Going to buy a iPad 4 or Air tomorrow, help me choose which?

[budmonster]

I'v never owned an Apple product or a tablet really for that matter. Had a Kindle Fire for a few months but didn't like it. I was going to purchase a refurbished iPad 4 a few months ago but was told to hold off b/c of the iPad 5 and that it would be out soon. So I waited patiently and it's here. I really don't know what to do, go with the Air or save around $120 and get a refurbed iPad 4? I just dont want to regret not getting the Air. My gut says Air, but my wallet says 4. I was thinking about getting the 128gb iPad 4 months ago. I know it's really up to me but what do you guys think, would love to hear your thoughts. I will be picking up one or the other tomorrow just a matter of which one. Is 64gb really enough space too? I will be using it and so will my son. He will be using a lot of educational application/games for his disability. I will want to throw movies on it and hook it up to my TV. Choices, choices, what to do?

 

[Cold]

i would go with my gut, newer,64 bit=faster with new software, and considering the price of the air not really that big a difference, i'm sure that you would look back in say 12 months and regret the lower spec machine.

 

[giradman]

…... I was going to purchase a refurbished iPad 4 a few months ago but was told to hold off b/c of the iPad 5 and that it would be out soon. So I waited patiently and it's here.

I just dont want to regret not getting the Air. My gut says Air, but my wallet says 4. I was thinking about getting the 128gb iPad 4 months ago.

I will be picking up one or the other tomorrow just a matter of which one….

Hello Budmonster - Now that the iPad Air ​is available and if you budget the extra $$, then there really is NO choice - go w/ the newest model - my son just bought two for himself & wife - the reviews are excellent for this newest release - I plan to upgrade my iPad 2 to the Air in a few months; SO, my recommendation is to get the Air - as to storage - I plan to obtain 64 GB (now have 32 GB) - this is a lot of memory and should serve you well - just my opinion - Dave

 

[karpcb]

I would say go for ipad air 64GB..it is so thin and powerful with 64 bit processor A7...

 

[col.bris]

Add on Apple TV so you can display the iPad on a full screen

 

[budmonster]

Add on Apple TV so you can display the iPad on a full screen

So there is no other way to put a movie(1080p mkv, etc.) onto the Air and display it on my TV without getting an Apple TV box?

 

[karpcb]

Apple TV is the only way to put it on big screen. I heard chromecast will do but not sure it will work in iTunes

 

[giradman]

So there is no other way to put a movie(1080p mkv, etc.) onto the Air and display it on my TV without getting an Apple TV box?

The Apple TV is like a Roku device (which I use) but allows the use of Apple's AirPlay technology which will 'mirror' your iPad, so if your have a movie on your iPad and/or are streaming a film (e.g. Netflix or Amazon), then the film will just play on your HDTV (assume that is your TV) - otherwise, you will need to preferably purchase an HDMI adapter to cable your iPad to your HDTV, i.e more inconvenient - the Apple TV, like the Roku, will also offer many more streaming options - if you do not have a Roku device, then consider Apple's offering - good luck! Dave

 

[josh8888]

I am the same as you being a new user to pretty much any apple products. I bought Air on a plan with Telstra without much investigation. I haven't notice any big differences as what they say lighter, thinner or quicker compared to IPAD with Retina display. Retina display is brilliant though, easy decision to tick off IPad Mini. Maybe if you play games a lot, A7 64 bit chip would make a difference. Not quite sure.

 

[josh8888]

That's why I have been avoiding any apple products all my life. When every one is using a simple HDMI to do a pretty good job. Apple wants you to spend more money buying those bloody stuff. I hate it. I broke my promise and ended up buying a IPAD Air last week instead of Nexus 7 only owing to the splendid Retina Display and Nexus 7's small size. Not sure it was still a good decision now.

 

[budmonster]

Does anyone know what application from the store I can download to play videos like AVI, MKV, etc.? I want to put movies on my iPad from my PC and and hook the iPad up to my TV. I bought a Lightning Digital AV Adapter. Is there a VLC application or anything that plays all types of files?

 

[zstairlessone]

So there is no other way to put a movie(1080p mkv, etc.) onto the Air and display it on my TV without getting an Apple TV box?

