iPad Mini

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Bubba Grizz
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iPad Mini

Post by Bubba Grizz »

So we are thinking about picking up a pair of iPad Mini tablets for our kids. right now the $329 price tag is holding us back. I have heard that the Mini 2 will be coming out soon. Is there a reasonable hope that the original will drop in price? I am seeing places like Best Buy and Target offering $30 gift cards if you buy from them right now. I have also heard that if you have AT&T you can get like a $100 rebate if you subscribe to their service. We don't have AT&T and aren't looking for a subscription.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Fairweather Pure »

How old are your kids?

You quoted the $329 version, so no service is required for that. I've never needed 3G on my ipads anyway. Wifi is absolutely fine. If I need to look something up online and there is no wifi, I just use my phone. The device can do a pretty much everything offline anyway.

I think it would be a great gift. My kids each have a launch ipad and they are still in mint condition. Seriously, I could sell them for new tomorrow. The minis are a tad bit less sturdy though, so keep that in mind. I think a responsible kid will get significant use out of a mini for at least 4-6 years, easy. My kid's ipad 1 cannot run some really obscure/cutting edge apps, but it still plays movies, 99% of apps, has books, pics, and internet just like a brand new ipad.

I still cannot justify buying them each a 3DS for xmas. I just don't think they would play them that much at all considering they have ipads. They play MineCraft almost exclusively so I fear the games I get for them to play on a 3DS would be hit and miss as well as too expensive for how often my kids would actually play them.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Bubba Grizz »

My kids are 10 and 6. Currently they have access to 3 desktops, 3 laptops, 2 DS, 2 DSiXL, iPod touch, and my smart phone. They still fight over a single laptop for some reason. I toyed with the idea of getting a tablet for myself but I honestly wouldn't use it and if I tried I'm certain that I'd have to pry it out of one of my kids hands.

Yeah they won't need anything but the wifi. We set up a Christmas account last year and we have a tidy sum in it now. So buying these won't be a hardship but that doesn't mean that I don't want the best deal I can get. Ideally, I'd like to see them around $250 and then that would free up some money for itunes cards and such.

I agree about the 3DS. My kids have enough games and stuff on their DSI machines and laptops that adding another would be a waste of money. I bought a cheap desktop for them recently and it never gets used. The big game at our house along with Minecraft is Plants vs Zombies.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Great ages for ipads. I bet they will flip when they open them at christmas!
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

It's still in rumor stage, but it's been suggested that the new iPhones/iPads will have fingerprint recognition which will allow for individual profiles per fingerprint.

For for example, when you place your finger/thumb, you might have access to everything including settings, internet access, payment....when your kids use the fingerprint access, you can limit them to certain apps (games, etc).

It sounds like the upcoming ipads/iphones will be much more multi-user/kid control friendly but we need to wait and see on Sept 10th.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Animalor »

Check out the Nexus 7 while you're at it as well. It's a fabulous little tablet that 30% cheaper than the iPad mini. Ours at my place gets a used daily by my wife and kids.

Another (less popular) option is also a Surface RT. Depending on their age, the inclusion of Office on this could make for a cheap way for them to get both a laptop for school and a tablet for fun in one device. Since it's ARM, malware isn't really a concern either. It's priced in the same ballpark as the iPad Mini now and comes with the touch keyboard. The app situation here is nowhere near as good as iPad or Android though.
Last edited by Animalor on August 13, 2013, 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

Animalor wrote:Check out the Nexus 7 while you're at it as well. It's a fabulous little tablet that 30% cheaper than the iPad mini. Ours at my place gets a used daily by my wife and kids.
Don't do that Bubba! Getting your kid an Android tablet would be like dressing them funny for school or making them wear highwaters.

The apps, which are way more important for kids, are better with iOS. I'm a tinkerer and don't even touch my Nexus 7. Ipad 100%.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

In addition to that:
The Number Of Malicious Android Apps On Web Stands At 700,000+

August 13th, 2013

Google’s Android firmware may be continually improving in a number of key areas, but one category of constant concern is that of Android malware and general security threats, which seem to be rising just as readily as the platform is. Worryingly, security outfit Trend Micro notes of how the number of malicious apps in existence across the Web has increased to 700,000, with almost 200,000 having manifested in the last quarter alone. With up to 99 percent of devices potentially at risk, the threat is very real, and although users are at least becoming more cautious and aware, it would seem the malware makers are more determined than ever.

