"a late-2012 iPad Mini, model number A1432, black, with 16 gigabytes of storage. It retailed, at release, for $329." So the cost of owning this iPad has been l

"a late-2012 iPad Mini, model number A1432, black, with 16 gigabytes of storage. It retailed, at release, for $329." So the cost of owning this iPad has been less than 20 cents/day over its 5 year usable life. That doesn't even factor in the slight energy savings vs using a full laptop if you want to be nitpickey. Nor does it factor in the current resale value. I just sold an original iPad 1 for $80 on Craigslist. I'm sure this would be worth at least as much, if not more. "I still use my old iPad for passive consumption: reading, watching videos, checking feeds ...formerly easy tasks have become strained. Social apps have become slow, videos take longer to load and Safari can’t seem to handle the most important and fundamental services of the modern web." This is all also true of my maxed out 2012 MacBook Air. Final Cut Pro X runs more smoothly editing HD video than browsing Facebook. And, while I agree the uses for an old iPad are limited (photo browser, music player / media controller, eBook reader, kitchen recipe browser), they are more elegant than keeping an old computer around. The mixed blessing and curse of something like the iPad is that it still looks beautiful and functional long after it isn't. I'm sure it would be easier to part with the device if it was a 5-year-old $300 Celeron netbook.