iPad vs. iPad Mini: Which Should You Buy?

When Apple announced the release of the fourth-generation iPad — often called the iPad 4, or iPad with Retina display — in October 2012, many consumers felt angered by the rapid replacement of the very similar iPad 3 ("the new iPad"). Still, you only needed to decide whether or not to upgrade to the slightly more powerful device — and if you had recently dished out hundreds of dollars for the iPad 3, the decision wasn't very difficult.

But in the same announcement, Apple introduced the iPad mini — an arguably game-changing miniature tablet that made consumers rethink how and why to use their mobile devices. As a result, especially for people looking to buy their first tablets, the decision process became complicated.

We've prepared this guide to help you decide whether the latest iPad or iPad mini is right for you. Like all gadgets, it ultimately comes down to preference — that is, how you plan to use your tablet — but there are plenty of specs to help you choose.

Larry Ellison Opens Up About Steve Jobs' Last Days

Steve Jobs

Few people knew Steve Jobs better than Oracle founder Larry Ellison. The two were friends for more than two decades and lived next door to each other for a time. Now, Ellison is opening up about the Apple cofounder's final days battling pancreatic cancer.

"We'd always go for walks, and the walks just kept getting shorter," Ellison told Charlie Rose in a CBS This Morning interview that aired Tuesday. "Until near the end we'd kind of walk around the block or maybe — maybe four blocks, something like that. And you just watched him getting weaker."

Apple: Three Million New iPads Sold In Three Days

The iPad mini has had to deal with a fair amount of criticism since its launch, and similarly, there have been quite a few outcries regarding Apple’s decision to throw out a new iPad just seven months after releasing its predecessor. The lingering wave of skepticism clearly doesn’t seem to have affected sales adversely though, and Apple has just announced the sale of three million new iPad units, which is double previous weekend record of 1.5 million set by the launch of the iPad 3 in March.

Of course, with two new iPads on offering, perhaps the figures are close to what should have been expected, and if there was ever any doubt consumers would buy the iPad mini, it seems the tablet is as big of a hit as the 9.7-inch iteration – perhaps even more so. Apple proudly reported the figures by means of a press release, but neglected to state just how many iPad minis were sold versus iPads, which would arguably be the more intriguing statistic. Considering many consumers I’ve interacted with since the launch have been generally unaware of the presence of the iPad 4, I’d hazard a guess that the cheaper, smaller slate outsold the A6X-powered flagship, but this is mere speculation.