An overwhelming portion of the malicious apps, as one would perhaps imagine given previous reports, are disguised to look like some of the Play Store’s most popular apps. By taking this form, a user tends to be none the wiser that the app is illegitimate, and with several strains of malware designed to sit silently within your everyday apps, the limits to the potential damage caused are seemingly endless.

One particular malware that users should be extremely wary of is FAKEBANK, which, as the name implies, spoofs banking apps in order to seem legit. Once it has cooked up a shortcut to a mobile banking program, all it needs to do is wait for an unwitting user to enter their banking details, and, well, you know what happens thereafter.

As described by Trend Micro’s Johnathan Leopando, all it takes for a user to have their bank account cleaned out is for them to enter their details into a malicious app the once, and since these spoof apps continue to function after the information has been sent back to the attacker, the victim will likely be none the wiser until his or her bank account has been duly cleaned out.
Not something you want to deal with as a parent.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Aslanna »

Why not get a Surface RT? I hear they are great!
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Zaelath »

Winnow wrote:In addition to that:
The Number Of Malicious Android Apps On Web Stands At 700,000+

August 13th, 2013

Google’s Android firmware may be continually improving in a number of key areas, but one category of constant concern is that of Android malware and general security threats, which seem to be rising just as readily as the platform is. Worryingly, security outfit Trend Micro notes of how the number of malicious apps in existence across the Web has increased to 700,000, with almost 200,000 having manifested in the last quarter alone. With up to 99 percent of devices potentially at risk, the threat is very real, and although users are at least becoming more cautious and aware, it would seem the malware makers are more determined than ever.

An overwhelming portion of the malicious apps, as one would perhaps imagine given previous reports, are disguised to look like some of the Play Store’s most popular apps. By taking this form, a user tends to be none the wiser that the app is illegitimate, and with several strains of malware designed to sit silently within your everyday apps, the limits to the potential damage caused are seemingly endless.

One particular malware that users should be extremely wary of is FAKEBANK, which, as the name implies, spoofs banking apps in order to seem legit. Once it has cooked up a shortcut to a mobile banking program, all it needs to do is wait for an unwitting user to enter their banking details, and, well, you know what happens thereafter.

As described by Trend Micro’s Johnathan Leopando, all it takes for a user to have their bank account cleaned out is for them to enter their details into a malicious app the once, and since these spoof apps continue to function after the information has been sent back to the attacker, the victim will likely be none the wiser until his or her bank account has been duly cleaned out.
Not something you want to deal with as a parent.
Almost all of which you need to allow installation of apps from outside the play store, you know what Apple users call rooting.

This is scare-vertising, same shit virus companies have always done, and I expect my father and other technical illiterates like yourself to believe.

Plus, you, a parent? As fucking if.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

Zaelath wrote:
Almost all of which you need to allow installation of apps from outside the play store, you know what Apple users call rooting.
Um no. You don't need to root shit to do this. That's the problem. It's way too easy for Android users to pick up a virus without first taking the time to jail break. A moron (or clueless tech person) is safe from themselves using an iPhone. On an Android, it's open season on stupid people.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Winnow wrote:
Zaelath wrote:
Almost all of which you need to allow installation of apps from outside the play store, you know what Apple users call rooting.
Um no. You don't need to root shit to do this. That's the problem. It's way too easy for Android users to pick up a virus without first taking the time to jail break. A moron (or clueless tech person) is safe from themselves using an iPhone. On an Android, it's open season on stupid people.
Yeah, that would be my point. Apple you "root" so you can side load, Android you have to change the "unknown source" setting.

"Oh no ", you say, "kids can do that too easy." Or you could install a free locking program on top of that to fine grain your access, or you could install a sandbox tool so that kids can only get to the few applications you've allowed them, or any number of ways you can control the phone/tablet. FUD is FUD.

