iPad: Thinking of buying an iPad 1, 16GB

[questioner76]

I just sold my iPad 1 yesterday to subsidize an iPad mini purchase. I highly recommend that you go the iPad 2 or higher route. While it could play Netflix, do email, and play Angry Birds, it was slow as molasses web surfing, crashed often, and had a very distracting lab when trying to type anything.

[ReValveiT]

iPad 1 is fine and I can't remember the last time I read so much misinformative horse crap on a forum (and that's going some).

I still use one along with an iPad 3. The problem some people have is they never restore their iThingies and they can slow down after a year or so of use.

It also makes me laugh when the same people go on about apple's amazing 'last forever' build quality... What's the point when it's unusably slow and fit for the bin anyway after 2 years!?

Just buy it and be happy.

[flavr]

Still use my iPad 1, used it everyday for almost 3 years now. Its been flawless. There is nothing that I have found I cant do on it, most games also run fine at full speed. Battery still lasts me all day. I want to get the 4 but there is absolutely nothing wrong with my 1 so might hang on to it.

[SR71]

Originally Posted by prvt.donut

Not really a bank breaker of a question, but just saw a cheap ipad pop up on Craigslist near my office and was thinking that at that price, I don't have much to lose.

But I just want to understand the limitations of the ipad 1 and what I can expect to not be able to do.

Firstly, I would like to point out that my intended usage for it would be pdf text book reading (mcitp, Cisco press etc) probably ePub and junk novels also.

Web browsing and maybe some photo viewing or iMovie editing with photos/video from camera and iPhone 5.

Do not even consider it. It's horrendously slow, laggy, terrible st web browsing, the display is terrible, etc. I could go on and on, but I'd be wasting my breathe. I still have my iPad 1 and have attempted to use it, but its just so slow and laggy that I just end up frustrated after 30 seconds of use.

Seriously, don't even consider it. Buy yourself an iPad 2 if you have to. They're plenty cheap, but blow the iPad 1 out of the water in terms of speed, weight, display quality, etc.

[zhenya]

Sorry, I'll add to the chorus saying don't bother.

The ipad 1 was OK for the time when there was nothing else on the market. I just upgraded mine this week for a 4. I was using the 1 daily for over 2 years until a couple of days ago. If you ever expect to want to do more than one thing at a time, the 1 is an exercise in frustration. It reloads tabs nearly every time you leave them. Programs crash frequently. Music streaming in the background often stutters. It's noticeably thicker than the newer models, which makes it much harder to hold.

We are keeping it for the kids, but the 4 is like moving to a real computer. I'd expect even the 2 to be a huge upgrade for minimal extra cost.

[ucfgrad93]

I wouldn't buy an iPad 1 at this point. It is a dead end product.

[decksnap]

Originally Posted by ReValveiT

iPad 1 is fine and I can't remember the last time I read so much misinformative horse crap on a forum (and that's going some).

I still use one along with an iPad 3. The problem some people have is they never restore their iThingies and they can slow down after a year or so of use.

It also makes me laugh when the same people go on about apple's amazing 'last forever' build quality... What's the point when it's unusably slow and fit for the bin anyway after 2 years!?

Just buy it and be happy.

Still use one every day. All day. Browser is nowhere near slow in any way. Does everything I ask it to. Battery lasts forever.

[irDigital0l]

iPad 1 is good for...
-watching movies
-checking email
-surfing web
-playing casual games
-reading news
-checking facebook

Not so good for/can't do...
-AirPlay
-multitasking
-playing graphic intense games
-Photoshop, creative production
-carrying around (its pretty heavy)

[Spectrum Abuser]

Just go ahead and buy an iPad 2. Not much more in terms of price considering the massive hardware and software improvements you'll get.

[prvt.donut]

If I get a new ipad, gonna get a mini, dropped by the Shibuya Apple store at lunch break and they had a big pile of minis for sale, no 16GB ones were left when I was there, I'm not sure if I wanna splash out on 32GB or 64GB versions. When cloud services are meant to be taking over from local storage.

