Well, I have to admit, I've never been so wrong about a device.
I usually have a pretty good feel for these things, and I've spent a lot of mental clock cycles thinking about how a device like this can't possibly work. Devices like the Samsung Note look inane and deeply flawed. I have played with the software that passes for applications on them. Awful stuff. Software on those devices always seemed to try to straddle the line between being a blown up phone app and a half-baked afterthought of a tablet app. Comparing "workhorse" apps like OmniPlan and OmniFocus on the iPad to those found on Android devices just seem... well.. terrible.
So I assumed that apps that were designed for a specific scale and use case on the iPad would scale down poorly with small tap targets and a non-retina display which would compromise the very detail you'd need to run those apps. Again, I was wrong.
I was thinking that the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard I bought for the iPad 3 I had been using was going to be wasted or useless. Wrong.
I'm typing this on my new iPad Mini (32GB with LTE) using my Ultrathin keyboard. The screen is small but not overly so. I can carry this light, slim device easily (it even fits snugly into the back pocket of my jeans) and I find it is always a first choice when reaching for something to browse the internet with, catch up on ADN or skim through Reeder or Instapaper.
The worry that apps like Comixology would suffer due to the lack of a larger screen or lack of retina resolution was unfounded. I was reading comics on the Mini yesterday and they looked pretty damn good and the fact that they're more portable makes up for it.
Other reading apps fare pretty well too but admittedly in this area I do miss the retina resolution. iBooks, Kindle, Reeder, Instagram, Goodreader, the Magazine are all front and center on this thing though. While it used to lay all around the house ready to go at a moment's notice, lately the Kindle Paperwhite is relegated to my nightstand. I still prefer the Paperwhite's low-light reading capabilities and I'm sure it will fare much better when reading outside in the summer but for now, the iPad Mini is going to be my go-to for reading. Strange but true.
Thanks to the miscreants on ADN who pushed me over the edge. I am not regretting the decision. In fact, for once I'm pretty damn happy about being wrong.