Wanting to buy an iPad. Which one?

O

oguruma

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Jan 3, 2010
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I am looking to buy an iPad. I, personally, will use it for browsing the web or watching Netflix. I figure I really don't need anything that powerful for casual browsing and video watching. Are there some apps that are only supported by the newer iPad software? Or is it safe to assume that every app that is available for the newest iPad, will also be available for the older generation?
 
I had an ipad 2nd gen and 4th gen and I've never had problems with apps. The ipad I use now is a fourth gen 30gb and I love it. I didn't get the cellular one because the wife has an iphone so I just kept the extra $100. I did buy the one year insurance on it (from bestbuy) and thank God I did. It "magically" fell off the kitchen window track and cracked on the eleventh month. Bestbuy gave me full trade in value for it.

There are many tablets out there to choose from. One thing I have to say about the ipad is- It works.
 
Don't own an iPad but I thought I would let you know that the word is out that "Apple's iPad event will be held on October 22. This is when they announced the new models soon to be released...most likely before the Christmas shopping season. Sometimes when they come out with new versions, the current ones will either remain on the market at a reduced price or possibly closed out, so either way you may find a bargain if you time things right. I would imagine that the apps would be compatible across the different iPad hardware platforms. I think the designers take into consideration the size of the display and its resolution as well. They would create the same app to run on an iPhone and an iPad....but the difference would be "under the hood" to make things work with the different hardware devices.

I bought a Nexus 7 about a year ago and I love it. It came out right at the same time the iPad Mini came out but I couldn't see paying the higher price for the iPad Mini since it didn't have the Retina Display. The new Nexus 7 tablets are supposed to be a lot better and the display is full HD now I believe. The Nexus devices are pure Android and don't have any other interfaces provided by the manufacturer of the hardware. The new iPad Mini models should have the Retina Display if that makes a difference to you. The full size iPads have had Retina for a couple of years now.

John
 
I bought myself a 64Gb iPad 4, as well as a 16Gb iPad 2 for my wife for Christmas last year. Haven't had any issues with them though I do dislike the closed environment of iTunes and lack of ports like Android devices have.
As Caress of Steel mentioned, the new iPads are supposed to be announced later this month so I'd wait if I were you. Based on the leaked pics I've seen online they're being redesigned to look like the minis with the rounder edges. They're also going to be slightly smaller in dimensions but I assume will maintain the same screen size. I'm guessing this means the borders around the actual usable screen will be narrower.
See pics here: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/space-gray-silver-fifth-gen-ipad-shells-leaked/
There are also lots of YouTube vids showing what's supposedly the new iPad. Just search "iPad 5" on YouTube.

There's also rumors of a larger (12") iPad in the works. If you can't wait, you can buy refurbed 128Gb iPad 4s directly from the apple site.
 
Do you already have an iPhone or other iDevice? If so, does it use the old cable, or the new "Lightning" connector? If you have the old kind, you might wish to pick up an iPad 3, just to save on frustration and hassle. It has a slower processor, but apart from that and the cable, there isn't much difference between the 3 and the 4. If you have an iPhone with the new Lightning cable, I'd say wait for the 5 to be announced. It'll be faster (presumably), and more svelte in build.

Out of curiosity though, why an iPad? My own biases aside, if all you're doing is web browsing, watching Netflix, and maybe playing the occasional game, an iPad is an extremely expensive piece of equipment, and Androids can be found for much cheaper, or for the same prices you can get much, much more. A Nexus 7 might be smaller than you're looking for, so check out the Nexus 10, which has a very high resolution screen (moreso than the new iPads). Or, there's the much more capable but more expensive Galaxy Note 10.1. There's the Sony Xperia Z, which is not only the thinnest tablet available, but is IP57 rated for dust and water proofness (don't go swimming with it, but if you spill your drink on it, it'll be just fine). Personally, I'm interested in the soon-to-be-released LG G Pad 8.3, which is a happy in-between size of the 7" tablets which I find a bit too small, and the 10" tablets which I find too large.

Another alternative is the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9. Specs-wise, it's an absolute beast. Highest pixel density of any tablet, and has the latest and greatest processor. The OS is Android based, but the Kindle interface is highly modified and limited to only what Amazon offers (which, as far as entertainment goes, should be plenty). It's pricey, but not quite iPad pricey. It also costs $15 more to get a version that doesn't have "Special Offers" every time you unlock it. The old Kindle Fire 8.9 is no slouch either, with a full HD screen, and now that it's "outdated", you can pick one up for comparatively cheap.
 
I've got the wifi gen2. I hate it. I hate the apple ecosystem where you have to pay extra to get their special cables so you are payong to get less. I.e. my wife's iPhone 5 can't recharge using the ipad 2 cable. No USB ports or SD card slots. I also have a chromebook and its my favorite little net device. I would go for a nexus over the ipad any day.
 
