I'm trying to decide whether to buy ipad or cheaper tablet. What is retina display and what is diff betw ipad and mini with only wifi? What is mini missing?

Start here:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/

Then, you should go to your nearest Apple Store and look at the screens, the size.

You need cellular if you want to access the internet when you are not near WiFi.

hi there,

the main difference between the iPad and the iPad mini is the size of its screen.

The larger iPad or iPad Air has a screen diagonale of 9.7 inches, while the iPad Mini has only 7.9 inches. The first generation of the iPad mini has a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixel, while the 2nd generation has a four times higher resolution of 2048 x 1536. This resolution is also used on the larger iPad and iPad Air. Out of those iPads with the 9.7 inches display diagonale only the second generation iPad does not have the higher resolution. iPads with the afore mentioned higher resolution are called Retina-iPads. See http://store.apple.com/us/ipad/compare for a detailed comparison of all iPad models available through Apple.

Both the iPad and the iPad Mini come in two variants each. One variant is WiFi connectivity only, the other is WiFi and cellular connectivity. You would need cellular connectivity if you want to have internet access on your iPad where no WLAN is available (e.g. while travelling on the highway and using the iPad as navigation aid). Additional charges might apply from your cellular service provider.

Yes considering viruses only, iOS and OSX are far less threatened as computers and / or tablets running other systems. Yet, these days, viruses are no longer the only security concern. These other threats make much less difference between the operating systems and are therefore as dangerous to Apple computers as they are to other systems.

Hope this helps,

Chris

A simple answer to a loaded question? Not here!

1. For starters, I can't recommend the newest iPad AIr or iPad Mini. The previous versions worked perfectly though if you want to go the Apple route. That alone will save you a few bucks. Best Buy undercuts Apple prices by a few $$ and has bonus sales around this time of year.

2. You get what you pay for. I like the Samsung Galaxy Tabs a lot. Good hardware and software. App store has plenty to offer. You also have size options like you do with Apple. Since I have the Galaxy S3 phone, the Galaxy tabs are very familiar. The Surface (smaller one) is big for a tablet, it works great, but is subject to the frailties that plague PCs to some degree. I don't like the keyboard, but do like the kickstand. I don't know about the availability of Apps for the Surface, I think it may be a major downside to the device. The Surface is not cheaper than iPad either. As for the cheaper Tablets, they will be in the landfill before Apple introduces a new gadget (that's pretty often....) The Kindle is still primarily, an eReader.

3. Wifi or wifi and cellular - If you have a smart phone and can tether a tablet, you don't need cellular on the tablet. With more places offering free hot spots, wifi is more than adequate. ( I use very little cellular on my mini)

4. iTunes and the App store; I will start by saying I am cheap. If the App isn't free, it has to be really valuable to me or I won't buy it. I paid for Pages on my iPad 2 years ago and I bought a password wallet that syncs on all my devices on all platforms. Aside from that I buy music to add to the CDs I imported to iTunes. If you don't like iTunes and don't want to use it, keep looking at android tablets.

5. ios 7 - Never has Apple made such a big deal and been so poorly prepared to introduce a new ios. It has devoted Apple heads steamed. I count myself one and have had no problems with my devices, educated user I hope, or just really lucky.

6. I really USE my tablet. I use it for work, for financial management and communications. I rarely have to resort to the desktop as almost everything is possible on the iPad. I love it's portability! Documents and data flow back and forth with the cloud I never worry about losing anything or finding anything. Photos download automatically from my Android smart phone with Dropbox App and are instantly available to load on all devices.

7. If you are a big PC hacker type, the switch to ios is culture shock. The first time on the new iMac I was at my wits end trying to navigate. I only had to stop working so hard and it all fell into place.

My personal experience:

I have the iPad 2, (wifi only) and the first mini (with 4G LTE) and I had a 4th generation iPod touch and now have a 5th Gen iPod touch (which I really like a lot). My son has an iPhone 4S and the iPad with retina display. Both my sons have had iPods through the years.

My 50 year old eyes prefer the bigger screen of iPad 2 and typing is much easier. But I love the portability of the smaller tablet, so one for home, one for the road. Thanks to iCloud what ever is on one is also on the other, documents, data, contacts, etc. Retina display, my son has it, I don't, I can't say I miss it. It does make pictures look better, if you are a photo person, the retina display is worth it.

I also have transitioned from PC to Apple completely, I bought an iMac 4 years ago and it is as fast as it was on day one, no crashes, repairs, viruses. I just bought a Mac Mini and I also use Apple Airport extreme for router and I have an Apple TV (the only disappointment, I prefer the Roku 2)

I'm sure that was more than you asked for.....😉