Check Apple for a Lightning to HDMI adapter. This will allow you to mirror on your TV without Apple TV. It costs about $25 so think about what you get with the Apple TV, wireless streaming from iPad or iPhone, can stream from your shared library on your Pc/MAC without your iPhone or iPad, YouTube, Netflix and more without having to connect your iDevice to a cable. The Apple TV is $99

Edit: didn't see the last post where you got the adapter, ignore the above

 

[giradman]

Check Apple for a Lightning to HDMI adapter. This will allow you to mirror on your TV without Apple TV. It costs about $25 so think about what you get with the Apple TV, wireless streaming from iPad or iPhone, can stream from your shared library on your Pc/MAC without your iPhone or iPad, YouTube, Netflix and more without having to connect your iDevice to a cable. The Apple TV is $99

Edit: didn't see the last post where you got the adapter, ignore the above

Does anyone know what application from the store I can download to play videos like AVI, MKV, etc.? I want to put movies on my iPad from my PC and and hook the iPad up to my TV. I bought a Lightning Digital AV Adapter. Is there a VLC application or anything that plays all types of files?

Yep, my previous post was also ignored by the Budmonster! Now that you have bought the (presumably) HDMI-Lightning Adapter to hook your iPad to an HDTV, then you need to get videos onto your iPad in the proper format (see pic below) - what are your choices: 1) Purchase movies/TV/shows etc. from iTunes; 2) Obtain 'free' video material from iTunes; or 3) Rip your DVDs w/ the aid of a computer and a software program (such as HandBrake) - the latter is the most involved - BUT, I'll stop there and let you respond as to 'how' you want to do this process (other options may exist) - Dave

 

[budmonster]

Yep, my previous post was also ignored by the Budmonster! Now that you have bought the (presumably) HDMI-Lightning Adapter to hook your iPad to an HDTV, then you need to get videos onto your iPad in the proper format (see pic below) - what are your choices: 1) Purchase movies/TV/shows etc. from iTunes; 2) Obtain 'free' video material from iTunes; or 3) Rip your DVDs w/ the aid of a computer and a software program (such as HandBrake) - the latter is the most involved - BUT, I'll stop there and let you respond as to 'how' you want to do this process (other options may exist) - Dave

View attachment 49792

Your confusing me. I bought a Lightning Digital AV Adapter, there is no HDMI-Lightning Adapter in the Apple Store or at BB. I'm guessing its basically the same thing? Anyways I have that and the Apple TV box. But I think the adapter will just be easier. Now on onto the video/movie question. I have a bunch of videos in different format, mainly .MKV format. I download an application from iTunes called VLC which plays a bunch of formats, I'm sure .MKV is one of them. How do I go about adding these videos to my iPad Air? I'm use to Android, which was just drag and drop on sdcard.

I was told that Apple TV would mirror what I was playing on my iPad wireless. I was also told that the Lighting Adapter would allow me to connect my iPad straight to my HDTV and play whatever, I would just have to download an app like VLC, etc. to play videos? Oh the adapter is $50, not $25.

 

[giradman]

Your confusing me. I bought a Lightning Digital AV Adapter, there is no HDMI-Lightning Adapter in the Apple Store or at BB. I'm guessing its basically the same thing? Anyways I have that and the Apple TV box. But I think the adapter will just be easier. Now on onto the video/movie question. I have a bunch of videos in different format, mainly .MKV format. I download an application from iTunes called VLC which plays a bunch of formats, I'm sure .MKV is one of them. How do I go about adding these videos to my iPad Air? I'm use to Android, which was just drag and drop on sdcard.

I was told that Apple TV would mirror what I was playing on my iPad wireless. I was also told that the Lighting Adapter would allow me to connect my iPad straight to my HDTV and play whatever, I would just have to download an app like VLC, etc. to play videos? Oh the adapter is $50, not $25.

Well, I'm not trying to be confusing but attempting to offer the options - you seemed to have purchased a BUNCH of stuff w/o completing understanding how to use these for your purposes - just saying, sorry.

First, the adapter that you linked is an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) adapter - this will require an additional cable to connect the adapter to an HDMI port on your HDMI TV - once connected you should be able to play from your iPad to the TV.

Second, you imply that you already have an Apple TV - correct? Well, if so, then over the same Wi-Fi network (assume you have that setup?), you can 'mirror' your iPad's output directly to your TV wirelessly (of course, the Apple TV is connected to your TV w/ an HDMI cable).

Finally, your videos on your iPad will have to be compatible w/ the formats quoted in my previous post - if not, then some type of conversion will be needed.

Hope that these comments are clearer - if not, please post back - Dave