iPad 4

[Andrew Tarpinian]

On Dec 28, 2012, at 5:43 PM, Peter Korsten <peter at severity-one.com> wrote:

> Op 28-12-2012 22:33, Jay Vaughan schreef:
> 
>> Mini or big one?  Coz I just want to say that the big one sucks after you've used the mini for a while - or a Nexus7 (in my case) - because its just *sooo* much more comfortable and friendly to use the smaller format in bed, on the bus, etc.  I now think of my original iPad3 as a proper dinosaur clunker, and the new 8" format is all that I can stand to use.
> 
> I was going to ask a question about this. From what I understand, the iPad 2 and iPad mini are more or less the same price. Now the "little captain" is going to get an iPad for his 10th birthday (end of February), and I was wondering what would be best for him.
> 
> He knows his way around both iOS and Android (and actually knows the difference... kids these days), but the choice is for iOS because apparently, there are more educational/therapeutic applications. No doubt he'll be playing a lot of Super Monkey Ball on it (and I'll finally get my S3 back), but the idea is that it's a toy as much as it is a tool.
> 
> So, what would be best for him? The 2 or the mini? What are some pros and cons?

On Jays point - I got the big Retina one. I really liked the mini but it seemed, for me, that the larger size with all the bells and whistles made more sense since I am using for it for many different situations.

Your situation seems to be more complicated Peter, to my eyes the only thing that the mini really shares with the iPad 2 is it's processor (and resolution.) Everything else on the mini looks like it's upgraded to be more inline with the high end retina model, plus it's cheaper and available in higher capacities. 

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/compare

On the other hand a larger screen may be better for a young child, especially since the touch points will be larger - I'm pretty sure all the apps currently running on the mini are not mini specific, so they are running at the same resolution as an iPad 2 but just smaller. If this is true it means the touch points will be smaller on the mini, so for a child it may be frustrating since they may be less exact in their tapping. I know there was talk about if developers will be able to have a mini specific modified layout of an app within a universal app, but I have not looked into it yet and have not played with a mini, so I could be wrong.

Another thing is it depends on how mobile he is with it, will he take it all over the house, to bed, out of the house, in the car? The bigger one may be too heavy for him to take everywhere. But on the other hand if you want him NOT to take it all over the place and keep his time with it in a more controlled setting the larger one may be better. Honestly maybe the best way would be to go to a store and see which one he likes?