Which I Pad?

Ipad Mini 2 just had a sale on $199. Normally $250 16gig WIFI

I have the orig mini and like it. The mini 2 has better wifi range. Both can connect to the Internet thru an iPhone if needed. If you're not going to load a lot of music or videos, the 16 gig models should be fine. I use mine all the time to read books, surf the web, banking, and so much more.

Get the 'air', the mini is a little small as our eyes age. I never buy new, only refurbished. Here

I just picked up the iPad Mini 3 with 64 GB of storage for $329 from Verizon. With the Mini 3 you get the Retina display and it is very nice. If you don't need the 64 GB of storage I think the 16 was $229. The processor in the Mini 3 is also more powerful than in the mini 2.

I use mine much like wildtoad.

They all pretty much do the same thing.

Pick the size screen you want; Mini or fullsize.

Pick the memory you want; I always seem to want more after I've had it awhile. Now whenever I buy a new tablet/phone etc, I get more than I think I need. And tend to use most of it.

I just bought an iPad 3 refurb from Newegg- 64gb Verizon 4G/LTE (no sim) model- I won't use the 4G, but the thing is like new for $219. I believe they're normally around $280, sale ends today, but Newegg is offline right now.

I've had a Mini 2 for a couple of years now that I received as a work anniversary gift. It is the first apple product I've owned and am completely satisfied with it. I've never had any problems whatsoever. Now, whenever I do fire up my laptop, it feels like a lifetime to boot completely, and I like it less and less. A tablet of any type is the way to go!

After using the Mini for a while, I bought my wife a full size iPad. I would certainly suggest going that route. It doesn't take up that much more room, but makes a huge difference when looking at the screen.

Also, as srt20 suggested, go for as much memory as you can. You may not download music (although if you have cd's you like, you can put me all on the iPad), but as you start to use the iPad more you'll find yourself taking more and more quick pictures and videos. Since the iPad is sealed, you can't just add a SIM card for more memory, you have to buy it up front.

I have the 2nd gen iPad 16 gb with wifi/3G and actually use the 3G a lot when I can't connect to wifi (campground with poor wifi). I don't keep a lot of photos and no music and have found I have very little memory left due to some of the apps we want to use, so you might want to get as much memory as you can up front.