iPad for the Older and Wiser: Get Up and Running with Your Apple iPad, iPad Air and iPad Mini, 4th Edition

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Choosing an iPad

 Equipment needed: A credit card – if you haven't yet purchased your iPad!

 Skills needed: None, but computer-buying experience – or a solid idea of how you want to use your iPad – might make this easier.

Once you've decided to buy an iPad, you have a few more decisions to make because several versions of the iPad are available. The easiest decision is probably whether you want a standard-size iPad or an iPad mini, which has a smaller screen and is slightly cheaper than its full-size cousin.

The latest model of the standard-size iPad is the iPad Air, which lives up to its name by being substantially lighter than older models. Like the iPad Air, earlier standard iPads all come with a 9.7-inch screen (measured across the diagonal, which is how computer displays and TV screens are usually described). The viewable screen area is roughly 7.5 x 5.5 inches.

Both the original and latest iPad mini have a 7.9-inch screen, and the viewable screen area is roughly the size of a Penguin paperback novel. As you can see in Figure 1.1, you can easily hold the iPad mini in one hand, so it is a fair bit smaller than its big brother. But the screens on both are generous.

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