Hopefully the iPad1 owner will reply to me and I can have a look, there is a big difference between ¥12,000 and ¥28,000. Especially when it's not really essential, just something iOS with a big screen for viewing content on compared to the iPhones.

Maybe I should try swapping my old iPhone 4 for an iPad 2?

[tthip]

Originally Posted by prvt.donut

My other concern about it that no one mentioned is the battery performance of a 2 year old ipad. I work on iPhones a lot, so am sure I could replace the battery if needed.

My kids and I use the 1 daily/hourly and the battery is still amazing and still better than my 3.
Also my 1 is not sluggish in the least and never crashes
When i grab one of our iPads I never care which one i am picking up because the 1 still works flawlessly for me.
I am amazed at all the crashes some of you have and how much you all "hate" your iPad 1
Is the 2 3 4 a better product? Yes. But the 1 is still working amazingly for me

[MacIke]

I still have my iPad 1 64gb wifi only.

No imovie. The only photo editing that works is the adobe photoshop one.

I still use mine daily and love it and it is still flawless. I seldom have any problems. I am kind of sad as I am going to be selling it to buy an iPad 4 with LTE

The only reason for a screen problem is when compared to iPad 3 with retinia

[smoking monkey]

Originally Posted by prvt.donut

¥12,000

Which is the same as the kindle fire (no way would I get another android device though), also, Kindle is being released mid December in Japan, which is too late for me as I am going to Hawaii in 3 weeks and wanted something with a bigger screen than the iPhones.

I don't care too much about iOS updates, just as long as it handles web pages well and can read books and playback video. Maybe play some bad piggies.

If you can pick it up for 8,000 yen I'd say go for it. If you pay 9-10,000 yen then it's an okay price. But I feel it's a bit exxy at 12,000 yen. Does it come with a cover and screen cover?

My wife uses my old ipad 1 for web surfing and while it's a bit slow and you can't have too many tabs open, it does work fine. Movies absolutely no problem if it's through the apple video app and books won't be a problem. Not sure if the newest version of ibooks works on it though. You'll have some version so it's fine.

When I got my 2 last year the shop offered my 20,000 for my ipad 1. that was a year and a half ago. So I'd say that 12,000 is a little steep to be honest. Especially if you have to go and pick it up.

[Drunken Master]

Wow, go with the iPad 2.

Wait another month and save up, this is one case where you'll regret being so thrifty.

[prvt.donut]

Originally Posted by Drunken Master

Wow, go with the iPad 2.

Wait another month and save up, this is one case where you'll regret being so thrifty.

Unmentioned is the fact that in 3 weeks I am going to Hawaii, and wanted something for us to use on the trip.

But the seller still hasn't gotten back to me yet.

Hummmmmm. Decisions, decisions.

Sofmap has iPad 1s for sale at ¥20,000 for the 16GB. No way I would pay that when the 16GB mini is ¥28,000.

The size of the mini is way more suited to Tokyo commuter life/hell. Full size iPads just look stupid on a packed train.

My office is in Shibuya, so I might stop by the Apple store each morning to see if I can grab a 16GB mini.

[prvt.donut]

What's up with this SoftBank offer of a free second line with 0 down, paying the ipad off in 24 monthly installments for iPhone owners.

If I am reading it correctly, it is saying that I can have a free pay as you go plan and buy the ipad in installments, as long as you are a precious customer.

I remember looking into their installment plan in the past and being out off by having to sign up for 24 months of ¥4000 unlimited data, when I have unlimited data on my iPhone already.

http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/ipad_en/price_plan/new-ipad/

This looks like I can basically get an ipad in installments now without having to pay for another expensive data plan!

Hmmmmmm

[Liquinn]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Sorry, I'll add to the chorus saying don't bother.

The ipad 1 was OK for the time when there was nothing else on the market. I just upgraded mine this week for a 4. I was using the 1 daily for over 2 years until a couple of days ago. If you ever expect to want to do more than one thing at a time, the 1 is an exercise in frustration. It reloads tabs nearly every time you leave them. Programs crash frequently. Music streaming in the background often stutters. It's noticeably thicker than the newer models, which makes it much harder to hold.

