A side by side look at the iPad Air and iPad Mini
As a long time user of an iPad and really being hooked on Apple products, its time for me to start looking at a replacement for my White iPad 3 16Gb.
The only two things on my shopping list are iPad Air or iPad Mini. I’ve considered and dismissed the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 as its Android, and I’ve never got on with that… I’ve dismissed the Microsoft Surface 2 because it’s the same as my laptop… only smaller….
The iPad has always been my favourite in betweener. It sits nicely between my “quick search the web” on my iPhone 5 and “I need to do some serious typing” on my Fujitsu Lifebook A500. The first time I picked one up I asked myself the question “What would I use an iPad for?” and now wouldn’t be without one.
- It’s always on,
- Gives you desktop web browsing without the need to open up your laptop
- Great for games
- Use it as an eReader – although I find my kindle better as the E Ink so much nicer in sunlight.
- Recipe book – perfect in the kitchen to look as you cook,
- Photo album, as long as you’re on the net you’ve got access to PhotoStream from your Apple account and can see the last 1,000 photographs taken on all your devices.
- Vimeo means it’s a portable tv that the children are able to use
- Using iTeleport you can access your home computer from anywhere in the world
Checking out the specs on the iPad Mini with Retina display and the iPad air give them an near identical line up, the only differences being the price and the screen size. The Apple iPad Air in Silver 16GB 
Feeling them both in your hands the Air, although 138g heavier, feels more balanced, but the Mini is truly one handed with me being able to grip it like a traditional mobile.
Both are using the same iOS 7.0.4 operating system and fly through anything Apps I want to open, both allow you to split the keyboard, a most useful ability when you’re typing, but, and I think this will be the decider, the iPad Mini screen is just a little too small for my fingers. The screen, although crystal clear, doesn’t give enough real estate to allow me to type or surf comfortably….
So.. without further ado its off to the Apple store to decide which colour I prefer the Air in… Space Grey or Silver??
Which would you choose?