There's nothing inherently difficult about setting up an Android device for kids, you're just a rabid fantard.

All that said, at 10 and 6 I'd just get them full sized iPads, if I was thinking iPad.

I love the Nexus 7 form factor, but I think children get a lot more out of the larger size on the 10ish inch iPads...
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Aabidano »

My take would be if you're already vested in iDevices lean towards the mini, otherwise I'd look seriously at the Nexus7, the wife loves hers.

Winnow is just being a spastic iFan. If you're being stupid and going out of your way to do so, you're going to get either make of device compromised.
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Re: iPad Mini

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My take would be if you're already vested in iDevices lean towards the mini, otherwise I'd look seriously at the Nexus7, the wife loves hers. Very nice device and all around cheaper.

Winnow is just being a spastic iFan. If you're being stupid and going out of your way to do so, you're going to get either make of device compromised.
I love the Nexus 7 form factor, but I think children get a lot more out of the larger size on the 10ish inch iPads...
Can sort of see this argument, sounds like they're already little nerdlings though so maybe not so much.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

I'm dead serious when it comes to iPads being better than Android tablets. My Nexus 7 sits there completely unused. I suppose if you never used an iPad and used a Nexus 7 you'd think it was great but that's the same as some third world person thinking a CRT 480P TV looks great because they've never seen a 1080P.

I'd like to use the Nexus 7 but I can't find a reason. The iOS apps are all better, the actual UI experience is better (Android feels sticky when you scroll, etc), the build quality of Apple products are second to none. The app store is better, the operating system gets updated way faster than Android.

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Android is the world’s most popular operating system. But like everything in this world, Android is far from perfect. One of the biggest problems plaguing Android today is fragmentation.

Fragmentation refers to the fact that there are hundreds of different Android builds out there. Each carrier has their own Android build, for example, and each device has its own Android build, and each manufacturer tweaks Android in unique ways to create its own build. Not to mention the difference in screen resolution, processing power, RAM, and other hardware capabilities.

When you look at iOS and the iPhone, on the other hand, there are only a handful of different builds and hardware capabilities available. In simple terms: it’s more difficult to develop apps for Android due to fragmentation than it is to develop apps for the iPhone.

We finally have a good idea of what Android fragmentation looks like. The picture at the top of this article shows approximately how many different Android builds there are, from the most popular version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 in the top left corner of the screen to the niche versions of Android running on only a few thousand devices in the bottom right corner.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Aabidano »

More iSpin.

Fragmentation is a kind-of, sort-of issue if you're buying old, badly done stuff and cheap ass chinese knock-offs.

I"m not sure why you'd bother with that one when the device in question has Google's name on it?

I've seen no problems ever with HW from 3 mainstream vendors and another 5 or so emulated.

Apple tried this same spin at the beginning of the PC era, MS tried it when linux popped up and see the end result of both.

Edit - if there's Apple-only stuff at school that might be a reason to lean that way.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

Compared to iPad, Tablet Apps Are Still Android’s Weak Point

With the upcoming launch of Google’s second-generation Nexus 7 tablet, I was hoping the situation would have greatly improved by now. The original Nexus 7 sold fairly well, and Android tablets in general now account for more than half of all tablets shipped, if you count devices like Amazon’s Kindle Fire. You’d think there would be a market for tablet-optimized Android apps, especially for the most popular apps.

But after doing some comparisons between the Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store for Android, it’s clear that Android is still behind the iPad–though not as far as it used to be. Just as I did with Windows 8 a few weeks ago, I’ve put together a list of the most popular iPad apps of all time, and looked at how many are available in tablet form...

...It’s just so frustrating to open up some of my favorite apps–Yelp, Rdio, ESPN ScoreCenter and Fandango, to name several that aren’t on the lists above–and have them look subpar on my Nexus 7. You can find some great tablet apps on Android these days, but you can still count on Tim Cook to flaunt Apple’s advantage the next time he announces a new iPad.
Yeah, but unfortunately it's not spin. Android apps are subpar compared to their iOS counterparts. The same app on both platforms performs better on the iOS device. OS and device fragmentation are also a huge reason why the iOS apps are better.