We are keeping it for the kids, but the 4 is like moving to a real computer. I'd expect even the 2 to be a huge upgrade for minimal extra cost.

Yep, it's weird thinking that my iPad 1 was once the newest thing out at some stage in time . :P

[328xi]

I just got rid of my 1 for a mini. Since you can not upgrade to ios 6 all app upgrades are worthless and the ones you can upgrade make the 1 horribly slow. Don't waste your money!

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by irDigital0l

Not so good for/can't do...
-AirPlay

I just want to clarify, as its the second time it's been mentioned, that the ipad 1 can certainly do Airplay with music and video. It can't do Airplay Mirroring, but it can do everthing else. That's something we still use ours for.

[Liquinn]

Originally Posted by 328xi

I just got rid of my 1 for a mini. Since you can not upgrade to ios 6 all app upgrades are worthless and the ones you can upgrade make the 1 horribly slow. Don't waste your money!

I agree. I own the iPad 1 and the fourth generation iPad and am telling the OP that buying the iPad 1 now is a waste of money.

Perhaps get a refurb or used iPad 2 depending on budget or an iPad 3 if you can.

All the best.

[newdeal]

dont buy an ipad 1 the ipad 2 wont cost much more and is far better

[karlth]

I own an iPad 1g and an iPad 4g.

The original is quite sufficient for most non 3d games. I use it to play chess, watch video, browse the web, stream audio and read email. The screen is fine and battery life is excellent.

I wouldn't though pay more than $150-200 for it.

[ManicMarc]

Originally Posted by prvt.donut

Investment?

It always seems ridiculous when people refer to buying stuff as "an investment"

I think the only way to answer this is to check it out myself and see if it the browser is as horrific as everyone says.

It has the same A4 chip as my old iPhone 4, and I was actually very happy with the performance of that.

My girlfriend has an iPad 1 and is perfectly happy with it - I have the iPad 3 and find hers very slow indeed. I would only consider it if you only want to use it for browsing the web or reading books. Otherwise it's just too slow. For example if you go to a web site, and start typing a response to a forum post, then decide you want to check your email, the system will remove Safari from memory, so when you get back the webpage reloads and your half written post is gone.

Apple have a habit of gradually slowing down older hardware with updates (this make sense, as the same software is built to run on the latest hardware). Your iPhone 4 is not a good comparison because although it has the same processer, it has TWICE as much memory. The iPad 1 is more like the 3GS in terms of speed on iOS5 (but with more memory taken by the display).

You'd be better off with an iPad 2 (or the Mini, which is a smaller, more expensive iPad 2, what gives!?)

----------

Originally Posted by MacIke

I still have my iPad 1 64gb wifi only.
The only photo editing that works is the adobe photoshop one.

Annoying because I am sure the original iPad when it came with iOS 3.2 could edit and rotate photos. On iOS 5 it cant. Or was I dreaming?

[Koziakauzu]

As said by others, I would recommend an iPad 2 as well, more functionalities, power, etc...

But honestly I had an iPad 1 until 6 month ago and it did the (my) job pretty well. It is still great for watching movies (streaming to iPad too), reading (ebooks, pdf, comics), surfing, playing most games, and even working (dropbox, pages, keynote).
Just be sure to check the compatibility with the apps latest updates (garage band, etc may not work on ios5 anymore) that you might need.

[prvt.donut]

[QUOTE=ManicMarc;16255619] slow indeed. I would only consider it if you only want to use it for

You'd be better off with an iPad 2 (or the Mini, which is a smaller, more expensive iPad 2, what gives!?)[COLOR="#808080"]

/QUOTE]

Wait! Is the iPad mini more expensive than the ipad 2 in the USA???

In Japan, the mini is cheaper! Which is great! Because it is basically a smaller ipad 2.
http://store.apple.com/jp/browse/home/shop_ipad

Base iPad 2 is ¥34,800
Base iPad Mini is ¥28,800