet dealie that has all but completely replaced any need for a laptop and even reduces the time I spend on my desktop somewhat and given the nature of the OS and what it is doing, it really seems very unlikely that it'll need an upgrade, basically at all, at least until iOS goes into some uncharted territory that it can't keep up with I guess, but even then I should still be able to find something useful to do with it.

Well, almost. The iPad Mini needs more RAM and it needs a retina display, and it wouldn't hurt to have a faster processor. So it is entirely likely that I will end up upgrading as soon as it gets some of those things, but still, I could go without all those things and still be pretty much totally happy just the same.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2013-04-09, 11:53

I'm right there with ya. I have a beast of a rMBP for work and I never use it at home. My iPad 2 has been mainstay in my house since I got it. I may upgrade next time around just to get more RAM and the Retina display, but it's definitely not needed. The iPad really is a home PC killer.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2013-04-09, 13:28

Ditto. The laptop barely ever comes up to bed with me anymore unless I'm looking through Hulu. I suppose I should just pay the 8 bucks a month or whatever it is for Hulu Plus, now that I think about it.

What I'm realizing more than anything though is that it's been an iPhone killer (well, maybe not killed, but definitely kneecapped) for me. I hardly ever use the thing anymore except for, well, phone calls. Messaging all done on the mini, emails, surfing, gaming... everything. Where my iPhone never used to be more than a few feet from me at any given time, now the mini takes that seat. Really, I'm hardly ever away from WiFi and even if I'm in the car there's a 95% chance I'm headed to a place with WiFi.

I'm due for a new iPhone this upcoming cycle, and I'm going to have to rethink my plan entirely. Instead of going with the mack-daddy as I'm wont to do I may just go with the basest of models. A lower data plan and a phone that allows me to just do my basic banking and voice-notes is all I really need now that the mini has everything else covered.

So it goes.
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Chinney
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, ON
 
2013-04-09, 20:53

I went on a one-week business trip just recently and at the last minute decided not to lug along the MBP and instead just try to get by with my iPad 2. It was a bit of a risk, because I really did need computer capability during the trip, and I had never tried to just do it on the iPad. I had no problems at all as it turned out. Impressive.

When there's an eel in the lake that's as long as a snake that's a moray.
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Wrao
Yarp
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
 
2013-04-11, 01:03

Yes. My iPad Mini has also been an 'iPhone Killer' for me as well. But it's interesting because basically how it has happened is that when I am at home or sometimes when I'm out(I don't take the Mini everywhere, but I don't always leave it at home either) and I have the iPad, I basically never use the iPhone except for telephony, but otherwise the iPhone has transformed away from "A device I spend too much time staring at and interacting with" to "A device that is great for keeping me 'connected' and little else".

It's like... _almost_ become a dumb phone for me, which just sounds ridiculous to say but I honestly barely use it for all of the things it can do anymore so long as the iPad Mini is within arm's reach or will be availble to me soon(such as heading home type of thing).

This has the inadvertent effect of really solidifying for me that ~3.5" is an awesome size for a smartphone and that bigger smartphones are kind of dumb. Obviously a bigger smartphone let's you get more 'into' what you're doing and it bridges the gap slightly between phone and tablet and is more immersive and all, and obviously having a phone AND a tablet is not without it's inconveniences or problems either, but realistically? it really does feel like a better solution to me overall and so long as smartphones are trying to be ~5"+ screens, they come off as just being compromises that don't do the phone part well and don't do the tablet part well.

Maybe if/when Android actually picks up in the tablet space and brings some really solid offerings to the table we'll see a trend with smartphones where mid-range-y 3.5-4.3" phones become more prevalent again. I really think if more Android users actually had a proper tablet to complement their 4.8"+ smartphones they'd find their usage habits changing to where there large phone stopped making much sense.


To demonstrate just how little I use my iPhone these days, I have about 40 apps that need updating that I have basically ignored completely for months.
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