I've been testing iOS 7 for months which releases in September and it's fantastic. Best thing about iOS products is that 80+ percent of the devices will have iOS 7 within a month while the number for a new version of Android would be less than 5% several months after release. That sucks big time for for developers.

Apple does protect it's users in a "walled garden" but it's a freaking awesome walled garden with the best apps and more high quality apps, used on the highest quality hardware. In the old days you may have needed to jail break your device to do certain things but that time has long sine passed. I haven't jail broken anything in years. No need.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Bubba Grizz wrote:My kids are 10 and 6. Currently they have access to 3 desktops, 3 laptops, 2 DS, 2 DSiXL, iPod touch, and my smart phone. They still fight over a single laptop for some reason. I toyed with the idea of getting a tablet for myself but I honestly wouldn't use it and if I tried I'm certain that I'd have to pry it out of one of my kids hands.

Yeah they won't need anything but the wifi. We set up a Christmas account last year and we have a tidy sum in it now. So buying these won't be a hardship but that doesn't mean that I don't want the best deal I can get. Ideally, I'd like to see them around $250 and then that would free up some money for itunes cards and such.
If you waited this long, might as well wait a couple more weeks to see what they announce. Although, the Sept announcement will probably just be about phones with a late Oct announcement about the pads.
$329 is a lot for a base model 2 ½ year old tech system. It’s just too hard to justify. I don’t even care about the low resolution too much, what’s inside that is outdated. Stuff is just going to start being omitted over time. Soon, pad specific apps will only come in hd modes just like you can’t find any new software working on the original ipad.
So, if you want a mini, I’d wait for the next version as it will be the same price as the current one, just further away from obsolescence. If you consider other options, the new nexus 7 is sharp as hell. It’s the best screen available on a tablet, it’s thinner and lighter, and it’s only $229.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Winnow wrote: Yeah, but unfortunately it's not spin. Android apps are subpar compared to their iOS counterparts. The same app on both platforms performs better on the iOS device. OS and device fragmentation are also a huge reason why the iOS apps are better.

I've been testing iOS 7 for months which releases in September and it's fantastic. Best thing about iOS products is that 80+ percent of the devices will have iOS 7 within a month while the number for a new version of Android would be less than 5% several months after release. That sucks big time for for developers.

Apple does protect it's users in a "walled garden" but it's a freaking awesome walled garden with the best apps and more high quality apps, used on the highest quality hardware. In the old days you may have needed to jail break your device to do certain things but that time has long sine passed. I haven't jail broken anything in years. No need.
It's the same presumptive strawman bullshit you've been running for months.

There's very little difference in producing an app for any Android version released in the last 2 years, excepting that some of the newer versions support hardware features like NFC that older ones do not.

So,
- if you're producing an app to take advantage of new hardware, you're not back porting it to older versions that don't have it.
- if you're not using the new hardware then your old app will run just fine on the newest version

There's exceptions for screen size where the developers have been extremely lazy about allowing for the possibility of more than 1 screen size since they grew up with DOS and all this flexibility crap that Windows brought in is just too much to deal with (yeah, that's how retarded it sounds)

I think you tried to bring up a couple of iPad versus Android tablet whines at some point, except by the time you're on a tablet the real site works better on Chrome on the droid than the app version does on either. Really though, you keep asserting a fallacy like it was settled fact. The community here is too small to buy it, so save yourself some time.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

Zaelath wrote:
It's the same presumptive strawman bullshit you've been running for months.


Nope, used them side by side. Most Android tablet apps are crap compared to ipad. Still. Anyone who's used them both will see that clearly. You're delusional if you can't see that for yourself after trying both. Android tablet apps have a long way to go and you still won't get the all the ones you probably want on Android. iPad is far and away the platform of choice for companies creating apps for their needs.
Android tablets still face major app gap with the iPad

By Brad Reed on Aug 14, 2013 at 3:30 PM

Android tablets have been getting a lot more popular over the past year but they still face a major shortage of top-notch tablet-centric apps. Canalys has found that 30% of the top 50 free and paid iPad apps in the first half of 2013 were not available on Google Play while 18% were available but weren’t optimized for tablets. Taken all together, then, that means nearly half of the top iPad apps either aren’t available or aren’t optimized for Android tablets.

