ipad Mini (retina) or regular iPad?

[kyrilson]

If you read comics, you will want a full size ipad. That's the main reason I went with the full size ipad air.

[Gurvan]

Fun how is everyone thinking that reading on an iPad Air is so bothersome because of the weight/size problem. I am still reading on an original iPad 1 with an heavy Otterbox cover and it doesn't really bother me none...

Fact is that an iPad with Camera for me is a big no-no because of work related restrictions (I cannot bring anything that has a camera on my work place for security reasons...), thus I am still stuck with an iPad 1 and I really resent the fact that cameras are now a given on tablets. Frankly, taking pictures with a tablet does not seem such a killer app and if I can understand FaceTime-like uses, I never uses them (On my iPhone for instance) as it is not really useful...

I would really like to see a pro version of the iPad : rugged, no camera and so on and so forth...

[Faterson]

More like employers should stop being silly about "no camera" stuff. Every single device (phone or notebook) is going to have a camera sooner or later. There should be software ways of blocking the camera functionality, instead of the entire device. iPad 1 has a horrible screen for today's standards; it's punishing on the eyes, compared to Retina-class screens.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Gurvan

Fun how is everyone thinking that reading on an iPad Air is so bothersome because of the weight/size problem. I am still reading on an original iPad 1 with an heavy Otterbox cover and it doesn't really bother me none...

Fact is that an iPad with Camera for me is a big no-no because of work related restrictions (I cannot bring anything that has a camera on my work place for security reasons...), thus I am still stuck with an iPad 1 and I really resent the fact that cameras are now a given on tablets. Frankly, taking pictures with a tablet does not seem such a killer app and if I can understand FaceTime-like uses, I never uses them (On my iPhone for instance) as it is not really useful...

I would really like to see a pro version of the iPad : rugged, no camera and so on and so forth...

Restrictions at work concerning cameras are the reason I've waited until now—when I'm currently 56 days away from retirement—to update from my first generation iPad. Indeed, that's the reason I bought the first generation just before the second generation came out; I assumed (correctly as it turned out) that the second generation would have a camera. It's also the reason I have a simple, basic flip cell phone with no camera.

I wonder how many people are in similar situations? You'd think some of the manufacturers would see there's a niche market for devices without cameras. They are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

[Gurvan]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I wonder how many people are in similar situations? You'd think some of the manufacturers would see there's a niche market for devices without cameras. They are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

I fully agree with you on that subject... Which is why my work phone is an old PoS about 10 years old whose battery has trouble holding a charge.

I have even heard of place where one cannot enter if the lenses of the phone or tablet have not been sanded so as to be inefficient...

As for my jobs, if your phone or tablet has a camera it stays outside and that's it. Basic phones are even completely prohibited in certain work areas. You just leave them outside in lockers.

[WT Sharpe]

Several people where I work have drilled out the lenses of their phones (even some iPhones) in order to bring them to work without getting into trouble. I can't see going to those extremes. I'd rather just be without a phone than to ruin the camera of an expensive smart phone just to comply with work regulations.

Early on I bought a T-Mobile Sidekick because the camera was removable. I was subsequently told by security that I couldn't bring it to work because even though the camera attachment was sitting in a drawer at my house, the phone was "camera ready". The logic of that argument escaped me then, and it escapes me now. My backside is also camera ready should I ever decide to ram a camera up there and start taking pictures. Should I leave that home as well?

But enough of my ranting. The rest of you, please excuse this short off-topic excursion. We now return you to the new Retina Mini vs the iPad Air discussion.

My new Air is scheduled to arrive Tuesday, not Monday as I erroneously claimed elsewhere. I think I'm going to love it.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Several people where I work have drilled out the lenses of their phones (even some iPhones) in order to bring them to work without getting into trouble. I can't see going to those extremes. I'd rather just be without a phone than to ruin the camera of an expensive smart phone just to comply with work regulations.

The reverse for me. Especially if it were an employer-provided phone, I might tolerate their destroying the camera functionality. Although I heavily use my iPhone's camera for scanning books -- works fantastically in the Scanner Pro app. I just can't see myself using a prediluvian phone in 2013, or unnecessarily straining my eyes with a grainy screen such as that on iPad 1. (I still use iPad 1 on a daily basis, but as a tertiary tablet, and often for streaming via Apple TV, where the screen does not come into play.)

[Gurvan]

Originally Posted by Faterson

Although I heavily use my iPhone's camera for scanning books -- works fantastically in the Scanner Pro app.

Ok, I am still off topic , but did you do a topic on how exactly you do that ? That is scanning books using the Scanner Pro App ? Do you scan and then convert into ePub somehow ? That interests ma quite a lot as I have certain books, that I really would like to digitize...

[Faterson]

Nope, Gurvan, that would be a dream come true for me as well... not possible at today's level of technology, I'm afraid. I use the Scanner Pro app to quickly scan an entire book, and then I read it as a PDF file in GoodReader.

Like you, I only consider EPUBs (or MOBIs) to be real e-books, but this is the real life... Not even the best OCR software I know, FineReader, allows a smooth creation of an EPUB file out of scanned images. There are still just too many manual tasks associated with producing a reasonably clean, well-formatted EPUB file... I simply lack the time for performing these tasks, and so need to read those scanned books as PDF files in GoodReader. And that's another reason to get a full-sized iPad rather than a mini: PDF files are better readable on a larger screen.

