Ipad Mini

[whiskeryron]

I am toying with the idea of buying myself an iPad Mini, can any ABers tell me the benefits of me doing this please.?

[woofgang]

i really like mine. It goes out with me just about everywhere, I keep books on it, use it for shopping, chat to my sister and take and send photos on it, as well as doing most of the things I can do on my laptop.

[whiskeryron]

Thanks for answer woofie. Would I be able to send & receive emails on it ?

[wendilla]

You an do everything on an I pad that you can do on PC . I love mine goes everywhere with me . So easy to take and send photos too.

[Buenchico]

If you buy the 'wi-fi + cellular' version (and then fork out for a monthly subscription to a mobile phone company) you'll have internet access [on a screen bigger than you'd get on a mobile phone] wherever you go. If you buy the cheaper 'wi-fi only' version, you'll have an excellent excuse for seeking out Wetherspoon's pubs, so that you can make use of their free wi-fi ;-)

You'll also have a reasonable quality camera readily to hand wherever you go. (Having said that, I recently paid just £60 for a really nice tablet. The only downside to its specification was that the camera only offered a low resolution but I decided that I wasn't bothered because I usually carry a decent camera with me anyway).

You'll also have a device that can play all of your MP3 music files (to save you carrying a separate MP3 player). It can also play games, videos and do the basic functions of a laptop computer. (While it might be handy for quick note-taking, I wouldn't recommend writing a novel on it; the virtual keyboard would be too awkward).

Whether a tablet would be of use to you really depends upon:
(a) what you might want to do with it ; and
(b) what other devices you already carry (such as a mobile phone) that can already carry out those tasks.

Whether you actually need an iPad (rather than a different brand of tablet) depends upon whether you think that it's worth paying extra for having Apple's operating system (or just to be 'fashionable'). Tablets running the Android operating system are cheaper and don't tie you in to just one manufacturer's system.

http://store.apple.com/uk/buy-ipad/ipad-mini

[sp1814]

whiskeyron

I have both an iPad and iPad Mini.

The Mini is the perfect size if you are thinking of taking it out and about, and you're not losing much (compared to the larger iPad) in terms of screen size (Mini is 7.9" and the iPad Air is 9.7").

For a few years, I had the larger iPad, and then got the Mini for my birthday in 2013.

I thought at first that the screen size might be an issue, but it really wasn't.

Yes, you can send and receive emails on the iPad. When you get your Mini, you register it, and get assigned an Apple ID. You can either use this as your mail email account, or you can set up an existing mail account (eg. Yahoo, Google etc).

The set up process is ridiculously straightforward.

Honest...Apple deliberately make their products so that you can lift them out of the box, and be using them within minutes.

Any other questions...just shout (and no...I don't work for Apple).

[sp1814]

One further point in addition to Buenchico's...Apple has the largest library of iPad apps.

For me, that's the big clincher.

[whiskeryron]

Cheers wendilla, that more or less says it all for me, just one more question if you guys don't mind ( as I sometimes use headphones for my Blackberry mobile) could the iPad replace the mobile phone & send & receive texts & calls or am I asking the impossible ?

[Buenchico]

>>>could the iPad replace the mobile phone & send & receive texts & calls

Directly, no. Indirectly (by using Skype), yes.

[woofgang]

The other thing I like about Apple stuff is how helpful the shops are.

[Buenchico]

^^^Further to my answer above:

While an iPad can be used to make calls with Skype, it can't really be used as a substitute for a mobile phone for incoming calls because it would need to be permanently connected to the internet to receive them. So it would have to be switched on all of the time; with a battery life of 9 hours for internet access (and potential problems with data charges) that's not really practical.

[whiskeryron]

Thank you Chris and sp1814 excellent answers from all of you, really given me the impetus to spend a bit of cash on something decent.

[Sycamore3House]

I bought my ipad over 2 years ago as I my laptop was becoming tired. I was not that enthusiastic about what I considered technology that I already had but just an upgrade. I first went to PCWorld & then the Apple Store. The apple store won hands down.
I bought the ipad2 with 3G 16Gb So it was pretty pricey. But I believe for what I wanted and use it for it was worth it. (I run my own business).
I have also invested in a wireless printer and I use my ipad for everything. The only purchasing mistake I made was I should have bought one with a bigger memory but at the time I did not realise how much I would use it.
You can turn your ipad into a phone also by purchasing an app.
I would now like a mini just for the convenience of it being small. If you do purchase one buy it from Apple as you will get better customer service/satisfaction.
You can use the FaceTime app (like Skype) to connect with other Apple users.

[whiskeryron]

Thanks for your input Sycamore3House.