IPAD do i really need one and if so which one?

smithers1981

After many months i dreaming i think i'm gonna have to give in to temptation and buy an IPAD.

I have a perfectly good laptop 18 months old, so i guess i dont really need one i just really really WANT one.

I will mainly use it for internet browsing, sports, news, betting, streaming, email etc.

Its hard to resist when the worlds largest company spends millions trying to make us buy one of their products.

Now i'm almost certainly going to get one which one? 16GB i think will be plenty for me and only want WIFI.

Options are IPAD 2 for £329, a refurb NEW IPAD £359 or a shiny new NEW IPAD for £392 (get a miserly 2% discount from my work on ipads)

Which one should i go for? Or should i just make do with laptop?

J_J_Carter

I use my iPad a lot, but I still have the laptop. You won't regret getting one!
You need the latestone with Retina display.

paddyrg

The dream consumer - buying something you don't need because the adverts told you to!

Here's an objective voice even if you are really just here for people to support your decision -
Tablets have some fun value, but when you see people buying keyboards to go with their tablets, you have to wonder if they aren't a bit pony for typing on. In fact a forum post as long as the one you did above is quite a painful thing to do without a keyboard.
Vendor lock-in - Apple stuff tries very hard to lock you into their ecosystem, which means itunes, icloud etc when there are better and cheaper alternative options.
High depreciation, the £700-odd now drops enormously in value the moment the ipad 4s+ (or whatever) comes out. It is a fashion-driven market, not a rational one. By definition, fashions change.
They look stupid when you use the camera function. There are few more idiotic sights than a tourist blocking a pavement to use a tablet as an oversized clumsy and distinctly poor camera
They do not play DVD's - you have a right old brouhaha tryin.g to rip and convert the films you own, or re-buy them from Apple
Apps - equivalent apps for iPad and Android are usually priced differently - Apple customers are seen as easier marks by app sellers and so you often pay more for the same
Form factor - you do not carry your laptop everywhere with you presumably because it is awkward to do so. Tablets are a bit better, but you still need a bag (or look like a tool carrying it loose) so unless you carry a handbag/manbag, gains are small

kwikbreaks

If you are shelling out North of £300 anyway you may as well go the extra mile and get the newest and best (until Apple release the next one at least).

I won't waste energy telling you that spending that amount of money on a poor sofa-surfer is maybe not the best investment you could make because you've already decided to get one anyway.

Dan_Thunder

paddyrg wrote: »

The dream consumer - buying something you don't need because the adverts told you to!

Here's an objective voice even if you are really just here for people to support your decision -
Tablets have some fun value, but when you see people buying keyboards to go with their tablets, you have to wonder if they aren't a bit pony for typing on. In fact a forum post as long as the one you did above is quite a painful thing to do without a keyboard.

NOT TRUE. I TYPE PRETTY MUCH JUST AS FAST ON MY IPAD AS ON MY WORK COMPUTER, AND I'VE BEEN USING COMPUTERS FOR OVER 30 YEARS. IN FACT I'VE SEEN A LARGE NUMBER OF YOUNGER PEOPLE WHO CAN TYPE FASTER USING A TABLET THAN ON A 'PROPER' KEYBOARD!

Vendor lock-in - Apple stuff tries very hard to lock you into their ecosystem, which means itunes, icloud etc when there are better and cheaper alternative options.

TRUE BUT YOU'RE LOCKED INTO A SYSTEM THAT WORKS. GO USE AN ANDROID MACHINE OR A LAPTOP AND THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT WHAT YOU PURCHASE WON'T JUST CRASH WHEN YOU WANT TO USE IT.

High depreciation, the £700-odd now drops enormously in value the moment the ipad 4s+ (or whatever) comes out. It is a fashion-driven market, not a rational one. By definition, fashions change.

AGAIN NOT TRUE. APPLE PRODUCTS ARE RENOWNED FOR HOLDING THEIR VALUE FAR MORE THAN PRETTY MUCH ANY OTHER COMPUTER BASED PRODUCTS. BESIDES WHICH, SHOW ME A SINGLE HARDWARE MANUFACTURER WHO DOESN'T REFRESH THEIR LINEUP ANNUALLY, IF NOT MORE IN SOME CASES!

