The niece definitely doesn't deserve that...
Seriously, I'd blame myself for donating the original iPad mini to anyone in October 2013. Suffering from bad eyesight myself, I can't overestimate the importance of a truly
crisp screen, such as that offered by Retina devices. If it's just a matter of money, I'd rather buy
my niece the new Nexus 7 whose screen is on the level of Apple's Retina devices.
Naturally, this is
your niece and your decision.
