Yeah i was afraid of the same thing. I wanted a 16gb but luckily my apple store only had 32 gb or 64 so i got a 32... just enough space and not afraig of going over
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Any advice on capacity remorse?
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There's obviously no -one-size-fits-all answer on this. Some people use it mainly at home or during their commute as a portable device and may never need more than 16GB (although I have nearly 12GB of apps on mine already). Others use it for work or travel and need ready access to lots of files or media content on the road, so 16GB is too limiting (try taking a 2 week vacation abroad relying solely on cloud storage - 3G/Wifi may be available, but it's not everywhere and in some areas (Eastern Europe) even where it does exist, it can be spotty).
Reading the replies posted so far, the consensus seems to be "go for the max", you can't up grade later and you'll never know what you need in the future...
I wanted to offer a different perspective based on my personal experience. I have an expense account, and so I went for "the ultimate" (64 GB with 3G) when purchasing my 1st iPad a year ago. So how did I like it in the past year...
First of all, I was never closed to filling up that 64GB. Part of the reason is I don't have THAT much music, apps and movies. The other part of the reason was my sync computer being a 128 GB MacBook Air. Don't forget that if you fill your iPad with 64 GB of data, it backs up to your computer taking the same amount of data storage. You may wonder why I chose to use my MBA, instead of a desktop, as my sync computer. This is because I want to be able to sync and update my iPad when I travel on business, You never know what you'll need.
Now fast forward to present time, iPad 2 time. It was time to sell my iPad 1, I went with kijiji (like craiglist). I asked for $500, and it took close to 2 weeks before it's sold, which tells me that my price was reasonable, not too low, not too high. FYI, the 16GB base model is selling around $350 to 400. My loss, dollar-wise, was definitely much higher compared to those selling the cheaper models. Also, I feel that it is generally more difficult to sell a high end used iPad than the base model. People buying used generally want to sell money, and tend to go for the cheapest, caring less about the specs.
So finally, time to choose my new iPad 2. I did some research and came across this article, which states that the resale value of the 32 and 64 GB is only $50 and 75 more than the 16 GB model. For 3G, it'll only add $25 to the resale value:
http://gigaom.com/apple/which-ipad-2-should-you-buy/
Even though with my expense account, I still want to use it efficiently and save some for an iPhone 5
I ended up going with the 16 GB model, for obvious reasons. I did opt in for the 3G, because in the past 8 months, my 3G iPad really made my life much easier in 2 occasions. Even just for the 2 occasions, it was worth it in my opinion. I could always delete something on my iPad to make room if I really need to, but I can't add 3G.
I wanted to offer a different perspective based on my personal experience. I have an expense account, and so I went for "the ultimate" (64 GB with 3G) when purchasing my 1st iPad a year ago. So how did I like it in the past year...
First of all, I was never closed to filling up that 64GB. Part of the reason is I don't have THAT much music, apps and movies. The other part of the reason was my sync computer being a 128 GB MacBook Air. Don't forget that if you fill your iPad with 64 GB of data, it backs up to your computer taking the same amount of data storage. You may wonder why I chose to use my MBA, instead of a desktop, as my sync computer. This is because I want to be able to sync and update my iPad when I travel on business, You never know what you'll need.
Now fast forward to present time, iPad 2 time. It was time to sell my iPad 1, I went with kijiji (like craiglist). I asked for $500, and it took close to 2 weeks before it's sold, which tells me that my price was reasonable, not too low, not too high. FYI, the 16GB base model is selling around $350 to 400. My loss, dollar-wise, was definitely much higher compared to those selling the cheaper models. Also, I feel that it is generally more difficult to sell a high end used iPad than the base model. People buying used generally want to sell money, and tend to go for the cheapest, caring less about the specs.
So finally, time to choose my new iPad 2. I did some research and came across this article, which states that the resale value of the 32 and 64 GB is only $50 and 75 more than the 16 GB model. For 3G, it'll only add $25 to the resale value:
http://gigaom.com/apple/which-ipad-2-should-you-buy/
Even though with my expense account, I still want to use it efficiently and save some for an iPhone 5
I ended up going with the 16 GB model, for obvious reasons. I did opt in for the 3G, because in the past 8 months, my 3G iPad really made my life much easier in 2 occasions. Even just for the 2 occasions, it was worth it in my opinion. I could always delete something on my iPad to make room if I really need to, but I can't add 3G.I just got a 32 black wifi at target Sunday (they had a single wifi unit, and 3 Verizon white 64's, luckily I was first in line when they opened... According to the iPad 2 trackers online, the one I got was the only wifi of any capacity or color that any targets in all of west LA had. That Sunday ad was pretty much a joke, but anyway, back to topic...)
