as I find their naming system sligthly confusing
Old is the “30 pin connector”, new is “Lightning”
I only use Apple products now, and I even WORKED for Microsoft and probably had most IBM ThinkPads of all people in Munich.
The iPad is perfect for pilots as far as I can tell. Most apps, all work. Active Jeppesen charts (I have to pay for JeppView anyway), weather apps, Notams …
iPad “Air” is the latest, iPad 4 was before that. I sold my 2 on ebay and bought a 128 GB iPad 4 for 500 Euros instead. You can save a lot of money if you don’t buy the LATEST version.
AFAIK, the supplier of the GPS-system in the iPads has been exchanged by Apple at some point. Reception is now supposed to be much better.
My private iPad is an “old” iPad 2, large connector; the ones supplied by the company are the latest model (iPad 4 I think) with retina and the small connector. I have not yet noticed any difference in the GPS reception, both work equally well. The battery of the old iPad lasts longer (less graphics and processing power!) though.
AFAIK, the supplier of the GPS-system in the iPads has been exchanged by Apple at some point. Reception is now supposed to be much better. I have an iPad with the Retina-display but still the old Apple-connector (I have no idea what that is in the Apple-world as I find their naming system sligthly confusing) and also an iPad mini and have not experienced any reception problems in my TB20. Since I have the mini the larger iPad stays at home as I find the mini due to its smaller size much more convenient in the cockpit.
I will be exchanging the mini against a mini with the Retina-display soon. For use in the cockpit the mini with the lesser resolution display is absolutely fine for me, also for approach plates (but I do wear bifocal glasses I must admit) but since I got it I started to read books on it when travelling which I did not do on the larger iPad as I found this to be a bit too unwieldy. When reading longer texts the display on the mini starts to become a bit “grainy”.
Jude098,
Before you decide which model to take my recommendation would be to visit an Apple store and compare the various models side-by-side for size, weight and screen resolution (with different apps e.g. displaying text, (street) maps etc.) and to pick the one you feel most comfortable with.
Also a good cover to protect the iPad might be worth considering. Again, the choices are overwhelming so you might want to think about how you are planning to use the unit most of the time. A leather cover with a flap looks nice but might not be the right choice for use in the cockpit. I use a Griffin Survivor (Link, available via amazon and others) which offers very good protection and allows a lot of abuse (also very helpful when our little daughter wants to play with the iPad). On the downside, such cover is obviously a bit more on the heavy side. A protective screen cover/foil is a must in my view.
As has been said before, Apple’s pricing policy for additional storage is quite steep. However, I got the iPad just for use in the cockpit (for which a 16GB model would be fine) but I tend to find that I now use it for things I did not have in mind when I bought it (MP3-player, ebook-reader, lots of other apps, GPS with street maps (this alone needs a lot of storage), all the manuals of my plane and avionics in pdf etc. etc.)
Yes, 16GB is definitely enough for SD. It’s a con to pay Apple for any of the larger memory versions as they are totally out of sync with common memory prices say most other memories.
I have an external GPS device which I use over Bluetooth, but to be honest I don’t often use it that much as I have a 3G version of the iPad and the internal GPS is fine. How accurate or not accurate the internal iPad GPS is compared to an external one – I don’t know. But for primary navigation, especially if I was IMC or ‘VFR-on-top’ I use a GNS430. I use the iPad for planning, and for the more detailed map and information you get enroute. The advantage the iPad mini has, especially if attached to the control column is that it probably wont get in the way. In my PA28, even mounted in a landscape view, the iPad does hit any charts or kneeboard I have on my legs when the control column is pulled back more than half way. Therefore for take-off and landing, I make sure none of these things are on my lap. Enjoy using it.
But no Jeppview on Android yet. I am a huge Android fan but iPad dominates aviation apps.
Someone (on this forum or elsewhere?) recenly pointed me to this one here:
http://ww1.jeppesen.com/support/technical_support_details.jsp?prodNameTxt2=Jeppesen%20Mobile%20TC%20for%20Android
Personally, I have been using Apple computes exclusively since 1989 (apart from engineering work which was done on IBM and HP unix workstations) and therefore will stay with the iPad, our company has also equipped all aircraft with iPads now.
I thought Jepp would never do Android, because of the trivial ease of bootlegging (edited after What Next’s post below!)
They have recently “fixed” JeppFD (versions after 2.0.0, reportedly) to block a commonly used hack. And on IOS you cannot go back a version (unless jailbroken) which is why I will never “upgrade” Memory Map on mine, because I want to be able to run my old QCT maps.
Reportedly 10% of IOS devices are jailbroken but I think the % among pilots is close to zero.
Skydemon don’t need to be so concerned because they are not dealing with data with inherently high value like Jepp’s worldwide IFR which is c. €15000/year. Also SD has ample opportunity to “call home” to check licensing (no idea if they actually do it) whereas Jepp can’t really because the app is used internationally and there would be an outcry over roaming data usage etc. I wonder if Jepp have moved to online license checking on the Android version?
Google Nexus much cheaper,100 times easier to get stuff in and out
Well, yes, IOS is great for what it does and you tear your hair out trying to do what Apple did not think their “ideal customer profile” needs – which is why I use this. But that’s a topic for IT specialists 
It is also why I want this. If Ultranomad can do that, it would be superb.
But no Jeppview on Android yet. I am a huge Android fan but iPad dominates aviation apps.
Google Nexus much cheaper,100 times easier to get stuff in and out, brilliant GPS; I’ve binned the iPad, like a Jag with no wheels!
Me too, at 56 
I can’t read Jepps on the Ipad Mini….
But the Mini is good because it can be leg-strapped easily.
But Judy is very young still She has another 10 years.
However one can pan the plate around, which can make the Mini attractive even to pilots too ancient to read the whole plate. The full size Ipad is quite big and I find it hard to use in the TB20.
In some planes, the Ipad GPS works fine. In my TB20, it isn’t reliable so I got the XGPS150 bluetooth one which works great.
Different here, I have used it in the Pa28, Pa44 and different Citations and it works perfectly well. Absolutely no need for an external GPS receiver, even back in the passenger cabin. JeppView indicates a position accuracy of 5m most of the time.
But personally, I would not take the iPad mini, but a full size iPad. Maybe it’s my age (51), but on the iPad, I can read approach plates well. whereas on an iPad mini I would require reading glasses.