[Gurvan]

Ok, thank you for the answer... I thought that maybe you had found the Graal !

Anyway, I agree with you (screen) size matters ! I cannot imagine reading some of my PDF on the small screen of the iPad Mini.

[Faterson]

Guess what, I sometimes read PDF files in GoodReader on the tiny 3.5-inch screen of my iPhone! Both GoodReader and the Retina screen are so superb that they make it possible. It's definitely punishing on the eyes, though.

I try to reduce the eye-strain wherever possible -- opting, therefore, for displaying comfortably large font sizes in EPUB files, too. So while it's perfectly possible to read PDF files on an iPad mini, the eye-strain would definitely increase compared to iPad Air; it would no longer be as comfortable.

(I can judge this based on my Nexus 7, where the situation gets even worse due to the 10:16 aspect ratio -- particularly unsuitable for PDF files.)

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Faterson

Guess what, I sometimes read PDF files in GoodReader on the tiny 3.5-inch screen of my iPhone! Both GoodReader and the Retina screen are so superb that they make it possible. It's definitely punishing on the eyes, though.

I try to reduce the eye-strain wherever possible -- opting, therefore, for displaying comfortably large font sizes in EPUB files, too. So while it's perfectly possible to read PDF files on an iPad mini, the eye-strain would definitely increase compared to iPad Air; it would no longer be as comfortable.

Depending on the individual eyes, of course! I'm very myopic but have otherwise good eyes, so my near vision with my glasses off is quite superb - great for reading in tiny fonts on my Kobo Glo or iPhone 5. I'm therefore looking forward greatly to the new iPad Mini, and plan to ditch my old original iPad when I get one.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by meeera

Depending on the individual eyes, of course!

I wouldn't say so. Objectively speaking, human eyes (anyone's eyes) are always strained more when reading small print than when reading large print. What's individual, is whether (or to what degree) you feel the eye-strain or not. Even if you don't feel any eye-strain, that doesn't mean you're not imposing more pressure on your eye-sight than might be considered optimal. Given that our health, our eyesight, is among the most precious possessions anyone could have, I'd say it might be a good idea to exert as little pressure on your eye-sight as possible. You know: the less you keep (perhaps unconsciously) overtaxing your eyesight, the longer it may serve you well. Your eyes aren't like car tires -- you can't simply swap them for new ones. There is only so far that glasses or lenses can go in correcting failing eyesight.

Given all the reasons above, I would recommend any heavy reader of e-books to go for a larger screen (and larger font sizes) whenever possible (without this interfering with a device's portability), and also everyone in 2013 should get a Retina-class device. I strongly feel that iPad 1, 2 or the old iPad mini are no longer suitable for heavy readers of e-books in 2013. It's just no longer 2010 or 2011 today.

My conclusion from the above is, that I need both a full-sized tablet (iPad 3 here) for regular reading, and a mini tablet (2013 Nexus 7 here) for on-the-go occasions (if they are more extended occasions than those that can be impromptu served by an iPhone). I may also buy the iPad mini Retina later on, although the overblown price and iOS 7 are strong deterrents. My main point is that I wouldn't choose a mini tablet as my primary reading device. Everyone else's mileage may vary, of course.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Faterson

I wouldn't say so. Objectively speaking, human eyes (anyone's eyes) are always strained more when reading small print than when reading large print.

Reading small print close to the eye, with eyes like mine and without correction, is no more strain than reading larger print further away from my eyes with corrective lenses. I won't speak for anyone else.

Originally Posted by Faterson

You know: the less you keep (perhaps unconsciously) overtaxing your eyesight, the longer it may serve you well. Your eyes aren't like car tires -- you can't simply swap them for new ones.

Cheers for the advice, but I'm quite well medically trained thanks. Currently my eyes are improving at the rate of 0.5 diopters per year. I'm pretty happy with that, except for the rather massive expense of buying new high-refractive glasses each year. If they were improving any faster, I don't know that I'd be able to keep up.

Originally Posted by Faterson

Given all the reasons above, I would recommend any heavy reader of e-books to go for a larger screen (and larger font sizes) whenever possible (without this interfering with a device's portability),

Again, I know you're well-meaning, but larger devices mean that I can no longer handle them painlessly (or, sometimes, at all). My eyes may be terrific; my joints less so. I'm looking forward to ditching the old iPad and expect to read a lot more graphic novels on the new retina Mini.

[neil74]

I moved from the mini to the air. If the mini retina was in store at the same time I may have picked up that but I am not a patient person! I kind of figured I had the 14 day return window to change my mind.

It is still a tough call for me. IMO the mini is more desirable and maybe the nicest looking device Apple have ever made and that has an influence for sure even if it shouldn't. The air though (again IMO) is generally more useful whilst still being very desirable too. For web surfing and reading magazines or illustrated books the extra screen is just so nice to have. On my old mini I was forever pinching and zooming to enlarge areas and I do not see the retina screen changing this on the new model. Compared to the previous full size iPads the air is also lighter and smaller to the point where it is light enough now.

YMMV