Just 52% of apps had Android versions both available through Google Play and optimized (if only a little) for tablet use. ‘Quite simply, building high-quality app experiences for Android tablets has not been among many developers’ top priorities to date,’ said Canalys Senior Analyst Tim Shepherd. ‘That there are over 375,000 apps in the Apple App Store that are designed with iPad users in mind, versus just a fraction of this – in the low tens of thousands – available through Google Play, underscores this point.’
That article recent enough for you? Don't kid yourself. Long ways to do, plus even when you have them available on both platforms, they run better on iOS.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Oh I completely agree on the emphasised bit in that article, but not the "apps you want" part in your lead in statement. And I really don't give a shit how much effort most people are putting into Android apps, most of them don't have a point anyway.

There's very very few "apps I want", and those all work just fine. I have weather, calander, email, some games, and a web browser. Job done.

I certainly don't want a Yelp app, or IMDB, or Rdio, ESPN ScoreCenter and Fandango.. there's certainly _nothing_ I feel I'm missing out on due to not having an iPad. I've used em, and I might even buy one for the 4 year old once his favourite use of everything is to throw it at you, but they have no use case for me.

Oh yes, and back on topic instead of this bullshit fanboism of yours...

If you're already deep in the iUniverse, it's stupid to switch away from the vertically integrated suite of products Apple has put together; tunes, phone, pad, and TV. If you use any 2 heavily then you'll never leave.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Zaelath wrote:There's very very few "apps I want", and those all work just fine. I have weather, calander, email, some games, and a web browser. Job done.
Exactly.
Zaelath wrote:If you're already deep in the iUniverse, it's stupid to switch away from the vertically integrated suite of products Apple has put together; tunes, phone, pad, and TV. If you use any 2 heavily then you'll never leave.
"Stupid" because you've locked yourself in you face a huge loss/bother trying to escape. Much like scientology. A large part of why I've never used their (mostly well done) products is I don't want the lock in to their shitty environment.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

I have no need to lock myself in. I own both. iOS is the better product right now.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Chidoro »

Winnow wrote:I have no need to lock myself in. I own both. iOS is the better product right now.
for you
and it may be for Bubba but his question was in regards to a mini at this point in time. Mini's are expensive for what they are right now. If he cannot wait on buying them, knowing that the $229 Nexus 7 is an exceptional value in comparison to the mini is important. If he can wait, I'd suggest he wait to see what the next mini brings because it's going to be better than the current mini which is terribly outdated and will cost the same.

the fanboy thing is pure dogshit. Fortunately, I'm sure he's already filtered the nonsense out.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Winnow »

When I consider bubba's request for his kids, I'm taking into consideration:

1) ease of use (iPad)
2) Best/Most games/apps actually formatted for a tablet (iPad)
3) stupendous customer service (walk in and exchange, no receipt required) (iPad)

Cheaper doesn't mean better. Sometimes paying a bit more is worth it as it avoids a lot of hassle and also gives peace of mind. iTunes store is better than Google's Play thing. For kids especially, I'd go with an iPad.
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Re: iPad Mini

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Checking with the schools, as mentioned, is important.

My daughter's preschool had an ipad program and so does the kindergarten and 1st grade classes at their school. They have enough ipads for 1 whole class and the time is shared between 2 classes in each elementary school grade. I'm unsure if the middle school or high school have such programs, but I assume they do.

