Thread: iPad iPad mini Questions
View Single Post
Old 11-29-2012, 10:44 AM   #1
sun surfer
languorous autodidact ✦
sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.sun surfer ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
sun surfer's Avatar
 
Posts: 4,235
Karma: 44667380
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: smiling with the rising sun
Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage
iPad mini Questions

Hi everyone,

I'm considering getting an iPad mini and a large reason would be for it to hopefully become my main e-reader. I've been wanting a small tablet for awhile and have been going back and forth for months between Kindle Fire, Google Nexus and (waiting for then adding into the mix) the iPad mini.

All my computers have always been Mac and I have other Apple products too, so I'm already somewhat of an "Apple person" I suppose. So I knew if a mini came out I'd probably lean towards it over a Fire or Nexus. The price is even higher than I was expecting, but I'm impressed that it's got a bigger screen yet is lighter and basically the same dimensions as the others, and I'm really looking forward to how well and easily it would integrate with my Mac and the Apple software.

I was still taking my time deciding, then a great deal for the Kindle Fire came up on Monday so I bought it. But I can still change my mind and cancel it before it ships or return it, and now that's put me into "decide" mode, heh. And the thought of choosing another and not having the mini is making me want the mini even more!

I have a few questions though:

-I've never used iBooks. How is it? Does it show up in iTunes (is it the "Books" section) or is it a separate application? I'd love for my music, video, and now books to all be in one simple place.

-My books are all epub; some are Barnes & Noble epub, many are Sony epub and the rest are no-DRM epub. Will B&N and Sony epub work on iBooks? I'd rather just use one app for all my books.

-This may sound really basic, but I'm not very techy (hence why I love the simplicity of Apple products) and I'm in the mindset of a dedicated e-ink e-reader: So, I think iBooks is basically the pre-loaded "official" reading app, but then I could also add other reading apps such as a B&N nook one or a Sony Reader one or even a Kindle one, correct? And then if I wanted I could switch back and forth depending on the book and format? I'd still rather just use one main app (iBooks) but I'm trying to learn here and understand my options.

-I've watched some youtubes of iBooks on the iPad mini and they answered many questions but there's one thing they didn't answer: How are the dictionaries? Are they pre-loaded, or does it go to the internet for a dictionary definition? I do really love my current dictionary on the Sony 950, the Oxford Dictionary of English, and I'd really love to continue using it on the tablet I get. Is it already pre-loaded as a dictionary, or if not, is there a way I can download it and iBooks would use it as my dictionary?

-I'm huge on note-taking while reading. It looks very easy from the youtube videos; does anyone here take a lot of notes through iBooks on their iPad or mini? If so, would you say it's good/easy? Do the notes transfer to your computer easily?

-Can I sync the mini with my computer wirelessly? Such as adding new books from one to the other, or transferring notes for safe keeping, etc. Or even syncing music, video, etc.

-Finally, cases. I see in the Apple store there's only one, the Smart Cover, which looks great. Any first hand experience with it here? Then I look on other sites and there's a million case options. Any good ones out there? I'm looking for a very light-weight one so the Smart Cover looks good, and I like how you can fold it to stand the mini upright. However, I would like the back protected from scratches. I've heard you can get a protective film for the back, similar to a screen protector? Do those work well?

sun surfer is offline   Reply With Quote