I've had my ipad 2 for a couple of years now...Essentially trouble free. I got the cheap one, wifi and 16 gb. I work at a big university so there's wifi everywhere.
If I had it to do over I might get the bigger-capacity job... I have quite a lot of music and books and stuff and as a result I'm down to 4 gb storage left.
 
Having used both Android an Apple devices, I would recommend a iPad without hesitation. Yes an Android device is cheaper and more customizable, but it isnt nearly as usable right out of the box. I had to dig around to find all the apps and settings on my Android to get it a functional as the ipad. Unless you like to tinker, I would go with Apple. I also think they take privacy more seriously than other companies. As far as models, I would go with the mini. It is so much lighter and moer portable than the full size ipads.

Just my thoughts and opinions.

Damon
 
I have a generation 1 with 3G. I have packed it to work and used it out of my truck and it hasn't let me down. The big downside to Ipad is Itunes. For keeping trake of the Forums and stuff they are fine.
 
I have a 16gb Gen3 and I absolutely love it. It has pretty much replaced my laptop and desktop for everything except typing and media storage. The only regret I have is not going for the 32gb model since my 16gb fills up pretty quickly if I want to take a few movies with me on a long flight. If your looking for a good deal wait for the gen5 to be released and pick up a gen4. You'll be able to save yourself a couple hundred bucks and the gen4 is still a very capable tablet and should supported for a quite a while.
 
More important than the generation or operating systems is the size of the device. There is a massive amount of choice in the tablet arena.... You can get touch screen devices with internet access with screens ranging from 3 inches across all the way up to 24 inches in size, and all of them will do more or less the same things. Some of the 7 inch devices will fit in a cargo pocket but all 10 inch devices require a bag.

My personal choice is a 5.3 inch samsung galaxy note. I have read many books on it without too much discomfort and it is something I can always take with me. Others I know prefer a smaller phone and a moderate (7_ish inches) or large size tablet (10_ish inches). These users usually have a gaming pc or gaming laptop at home. Yet others make do with an ultrabook and a phone. Pick your poison. How much firepower vs how much mobility. How much content consumption vs creation. :)

In the iOS vs android debate there are a few things to consider. Android wins on price and customization options, they also blow the apple products out of the water in terms of playing nice with other gadgets and ecosystems. MicroSD cards, standard USB connections, no dealing with the horror that is iTunes etc. Where iOS wins is specialty apps and uniformity of the user experience between devices (it looks the same no matter what device you have). Aspect ratio is another thing to think about, it might not seem like a huge thing to most people but it really is. Most things android are 16:9 or 16:10, the ipad is 4:3. The 16:9 and 16:10 ratios play better with multimedia stuff like movies. 4:3 on the other hand is nice for looking at websites and especially PDF documents. The ipad is the best PDF document reader I have used to date.

Which generation to get? Dunno. Your call, try both.
 
That's the other thing, get a mini if you go with the Ipad. The normal size one is a PITA to hold. We hardly ever heft that thing around anymore because I have a chromebook and an S3 that I can tether the Chromebook too and my wife has her Iphone 5.
 
I received the Ipad 2 as a gift a year ago and like it pretty well, but find it somewhat limited. I mostly use it to watch Netflix in bed, surf the web, or look at stats/highlights while watching sports. If I were to buy another tablet, I think I'd get Microsoft's new Surface. It looks to be about half the iPad price, and offers more functionality as a mini-computer. I don't know much about apps for the Surface vs Ipad, but I know it can run business software, or games via Steam, which is more valuable than Angry Birds, etc. to me.
 
The surface pro is a bit meh in my opinion. It weighs and costs about the same as the sony pro 13 laptop but has a smaller screen, fewer ports and no built in keyboard. What is the point?
 
cchu518 said:
The keyboards tear on the surface do a Google search for it.
Click to expand...

I do not understand what you are getting at.

The keyboard cover you can buy as an extra for the surface tablets is detachable. They also kinda suck, but that is another issue.

There are two classes of surface tablets, the basic and the pro version.

The basic surface tablet is not worth considering at all because it runs windows RT which defeats the whole point of staying with windows. You stay with windows so you can use the vast array of legacy applications that have been developed for windows over the years. With the basic model you don't get that.

The basic surface tablet running windows RT use the ARM processor architecture instead of the traditional x86 processor architecture. They are physically incapable of running full windows, this means that the basic surface tablets do not support all your favorite desktop applications.

The pro model is much more appealing software wise, but it is heavy and pricey. You can get a significantly larger laptop for the same amount of money that weighs the same but does a lot more. Why would you bother with the tablet?
 
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