They look stupid when you use the camera function. There are few more idiotic sights than a tourist blocking a pavement to use a tablet as an oversized clumsy and distinctly poor camera.

AGAIN TRUE BUT WOULD YOU ALSO WALK AROUND USING LAPTOP AS A CAMERA?

They do not play DVD's - you have a right old brouhaha tryin.g to rip and convert the films you own, or re-buy them from Apple

NOT REALLY APPLE'S FAULT IF FILM DISTRIBUTORS DON'T WANT TO GIVE YOU A DIGITAL COPY ALSO.

Apps - equivalent apps for iPad and Android are usually priced differently - Apple customers are seen as easier marks by app sellers and so you often pay more for the same.

AGAIN NOT TRUE. THERE ARE FAR MORE FREE APPS ON APPLE'S APP STORE THAN ANY OTHER COMPARABLE SERVICE. PLUS, AS APPLE ARE RIGOROUS IN THEIR TESTING OF APPS BEFORE RELEASE YOU CAN BE PRETTY MUCH CERTAIN IT'LL WORK ON WHICHEVER DEVICE YOU HAVE

Form factor - you do not carry your laptop everywhere with you presumably because it is awkward to do so. Tablets are a bit better, but you still need a bag (or look like a tool carrying it loose) so unless you carry a handbag/manbag, gains are small.

NOT 100% TRUE. MY IPAD IS FAR SMALLER AND LIGHTER THAN MY LAPTOP. I CAN EASILY THROW IT INTO A BAG AND PRETTY MUCH FORGET IT'S THERE. CERTAINLY ROUND THE HOUSE I CAN HONESTLY SAY I DO CARRY IT AROUND WITH ME WITHOUT A BAG! I WATCH TV ON IT IF I'M COOKING, I'LL BROWSE THE INTERNET WHEN I'M LYING ON THE SOFA, I READ ON IT WHEN I'M IN BED, I WATCH FILMS WHEN I'M IN THE BATH.

Whilst you're entitled to your opinion there's no way that post was objective!

As someone who owns both a laptop and an iPad all I can say is that I use my iPad every single day whilst my laptop has largely been gathering dust for a few years. I use it for both leisure and for work. Can a laptop do everything an iPad can? No. Can an iPad do everything a laptop can? No.

It's a great machine, but given the price you have to ask yourself if you want it because you think you'll get real use out of it or because it looks cool?

foofightin

The wife loves hers for surfing/emailing/games while our 3 week old is asleep on her!

They are a great investment, and I do recommend the iPad 3.

If you're patient, the eBuyer eBay store sells them for £369.99 with free next day delivery. It seems to come and go every couple of weeks.

smithers1981

Thanks to all or replies, heart wants one, head saying to me is it worth it?

Going to speak to the wife, if we buy each other one for Xmas, it will save us both spending £200 on tat for each other.

If she goes for it we may as well get it now 'early xmas pressies!'

fishybusiness

Being a techie I bought an iPad 2 when they came out, no need for 3g, just plain old wireless.

Great for browsing, great for music as I use iTunes anyway, email too, Apple's mail is simplicity itself.

Now, where did I store that letter I wrote? Ah yes, got it, need to print it....errm how do I do that.

Aaahhh, after a read or two I see there are a some clever apps that allow printing. Grrrrrrr....I can't just install a printer. Grrrr again...app number 1 does not work with my printer.......

Well ok then, I'll copy the letter to my USB stick, err no I won't. No USB port. Oh....look, I can buy an adapter for USB, now we are talking......

I know, I'll watch that film I downloaded the other day. Hmmmmm, how to do I 'get' it on to my iPad? More hassle......

I have a macbook, and use Windows and Apple machines quite happily, but come on, all of the usual ways of using a laptop are just a pain on an iPad. I guess what I am saying is that is you don't do all of the usual things, iPad's are great

bazster

smithers1981 wrote: »

Its hard to resist when the worlds largest company spends millions trying to make us buy one of their products.

No it isn't. I find it extremely easy to resist.

bazster

fishybusiness wrote: »

Being a techie I bought an iPad 2 when they came out

That seems to be a contradiction in terms.

Cisco001

reburb new ipad, if it is from apple store