We just met our children's new teachers for the upcoming school year and their eyes lit up when we told them our kids have had them since they were babies. I said "For better or worse, we've raised them as the first wave of children in the tablet generation." and both teachers happily told us we were way ahead of the game. It's funny how, as a parent, the smallest compliment or validation can mean so much. Then I was told many kids in school have zero access to computers and I just felt bad :(

My wife and I have each pledged 40hrs of volunteer time to the school this year. I get to be a "Watch Dog". It's a program for dads, uncles, grandpas, ect. to work as a loose security detail. We check the locks, walk the building, eat lunch with the kids, and help out in various classrooms all day as needed. I get a cool Tshirt (it's not that cool) and my daughters get shirts that say "My Dad Is A Watch Dog". It's also a place to meet other dads, secure friendships between the kids, and talk about community stuff. It's a great program that has really taken off around here.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Winnow wrote:When I consider bubba's request for his kids, I'm taking into consideration:

1) ease of use (iPad)
2) Best/Most games/apps actually formatted for a tablet (iPad)
3) stupendous customer service (walk in and exchange, no receipt required) (iPad)

Cheaper doesn't mean better. Sometimes paying a bit more is worth it as it avoids a lot of hassle and also gives peace of mind. iTunes store is better than Google's Play thing. For kids especially, I'd go with an iPad.
1. debatable
2. most and things don't stay the same forever, especially on the non-hd mini with an old processor
3. meh

Cheaper is a factor, especially if the tablet is modern and up to date. The more expensive product has 2 1/2 year old internals. I would never buy a mini now even if it was the same $229 as the Nexus 7 for my daughter. I would wait until the new one comes out and hope they don't hamstring it with a 2 generation old processor.
Last edited by Chidoro on August 15, 2013, 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: iPad Mini

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.
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Re: iPad Mini

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I have had a Nexus 7, a HP Touchpad and now I am on my 5th or 6th Ipad. I currently use my LTE Ipad Mini and New Ipad daily.. The Ipad Mini is perfect for reading, emails and websurfing... the full size ipad is perfect for presentations to 1-2 people. Neither the Nexus or the Touchpad were anywhere close to the latest generation of Idevices... I do hate my iphone 5... I miss my GS2.. I think apple kills it in tablets.. but android is far superior in phones.
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Re: iPad Mini

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On Thanksgiving, Walmart will be selling the iPad Mini 16gb for $299 with a $100 gift card. It starts at like 6pm and they have a 1 hour guarentee. If you don't get a physical iPad in your hands you will get a voucher where you can get it online with the same deal and it will be delivered to your house before Christmas. The wife and I are planning on doing this as our holiday meal is early afternoon.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Ransure wrote:I have had a Nexus 7, a HP Touchpad and now I am on my 5th or 6th Ipad. I currently use my LTE Ipad Mini and New Ipad daily.. The Ipad Mini is perfect for reading, emails and websurfing... the full size ipad is perfect for presentations to 1-2 people. Neither the Nexus or the Touchpad were anywhere close to the latest generation of Idevices... I do hate my iphone 5... I miss my GS2.. I think apple kills it in tablets.. but android is far superior in phones.
I'm still running CyanogenMod 10.2 on my Touchpad (Android 4.3) and it's working great. It's mainly used as the Kid's Netflix machine and in the kitchen as a disposable cooking/recipe display but that thing still keeps going.

Getting a respectable 10+ hours of battery out of it still too.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Best Buy had the same deal that started today. $299 for the iPad mini and get a $100 gift card. My wife was able to buy one online for in store pickup and then later went down to the store and they had them in stock. She bought the second one we needed and spent the $100 gift card on protecting covers. So lucky us, we don't have to wait in line at Walmart for hours.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Nice job Bubba. You got two iPad minis for the same price as my one iPad Air.
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Re: iPad Mini

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but your air is more useful than 10 mini's.
ohh well, for the kids and $200 a pop isn't bad. Outdated when they were announced let alone a year later but it shouldn't be a big deal for kids i guess.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Chidoro wrote:but your air is more useful than 10 mini's.
ohh well, for the kids and $200 a pop isn't bad. Outdated when they were announced let alone a year later but it shouldn't be a big deal for kids i guess.
Original Minis are still good for that price and have a decent enough processor in them to not be laggy.

I'd like to mention that the iPad Air is incredible. Having owned the iPad 1, 2 and 3, I can say the Air is amazing. So thin, light and fast. My iPad 3 feels like a tank although still highly useful. iPad gets my best tech of the past decade award up to this point. (maybe shares the award a little with the iPhone) One of the few things I have that impresses me constantly since it was introduced 3+ years ago.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Winnow wrote:
Chidoro wrote:but your air is more useful than 10 mini's.
ohh well, for the kids and $200 a pop isn't bad. Outdated when they were announced let alone a year later but it shouldn't be a big deal for kids i guess.
Original Minis are still good for that price and have a decent enough processor in them to not be laggy.

