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iPad 32 GB Wi-Fi or 16 GB 3G?

furcalchick

furcalchick

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 19, 2006
2,426
5
South Florida
i know that i have posted in several threads asking similar questions before, but after viewing some of them, i'm second guessing about what ipad to get and i would like to get some personalized answers in which one would fit my needs.

the basics: this is my first iOS device and i don't plan on buying an iphone or other smart phone anytime soon (although i have a 3g device on my plain old phone). i plan on using the ipad inside and outside the home in places that may not have wi-fi, but don't plan on taking long trips without chipper (macbook) tagging along for the end of each day. it's basically going to supplement chipper, not replace. i plan on streaming my stuff at home and only loading about 2 GB of my media at a time (at least most of the time, i have about 6 GB of photos). i plan to download a bunch of apps and the such on it.

the dilemma: i heard that games and other apps eat up a chunk of space. but on the other hand, i would like to have the security of having a 3G signal ready to go, as well as mapping apps.

the question is: should i go for the 32 GB Wi-Fi only model or get the 16 GB 3G model? thanks.
 
Get the 3G. I got the Wi-Fi only iPad 1 and the main thing I miss is data connectivity when I'm away from home. I'll be getting the 64gig 3G iPad 2.
 
Since you don't have a smartphone then I would say go with the 3g. If you had an iphone, then I'd say go with the wifi.

Truth is, anywhere you don't have wifi, you probably wouldn't want to have an ipad unless you're sitting in a car.
 
If you have 3G you shouldn't need as much space for media since you can just stream from your home computer or use online streaming solutions. After thinking about it I am going to go with the 3G 16GB model.
 
darngooddesign said:
If you have 3G you shouldn't need as much space for media since you can just stream from your home computer or use online streaming solutions. After thinking about it I am going to go with the 3G 16GB model.
Click to expand...

I'll second that, I had the 32GB 3G iPad and I filled it up with a ton of videos but only when I flew to London did I need that much entertainment in one sitting.

I mostly stream my videos and I have my iPhone for music so after a year of having a 32Gb iPad, Im going to save $100 and go with the 16GB 3G
 
marcello696 said:
I'll second that, I had the 32GB 3G iPad and I filled it up with a ton of videos but only when I flew to London did I need that much entertainment in one sitting.

I mostly stream my videos and I have my iPhone for music so after a year of having a 32Gb iPad, Im going to save $100 and go with the 16GB 3G
Click to expand...

My plan is to jailbreak my iPad which, in addition to the other uses, will allow me to read a USB stick from the connection kit. I can get larger storage for far less money** than buying a bigger iPad. Somethign to stick Invader Zim and IT Crowd on ya know. This will be my first iPad and if this method turns out to be a PITA, I'll sell and upgrade to what ends up making sense for me. I consider it an acceptable loss to truly define my usage needs.

I plan on going the VZW route because their network is more robust where I am. When traveling I'll drop a foreign SIM in my unlocked ATT iPhone and just tether that out. This way I have the best of both networks.

The 16GB 3G iPad, a 160GB iPod, and my old 3GS may end up as the perfect solution for me.

**$40 for a 32GB stick.
 
I have a 32g wifi version. I don't really need all that space, I can quite easily move movies on and off as and when I need them. But I would love to have 3G connectivity.

Lesson learnt, buy the 3G
 
darngooddesign said:
My plan is to jailbreak my iPad which, in addition to the other uses, will allow me to read a USB stick from the connection kit. I can get larger storage for far less money** than buying a bigger iPad.
Click to expand...

I never thought about getting the USB connection kit and I have a 32GB USB stick................hmmm
 
marcello696 said:
I never thought about getting the USB connection kit and I have a 32GB USB stick................hmmm
Click to expand...

Bear in mind that these threads apply to an existing jailbreak, but one the 2 is JBen there should be no reason it wouldn't work as well. Don't plan for this unless you are willing to wait an unknown amount of time for it to become available. We may only have 16GB for a while. For travelling

Link 1

Link 2

A 128GB stick is around $200. Double the storage for the price of the 64GB Apple iPad. Not too shabby.
 
Most people seem to be leaning to the 16g. I've got that size and it meets my needs well. You will be able to have dozens of apps, including games, without making a dent. As others have said, you'll also be able to carry 2-3 movies with you and some music. You may have to manage content a bit by "un-syncing" movies you've watched or books you've read.

The one caveat would be music since I noticed you don't have a smartphone. Do you have a large digital music library that you want to have with you? I do, but my Iphone takes care of that need.
 
