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iPad 1

A

aacid

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 28, 2012
2
0
Hi,
I have a chance to buy new first generation ipad for really good price, but I'm not sure if its worth.
are new applications still compatible with first generation ipad? I know you can install ios5 on it so they should be. I'm also aware that new games designed for a5+ SoC won't work/will be slow and obviously no apps using camera will work, but except these?

should I but first generation ipad for 1/3 of a price of new ipad or just wait and buy it later when I save some money?
 
1/3rd would be $166 for a 16GBer. If that is what you paid it's a good deal.

The original iPad is compatible with most apps. Some newer ones like Photoshop don't work because their isn't enough processing power or RAM. Also some of the more graphically complex games will be laggy. But for the most part everything else should work just fine.
 
aacid said:
Hi,
I have a chance to buy new first generation ipad for really good price, but I'm not sure if its worth.
are new applications still compatible with first generation ipad? I know you can install ios5 on it so they should be. I'm also aware that new games designed for a5+ SoC won't work/will be slow and obviously no apps using camera will work, but except these?

should I but first generation ipad for 1/3 of a price of new ipad or just wait and buy it later when I save some money?
Click to expand...

My personal tech advice which has served me well, is don't buy backwards, buy forwards, that way you will have much longer use of your device.

First Gen iPad is a good product, but imo, unless you never upgrade past iOS 5.1 (and you will need 5.1 because 5.0 messed it up a bit) it should last a while, but as we all know apps and updates are now tailored towards the new machines.

There is enough of a difference between 1st and 3rd gen that it's like going back and buying a sony walkman because they are really cheap instead of buying an iPod.

Again, just my opinion.
 
aacid said:
Hi,
I have a chance to buy new first generation ipad for really good price, but I'm not sure if its worth.
are new applications still compatible with first generation ipad? I know you can install ios5 on it so they should be. I'm also aware that new games designed for a5+ SoC won't work/will be slow and obviously no apps using camera will work, but except these?

should I but first generation ipad for 1/3 of a price of new ipad or just wait and buy it later when I save some money?
Click to expand...

First of all remember what a low price youre paying so manage your expectations. Having said that 180,000 apps exist for the iPad so its not as if you will ever run out of choice. You already know you wont be able to play the latest and greatest games but apps should be fine
 
I'm still using my iPad 1, which I bought a year ago when AT&T dumped them at low prices after the iPad 2 came out. While there are apps that won't run on it, and apps that are slow, it's still fine for many things. I use it daily to surf the web, read email, do calendaring, view my photo collection, read ebooks, and so on. I'm going to see if I can get one more year out of it and then upgrade to the 2013 iPad, simply because I plan to upgrade my aging MacBook Pro and probably my iPhone this year, and I only have so much disposable income. I'm guessing that, in a year, it's going to be painfully slow as apps are upgraded to take advantage of faster processors.

Would I recommend that anyone buy an iPad 1 now? If your choice is between having an iPad 1 and not having any iPad at all, and it's going to take several months for you to save up enough money for a 2012 iPad, and you can get an iPad 1 at a low price, then yes, I'd say to buy an iPad 1. If, however, saving up for a new one will only take a few weeks, then I'd save up for a new one.
 
Go for it if you think you can afford it and enjoy your first experience with iPad until you are ready for latest and great iPad!
 
thanks for advises, I will most probably buy it.
tablet is really not a priority to me, my plan was to wait until end of the year when first win8 tablets come out then decide which one to buy. by that time I would be in better financial situation then I'm now.
 
For that price you could look at it as a portable media machine and a couch web device which is more than a fair price.
 
I believe i have seen only one non-camera app that was not compatible with the iPad first gen because it was a game with extremely good graphics and the iPad 1 didn't have enough RAM.
 
I still have my iPad 1 and it's still really good especially after upgrading to iOS5.1. The app limitations are there but it can run probably 80% of the apps of the app store. There just aren't that many that apps that are built specifically for iPad 2 and the 2012 iPad. The only issue with the iPad 1 is that there isn't much memory so you may have to run only a few apps instead of keeping a stable of like let's say 30 apps running (ugh, parents have this because they don't understand closing apps). Other than that, the iPad 1 is fine and it's fast.
 
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