I have a lot of Apple stuff. Like, an unhealthy amount. I’ve owned every iPad. I’ve had two generations of iPod, an iPod mini, three generations of the Nano, a couple Shuffles, a first generation iPod Touch, and every iPhone from 2007 up to my shiny new 5S. I’ve had three iMacs (the lampshade one and two aluminums), three MacBook Pro’s, a Mac mini, and my current main machine, a 2011 MacBook Air. In my house now, between my lady and I, we have 2 iPhone 5S’s, our old iPhones (a 4 and a 4S, both unlocked), an original iPad in the kitchen, an iPad 3 that stays on the couch, and we each carry an iPad mini around. I love my mini. It’s the perfect size and weight.
Then I listened to many nerd podcasts, as I always do. All the pundits have an iPad Air to review. It’s so much thinner and lighter. It’s super fast. It’s comfortable to hold. “I can barely tell the difference between the Air and my iPad mini”, they say. “This is what the iPad should be”, they say. So, I bought the iPad Air on launch day. I was excited to move back into the world of big screens and more importantly, Retina screens.
Every time I buy a new toy, my first day is so exciting. It’s fast, pretty, and very thin. I was so happy to return to the world of big screens. I dutifully loaded all my apps and documents, then I took it on the subway on my way to work yesterday.
That day, I returned it.
Yep, me. The guy who keeps old iPads around to use as extra remote controls. The guy who has 2 iMacs, a Mac mini, and 3 MacBook Pros in storage. The guy with a dozen or so iOS devices in his “Find My iPhone” list.
There is no room for a 10″ tablet on the train. It is shoulder to shoulder crowded, and there is very little room between human flesh to hold a tablet.
I gave my iPad mini to my lady when I upgraded. She had a cracked screen. I’m now using her janky broken-ass iPad mini until “Later In November” when the Retina Mini comes out. It’s thinner-er and lighter-er than the Air, and the physical size means all the world to a New York City commuter who tries to read on the crowded subway.
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