I'd like to mention that the iPad Air is incredible. Having owned the iPad 1, 2 and 3, I can say the Air is amazing. So thin, light and fast. My iPad 3 feels like a tank although still highly useful. iPad gets my best tech of the past decade award up to this point. (maybe shares the award a little with the iPhone) One of the few things I have that impresses me constantly since it was introduced 3+ years ago.
Mini's are a terrible proposition for $300. No future at all and the hardware is horrendously outdated. $200, sure, I guess. My daughter's year old nabi2 was $30 less than the $200 mini deal and it just got updated to jelly bean and now has access to the google store (only used to have access to the kindle store). Awesome kids tablet

For the record, I finally purchased my own tablet. had $250 in reward points at best buy. I almost got the 32 gig air when they dropped the price to $540 at best buy for a day or two but still couldn't do it. Ended up getting a lenovo miix 2 64 gig model for $349:

Image

What can I say except I have zero buyers remorse. It is such an awesome peice of hardware and the value is off the charts.
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Re: iPad Mini

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I've been trying to talk my mom into getting the Lenovo, but she keeps insisting on getting an Acer Android tablet just because my sister and I have Acers. My sister's has been used to hell and back, and it works great, which is probably why I can't sway her.
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Re: iPad Mini

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I'm not a fan of Android at all. Not the phones or the tablets, but especially the tablets. By now, it should be pretty clear that that the iPad is the dominant tablet on the market but Windows 8 has a chance to be the prime competitor.

Here's something you may not know. Microsoft clears 2 BILLION a year in pure profit from royalties paid by manufacturers of Android devices. That's right. More net profits than Sony could ever dream of, Microsoft can make from Android device manufacturers by just sitting on their ass.

Here's an interesting article:
Undercutting Android: Microsoft could succeed by making Windows Phone and RT cheaper for OEMs

December 11th, 2013

Rumors are swirling that Microsoft is considering doing away with licensing fees for Windows Phone and Windows RT. If that’s true, it may soon be cheaper for manufacturers like Samsung and HTC to build Windows devices than Android ones.

How can that be? Because Microsoft has patent licensing deals with just about every major Android manufacturer out there. The per-handset fees vary from company to company, but they’re all paying something.

And whatever they’re paying, it’s obviously more than the zero dollars Windows Phone or Windows RT would cost.

It would be a bold move by Microsoft, though one that they’ve been building toward for a while. The company is trying to shift focus to devices and services — like Office 365, SkyDrive, and Xbox. They’ve been giving away Office RT for free since the operating system launched and more recently started throwing in Office Home and Student on small tablets running Windows 8 and 8.1.

The fact that they’re giving away Office (which remains a huge cash cow for Microsoft) is a pretty good indicator that Microsoft is willing to try no-cost licensing for other products, too.

Getting Android for free certainly helped attract OEMs, and the same trick could work for Windows Phone and Windows RT. The few dollars difference doesn’t seem like much, but multiply $5 or $7 saved by two million or so devices and you’re looking at a massive savings.

More Windows phones and tablets and stores ultimately means more in the hands of consumers — and more opportunities for Microsoft to get folks paying for Xbox Music Pass, bigger SkyDrive vaults, and monthly Office 365 subs.

Another twist that makes this particularly interesting is that Microsoft, Nokia, and Oracle ganged up on Google and filed an anti-trust complaint over the “predatory” free distribution of Android. If you can’t beat them, join them… right?
I'm slowly becoming anti Google. While I still use some of their services, their search engine, you tube, and policies are heading the wrong direction. At the same time, Microsoft has done several things of late to at least show an attempt to curb government snooping. (I'll wait for a stupid comment or two before demonstrating that) Microsoft, while far from perfect, gets a bad wrap. Even things like google maps isn't as dominant as it used to be. After the initial disaster the Apple Maps launch was, it has been vastly improved and Apple has focused resources on making it, in some cases, better than google maps.