After 2 days I'm realizing 32 is pretty slim. I got the camera kit and dumped pics and bids I took on a day trip to San Diego, and suddenly I have only 10 gigs free. I'd like to keep pics and stuff local on the iPad, but with 32 gigs isn't really enough for that. I downloaded "file browser" which seems like a cool app, and let's me see the drive I have connected to my airport router, but the transfer speeds are really bad (not sure if it's the iPad or the app that is slow).
But bottomline, I'm now on the hunt for a 64 gig black wifi. Supposedly target has a 3 week return policy, so i hope to return this one soon.
If in doubt, get the bigger one.
-David
After 2 days I'm realizing 32 is pretty slim. I got the camera kit and dumped pics and bids I took on a day trip to San Diego, and suddenly I have only 10 gigs free. I'd like to keep pics and stuff local on the iPad, but with 32 gigs isn't really enough for that. I downloaded "file browser" which seems like a cool app, and let's me see the drive I have connected to my airport router, but the transfer speeds are really bad (not sure if it's the iPad or the app that is slow).
But bottomline, I'm now on the hunt for a 64 gig black wifi. Supposedly target has a 3 week return policy, so i hope to return this one soon.
If in doubt, get the bigger one.
-David
I bought a 32 GB 3G on launch day here in the UK, and quickly filled it! I regretted not spending the extra £80 on the 64GB. A few days ago I decided to put it for sale on eBay for a higher price than I paid and see what happened.
I figured if it sold, I'd upgrade, and if it didn't, I wouldn't. I advertised it 'Buy it Now'
I sold it after 5 days for the asking price. I used Quidco for my purchases and I earn 8% cashback. When I tally up my costs (ebay, paypal, postage) and receipts (ebay sale, quidco discount) - I'll have enough to cover the cost of the 64GB with no additional outlay - happy days.
Best Buy are delivering my 64GB Black 3G on Saturday....
I figured if it sold, I'd upgrade, and if it didn't, I wouldn't. I advertised it 'Buy it Now'
I sold it after 5 days for the asking price. I used Quidco for my purchases and I earn 8% cashback. When I tally up my costs (ebay, paypal, postage) and receipts (ebay sale, quidco discount) - I'll have enough to cover the cost of the 64GB with no additional outlay - happy days.
Best Buy are delivering my 64GB Black 3G on Saturday....
I bought a capacity roughly twice the size of my (well, wife's actually) existing itunes library. I figure i'll be downloading many more tv shows and movies, but should still be able to fit everything on 32gb. Anyways I don't think you have any issues unloading it and picking up another one right now. You can quickly recoup on that feeling of remorse.
Really glad I went for the 64 gig (3G). I was split between that and the 32 gig one, but I could only find the 64 in stock. Now that I've been converting and loading hd movies onto it (the girlfriend studies at a uni 6 hours by train away) I'm glad I did. Even before the movies I put on ~14gig!
Although to be honest as soon as the gf graduates (4 weeks) I may take a lot off. AirPlay is good to stream videos and I'd only load it up if I were travelling.
Although to be honest as soon as the gf graduates (4 weeks) I may take a lot off. AirPlay is good to stream videos and I'd only load it up if I were travelling.
With other devices I too would have gone with the "buy the most storage you can afford/fit". The iPad seems different to me. I have terrabytes of data available to me - no way I could get all my data stored on the iPad. I would always be wanting for more room. Instead I use things like airvideo and mobile me to stream my data to my device - more like my new Apple TV. The vast majority of my storage will be for apps and projects I am currently working on. So far, I'm glad I got the 16gig. It's just a different way of thinking about a computer.
The space argument is strictly a financial one. 64gb doesn't weigh more, spend more battery or slow down the iPad more. There is only one down side to getting 64gb, and that is the extra coin you have to spend. And on a device that is not upgradable it is best to have as much as you can afford, because its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I just can't see anyone saying "gee, I have too much space", again, aside from spending the extra bucks.
I do the same too.
When I first bought my iPod touch, I bought the 32GB variety. That was the largest available at that time and soon I filled it up with music.
For the iPad 2, I just bought the 32GB because I don't plan to put music on it and indeed thus far, I have quite a bit of space left (a little over half). I knew 16GB would NOT be enough. And "luckily" for me, I don't really store movies electronically. I watch Netflix. Once I've watched a movie, I don't typically want to keep it.
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...well, since I was purchasing an original iPad and the price I got it for $449 NIB for a 32Gb 3G model that was the way to go since I didn't have to worry about the camera on the iPad2 (I have an iPod Touch 4th Gen 64Gb if I want to take any crappy 
video or photo's and that has plenty of space avail on it)...
My 32Gb iPad can't hold everything I want but even on my 64Gb iPod touch I still have to manage my music and movies...
I got the iPad mainly for its 3G, larger screen and price for a new unit (vise buying used)...
video or photo's and that has plenty of space avail on it)...My 32Gb iPad can't hold everything I want but even on my 64Gb iPod touch I still have to manage my music and movies...
I got the iPad mainly for its 3G, larger screen and price for a new unit (vise buying used)...