Selecting an iPad Screen Size

[2180miles]

Hey all-

I searched for some info but didn't find anything readily available. I'm looking to purchase a new iPad for the WK2 for auxiliary navigation with Gaia / Google offline / etc, but am hung up on what size screen to get. Apple just introduced their newest series of the iPad with the 9.7" screen last week, and they recently overhauled the iPad mini from what I know.

The question is a pretty simple one... what do you guys use, what offers the best compromise of visible screen space and ease of viewing while driving (yeah yeah, viewing while driving is bad and all that, but let's be real, we're all looking at GPS at one point or another)... all without taking up too much cabin space? I'm thinking I'll do a floor seat bolt kind of mount, but would consider something else like a dash mount depending on which device I go with. It'll be back and forth between having a passenger in the front seat and not.

I'm a life-long Apple user, so I'd like to stick with the platform versus starting with something new.

Thanks for any info!

- Ryan

 

[SnoViking]

I'm a huge fan of the Mini. I think it's the perfect size. The regular ipad's screen isn't that much bigger than the Mini's and theres more "bezel" around the regular sized ones. If the mini version has all the RAM/memory youll need go with that one. Remember, smaller and lighter is always better.

 

[workingonit71]

bigger is better, and closer helps too; tablet- viewing GPS/MAPS while driving

...The question is a pretty simple one... what do you guys use, what offers the best compromise of visible screen space and ease of viewing while driving (yeah yeah, viewing while driving is bad and all that, but let's be real, we're all looking at GPS at one point or another)... all without taking up too much cabin space? I'm thinking I'll do a floor seat bolt kind of mount, but would consider something else like a dash mount depending on which device I go with....

• There is no compromise between visible screen space and ease of viewing...bigger is better. You want to be able to quickly acquire the information on the display, and everyone knows that larger screen size fosters that. Would you want to quickly glance at a map on a 4" cellphone screen at 18" away, or a 8" tablet screen at 18" away (citing my own devices)? I tried that 4" GPS screen glance once, and nearly ran off the road. That's why I use my 8" tablet (bigger would be better, but it was a "lightning deal"). It would be the same in your comparison.
• The size differential is aggravated if using a mount that's further away, off to the side, up or down from the road-viewing angle you are using. Combining those factors magnifies the negative aspect, making GPS-view acquisition and recovery to road-view, that much harder in a short time. Bad lighting, aging eyes, other distractions all favor a choice of getting the larger screen, mounted as close to road-viewing line-of-sight as possible, with screen brightness adjusted to fit the ambient lighting (many programs allow night or day viewing mode).
• I would get the largest screen, and a dash-mount that allows you to drop the screen "just" below your line-of-sight, as close to the steering wheel (and your reach) as possible. Of course, without blocking need access to vital controls (column shift, A/C & heater controls and/or vents, and radio buttons-just a few examples-).
• I made my own mount, and tried to get it to meet those criteria. So far, it's working much better than the previous mounts I've tried (a floor mount for a 7" tablet -too much wobble/vibration, and looking too far down and away from the road), and a stick-on steering wheel-hub mount for my cellphone (ever try to view a little screen while it's moving around? don't). The new dash-mount is better, but I need to secure it more firmly to the dash, as it tends to rotate down (I'll loctite the extension rod threads).
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[Kiriesh]

I'd stick to the 9.7". I used an iPad 4 for years for school note taking and I couldn't imagine getting smaller. I never was a fan of the mini, since you might as well just get an iPhone 7+ and have nearly the same effective size and your phone all wrapped up into one. I have a 12.9" pro now which is really nice, but the screen is borderline too big now. 9.7 seems like the sweetspot.