I still use Firefox! Google Chrome's APIs are too restrictive for the plug ins that I use.

Competition is good but I'd prefer Microsoft and Apple going head to head. Google/Android is a mess. Their App store is a disaster for developers, bringing in about 1/5th the revenue developers get with Apple. Manufactures are stuck with paying royalties. There's not much incentive for companies like Samsung to stick with the platform. They're already developing their own OS and can easily switch to the Windows platform on their phones if they choose to and it makes them more money. They don't give a shit about apps and only want to move hardware. They would give a shit about apps if they had their own apps store using their own OS or by paying less per phone in royalties if they use Windows. Windows 8 is a solid OS on phones and tablets despite what some people think of it on PCs (even though its the best and stable windows OS I've ever used).
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Re: iPad Mini

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I've pretty much decided on an Android tablet if I ever get one. Apple is too expensive (plus they are evil) and Windows is not even a consideration because it sucks. Worst UI ever! Plus most of the popular apps are only on iOS or Android. Going Windows seems like you're limiting yourself in a lot of ways.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Aslanna wrote:I've pretty much decided on an Android tablet if I ever get one. Apple is too expensive (plus they are evil) and Windows is not even a consideration because it sucks. Worst UI ever! Plus most of the popular apps are only on iOS or Android. Going Windows seems like you're limiting yourself in a lot of ways.
Get what you want but the user experience is much better on the iPad in just about every category. UI, Apps, design, quality, customer service, performance, and battery life. With tablets, you get what you pay for. My advice: Don't ever use an iPad and you won't know what you're missing and will think the Android Tablet is neato. Ignorance is bliss. Kind of like someone watching a black and white TV thinks it's amazing if they've never seen a color TV. Easiest test is that if you had both, you would never use the Android tablet but the reverse isn't true.

At least with Xbox One and PS4 there's a case to use both from time to time. That's another easy way to tell the iPad is better...try using the PS4 vs Xbox One arguments:

Performance: iPad
updates: iPAd not even close
Hardware: iPad
Apps/Exclusives/Indie: iPad
Quality: iPad
UI: iPad
Xbox Live/PN+/Store: iPad
Controller: doesn't apply but a wash is the best Android can hope for although Apple just added awesome third party controller capability to iOS 7
Security/less virus/scams: iPad
Longevity: iPad easy
Customer satisfaction: iPad by a long shot

Only possible benefit is price which gets back to getting what you pay for.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Winnow wrote:
Chidoro wrote:but your air is more useful than 10 mini's.
ohh well, for the kids and $200 a pop isn't bad. Outdated when they were announced let alone a year later but it shouldn't be a big deal for kids i guess.
Original Minis are still good for that price and have a decent enough processor in them to not be laggy.

I'd like to mention that the iPad Air is incredible. Having owned the iPad 1, 2 and 3, I can say the Air is amazing. So thin, light and fast. My iPad 3 feels like a tank although still highly useful. iPad gets my best tech of the past decade award up to this point. (maybe shares the award a little with the iPhone) One of the few things I have that impresses me constantly since it was introduced 3+ years ago.

If you have an ipad air.. buy this case... I love it!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EX9 ... UTF8&psc=1

Replaced both my Ipad mini LTE and Ipad 4 with a 32gb air LTE.. ended up at no cost to me and broke even on both of the previous tabs.
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Re: iPad Mini

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Winnow wrote:At least with Xbox One and PS4 there's a case to use both from time to time. That's another easy way to tell the iPad is better...try using the PS4 vs Xbox One arguments:

Performance: iPad
updates: iPAd not even close
Hardware: iPad
Apps/Exclusives/Indie: iPad
Quality: iPad
UI: iPad
Xbox Live/PN+/Store: iPad
Controller: doesn't apply but a wash is the best Android can hope for although Apple just added awesome third party controller capability to iOS 7
Security/less virus/scams: iPad
Longevity: iPad easy
Customer satisfaction: iPad by a long shot

Only possible benefit is price which gets back to getting what you pay for.
This has to be the worst analogy (or whatever it is) ever!
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