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Gonna upgrade my iPad...Regular or Mini?


steve_man

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My girlfriend tests, evaluates, and trains on usage of such gadgetry at her job. She brought home an iPad mini, and quite frankly, I was underwhelmed. To me, the size just wasn't ideal...was more like an oversized phone than a tablet. Functionally, aside from Siri, which is fun for about 15 minutes, and a nicer camera, you aren't really getting any extras if you upgrade from an original to a mini. I have an iPad 2, and the mini did not seem like much of an upgrade from that.

However, if the size does appeal to you, it's a cheaper route than the newest iPad with retina. Honestly, I can't really justify upgrading from the iPad 2 to the newest model. The retina screen is nicer when you're comparing side by side, but the iPad 2 really isn't lacking. In your case, if you want a true upgrade, skip the mini and get the latest full size model. The mini just seems like a product that was developed to hit a target pricepoint, not a product that fits any specific needs.

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Mini size tablets are really for women who carry purses and want the features of a smartphone minus the actual phone calls. But for music you want the biggest screen possible because most guitar apps have those terrible interfaces that look like studio equipment and it

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I love my iPad with the Retina Display. Adobe Photoshop, iMovie, iPhoto, etc. all look and work great! I would have a really difficult time with Garage Band on a smaller display. Some of the buttons are tiny enough as is--even the record button is a delicate touch and I don't think I'd be able to edit very accurately in Garage Band. My iPad has been a constant companion since I bought it. It also interfaces well with my home theater--Panasonic Viera, Yamaha Aventage A720, Panasonic Blu Ray, Apple TV and Xfinity cable/internet. I have complete control over everything with my iPad--speaker setup/volume/distance/eq etc. I can stream anything from iTunes which makes it easy to jam with my guitar. 

All of the guitar software work great, but, again, with a smaller touch screen, it would be difficult for me. Most of the apps don't allow you to zoom in on the controls.

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Depends on what you use it for. Being a newbie tablet user (I have a Samsung Tab 10.1), I could live without the bigger size, I think. (Edit: I went into the buying process for the tablet thinking there's no way I wanted to "settle" for the 7" screen.) The extra size is handy for games like billiards and bowling, but when I'm reading e-books, the extra space doesn't really enhance the reading experience. I have just as much fun, if not more, reading e-books on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3). A 10" tablet is a little awkward to walk around with, as well.

In a musical context, I can see the larger size being useful on the music stand, for example.

 

I think Steve Jobs may not have wanted the smaller size iPad, but it will make sense to a certain space of the market.

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