Originally Posted by OtinG

No not really. I rarely read PDFs, and even on a larger screen than my 9.7" Pro I would still hate reading PDFs. The larger the screen the better for PDFs, but not so for reading eBooks. The smaller screen of the mini is my favorite for that.

I mostly use my iPads for these tasks:

• Reading eBooks
• Watching short videos, usually not very lengthy ones
• Surfing the internet
• Watching TV, though not very often
• Email
• Text messaging
• Calendar
• As a field reference and add-on tool for my astrophotography hobby

All of those tasks are quite acceptable on the smaller 7.9" screen. If I watch video or TV the iPad will be really close (less than an arms length away) so size of screen is not and issue. The smaller size is definitely best in my case when reading eBooks and when carrying it out into the field for astrophotography. It is a bit better to have a larger screen for web surfing, but that really isn't a big deal. I rarely do much office type of work on my iPads. For one thing I'm retired. I do view spreadsheets a lot, but creating/editing spreadsheets on an iPad is frustrating and a waste of time. If I need to create/edit a spreadsheet or a written document I prefer using my MacBook Pro. When I bought my Pro, I thought I would use it for a lot of artwork, but that never happened.

So the very short answer is there are very few reasons for me to use a larger 10.2" luggable iPad over using a smaller mini, and none of those reasons are deal breakers. As I mentioned, I always put my iPad in an Otterbox Defender case to protect it and to add thickness. I'm in my sixties and have quite a bit of arthritis in my hands, so adding thickness helps to hold the iPad. Unfortunately the case adds a lot of weight, but I would rather have more weight and excellent protection from drops than not be able to comfortably hold the iPad.