DNAppleGold said:
The one caveat would be music since I noticed you don't have a smartphone. Do you have a large digital music library that you want to have with you? I do, but my Iphone takes care of that need.
Click to expand...

it's not large (about 1GB), but i do have a 2 GB nano that takes care of the audio. although i have about a 6 GB photo library that i may want to load onto the ipad on occasion (but this is more of a rare occurrence). i'm not the type that would drag along movies and the such on the ipad.

my main concern was the size of the apps, as i heard 1 GB apps on the ipad were common.
 
afurry13 said:
Since you don't have a smartphone then I would say go with the 3g. If you had an iphone, then I'd say go with the wifi.

Truth is, anywhere you don't have wifi, you probably wouldn't want to have an ipad unless you're sitting in a car.
Click to expand...

I have a 1 hr commute on a train daily, so I know I'm going to use the hell out of the 3G when I get mine. Also, you can buy the 3G one and not pay for it every month and pay when you need it, like if you're going on a trip, or know you'll need to use it.
 
16g 3G, no doubt. If you don't know you need it (like an existing 20GB of music library,) you don't need it. In the rare cases where you might need it in te future you can work around it. Wifi is not omnipresent.
 
I've been debating this too, thinking about jailbreaking my iPhone and using MyWi.
 
Who needs the 3G model when your iPhone can be your personal hotspot?
I know you don't have one, but the thread moved more in a general 3G/Wifi Discussion ;)

Cheers
 
I to keep going back and forth, I had the 64gb wifi and used every bit of it. I had TV shows, movies and games and apps. I'm still deciding between the 64gb wifi or the 32gb wifi+3G, I guess I will decide when I get to the counter on launch day. ;)
 
Ausn said:
Who needs the 3G model when your iPhone can be your personal hotspot?
I know you don't have one, but the thread moved more in a general 3G/Wifi Discussion ;)

Cheers
Click to expand...

I agree that now that the iPhone has the personal hotspot feature, that I won' be needing a 3G iPad. I don't care about GPS, so there is no point for me to buy the 3G model.
To answer to the OP, if you don't plan having a smartphone that offers tethering, go for the 3G model.
 
..

I had a 32gb ipad 1 and am going to get a 16gb ipad 2. I never really used even more than 8gb on the one I had, and at that I had a bunch of stuff I easily could have removed. I really wished my ipad had GPS though and also 3G for data on the go so I will be buying the 3g even though I will probobly only use the 3g service one week a year (when at disney because they don't have wifi in the hotels). That said, even though I am in Canada I will be getting the AT&T version so I have their sim lol
 
So getting back to the OP's main question (which I share), just how much space can I expect to be used up with the apps? I have a 32 GB ipod touch, so I can use that for my music, but I have tons and tons of apps installed on it and they don't seem to account for very much of my space, so they must be pretty small. How about the ipad apps? What do they average? How many do you have and what is the total space used?

I am considering the same dilemma of whether to get a 16GB 3G or 32 GB wifi. OR I am also very tempted by a 32GB 3G 1st gen for even less than either of those options.

The anticipated speed of the new ipad 2 is the biggest draw for me. Don't really care too much about the cameras or 0.2 pound lighter. But that said, I haven't heard too many people complaining about the speed of the ipad 1. Most seem to think it is pretty zippy already. And my internet connection at home is only 1.5 mb so isn't it very likely that that will be a bigger bottleneck than the speed of the ipad? In other words, I may not realize much real life difference with the new ipad 2. Am I wrong? The refurb prices are veeeerrrryyy tempting! Maybe the Safari updates in 4.3 will speed up the old ipads quite a bit to be more comparable to the new ipads?
 
I just hit the update button of Infinity Blade and got an alert: not enough space on my 16gb iPad! :eek:
I don't have any music or videos on it, but with the newer apps it got full really fast. (Rage HD: 1,18mb; GTA HD: 768,4mb; Hot Pursuit 628,9mb; Infinity Blade 510,9mb). With the improved performance the apps will get even bigger. And bear in mind that you need space to load updates.

Also I really missed 3g sometimes. I always thought that I'll just tether with my iPhone but never jailbroke the device.... I might just buy the 32GB 3G and give the old one to my mother.

EDIT: just realized that I didn't answer question: If I had to choose between 32gb or 3G i'd take... both.
 
thekb said:
How about the ipad apps? What do they average? How many do you have and what is the total space used?
Click to expand...

this is my main question, and this seems to be missed by alot of the responses. it's mostly going to be running apps as opposed to holding my music/movies and such.

just to let you guys know, i'm leaning towards the 16 GB 3G model, and unless i'm convinced that most ipad apps are 1 GB monsters, that's what i'm getting on friday.
 
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