Is an old iPad worth hanging on to?
I’ve upgraded my original iPad 1 to an iPad mini. I use the mini for surfing the web and reading, but I’d like to find something useful to do with the old iPad (32GB, Wi-Fi-only), which is still functional. I’ve considered using it as a second screen for my Mac mini. Is this something you’d recommend? If so, what’s the best stand to use? Alex Haddersly I have a first generation iPad that I use as an extra display, but it’s not as useful as you might think. For a start, you need an app to send the display updates from your Mac. The best one is Air Display by Avatron (getairdisplay.com), but unless you’ve already downloaded this, you’ve missed the boat. The current version requires iOS 6, which won’t run on your iPad, and version 1 isn’t available anymore. DisplayPad is an alternative (displaypadapp. com) and it’s cheaper at £1.99, but I don’t think it’s quite so responsive. Screen lag is a problem with monitor extender apps because they use Wi-Fi to send screen data. You can use it to move email off your main monitor (or for a YouTube video) and it’s tolerable for that, but there’s no point sending display updates from the Mac for this because you could just use native apps on the iPad for this.
Personally, I would advise selling old iPads. Visit store.apple.com/uk/browse/reuse_and_recycle; Apple will give you £55 if it’s in good condition, £38.50 if the back is scratched, or you might get up to £100 on eBay. You could put that towards a proper second monitor, if you really want one. The first-gen iPad is heavy enough that you need a pretty solid stand to hold it securely, like the Belkin A-frame. But for your iPad mini, you can use something more fun, such as the BESTEK Gooseneck (£38 on Amazon).