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Buy the iPad now, or wait until the iPad 2 comes out

C

clarkkent18

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 19, 2011
40
0
Elk Grove, Ca
Right now, I am a full time student and I work full time. All of my textbooks (over five books that weigh a ton) I have on pdf. format. I am tired of reading my books on my laptop and I want to iPad NOW. I know there is a lot of talk about the new iPad 2 coming out soon, but I really need one now to for all the reading that I have to do since I work full time and go to school full time.

I do not know when the iPad 2 will be released, but having an iPad now will really help me in my studies. My question is should I wait until the new iPad 2 is released (I know it could take months before I am able to get my hands on one) or should I just got for it and get the iPad now because I need it for school?

Money is not really the question for me, but the need for it is up there. With all the talk that is going on should I wait or just go for it and get it now??

Please don't just say," wait to get it", or "get it now". What ever you opinion is, please back it up with links or more information that you have about the what’s going on.

Thank you for your time
Clark

PS
MODs, if I post this in the wrong area, I am sorry and please more it. This is my first posting and I hope it is not my last.
 
The new Ipad won't read any different than the current one. You can always sell it with a small loss. Even less if you buy second hand.
 
New iPad will come out in April and personally I won't get anything AT THE END OF THE CYCLE. Definitely worth the wait if you ask me. The update may not be huge but the current one simply isn't future proof (especially the 256MB RAM which is half of what smartphones have)...
 
WAIT. The ipad is really, not that great. Once I got mine, all of my gadget lust disappeared and I was left with a very basic device.

It's really pretty, it's really cool, it's really fashionable, really stylish, etc... But not worth it. Wait.
 
I'd wait for the iPad 2 launch; if the new one doesn't seem right for you, the original iPad will be much cheaper and you won't have to bargain for a cheaper 2nd hand one.

Personally, I'm not bothered or make any moans or groans about the 256MB limitation. All the apps I use work fine and only if iOS5 starts to stretch the original iPad already amazing capabilities, I'll upgrade. That should be everyones philosophy, but we all know the apple fan code has one entry "one must have the latest and greatest, even if there's no need to upgrade".
 
clarkkent18 said:
Right now, I am a full time student and I work full time. All of my textbooks (over five books that weigh a ton) I have on pdf. format. I am tired of reading my books on my laptop and I want to iPad NOW. I know there is a lot of talk about the new iPad 2 coming out soon, but I really need one now to for all the reading that I have to do since I work full time and go to school full time.
Click to expand...
Please define "full time", because there are no rules that govern how many hours constitute full-time. You could do 16 hours study and 16 hours of work, both of which are technically full-time if they are defined as such by the organisation. That's still only 32 hours total, which in many places is not even considered full-time, so...

If you want an iPad NOW, get an iPad NOW. I disagree that you NEED one though, because you only need air, food, water, warmth and shelter. If you want to avoid buyers remorse, wait for iPad 2, or just buy one now and take the loss when you sell it. Does it really need people to tell you what to do?
 
thesmoth said:
WAIT. The ipad is really, not that great. Once I got mine, all of my gadget lust disappeared and I was left with a very basic device.

It's really pretty, it's really cool, it's really fashionable, really stylish, etc... But not worth it. Wait.
Click to expand...

Didn't you try one before you decided to buy? I did and came to the same conclusion as yours. I will probably wait forever until Apple releases an iPad which is actually worth it.
 
torbjoern said:
Didn't you try one before you decided to buy? I did and came to the same conclusion as yours. I will probably wait forever until Apple releases an iPad which is actually worth it.
Click to expand...
What did you think a larger iPod Touch would be like? It is what it is, a nice device to have on the arm of the chair, ready to surf the net, check e-mails and play a few entertainment apps when you want to. It's not a life or genre-defining device, never was and never will be. No table device will live up to your lofty expectations.

Interesting though, how you seem to think that having a MacBook Air is any better... Why did you buy a MacBook Air and not a MacBook Pro? Weight? Size? Portability? All things the iPad has going for it.
 
I say get it now and sell it later. You can sell it to gazelle.com. I knew it was going to be awesome and I use it every day. If you enjoy browsing the next with your fingers, then you will love it. I like the bigger screen and being able to zoom in real quick. Plus, there are great apps. Games like plant versus zombies are awesome. If you are a reader, reading ebooks would be nice. There are plenty of podcasts to listen as well. Netflix,etc.
 
You know, I would actually buy it now. As others have mentioned you can later sell it second hand. You won't lose that much, I think. If the iPad 2 comes around within 2 weeks, I think you can get a full refund for your iPad 1 if you want to.

But the other thing that I want to mention is, when you buy this original iPad, it will have a certain historic value in a few years. People will look at you in cafes and you can tell them you had the iPad before it became mainstream (i.e. replaces laptops, which I believe will happen at some point one day. It's a matter of time. Hardware and software will take care of it over time). Of course currently people who bought the original 1984 Mac and is active in this forum probably keep it somewhere in their house, and maybe turn it on once a while to hear the startup sound and to use the old neat mouse and floppy disk ;)

P.S. I feel your pain. I'm a graduate student and I have to read lots of stuff. However since I have to bring my macbook everyday anyway, I only bring my iPad during heavy-reading days (other days will be typing-centric days for me).
 
The only reason not to buy one now is that if you do wish to upgrade to the new model when it launches you will lose some money.

Assuming iPad 2 will be same price as iPad 1

You may lose perhaps $150 to $250 depending on the model you select.

Over a time scale of perhaps 8 weeks

If this is of no concern to you then buy one now.
 
Clark,

The PDF viewing experience is unlikely to differ much between the iPad 1 and its sucessor.

Plus, no one expects the iPad 2 to be vastly different in form factor -- they're not going to shave an entire pound off of its weight or make it as thin as a credit card.

Therefore, I'd say your reasons are sound to buy an iPad tomorrow. But the question remains, how will you feel in 1-2 months when the iPad 2 is for sale?

Let's say the iPad 2 ships in a matter of weeks, offers a similar pdf viewing experience, but improves drastically in other areas. Assuming that you currently use your laptop to surf the web and do other computing tasks, the hardware upgrades in the iPad 2 might be worth waiting for.

Consider my current experience with the iPad 1:

Web surfing is often painfully slow. It's certainly many times slower than my laptop browser. I often hesitate to click links! Accidentally hitting a link (all too common on a touchscreen device) leads to a teeth grinding wait as going 'back' will often load the page you were just on from scratch.

Which leads in to my second point:

Multitasking is very limited on the iPad 1. If you are switching between the pdf viewer and Safari (or Mail, Pages, IM client, etc.), you will quickly find your apps reloading from scratch instead of instantly switching. This frequent and unexpected wait (there's no warning when an app is dumped from memory) becomes highly annoying.

Out of all the speculated iPad 2 hardware features, absolutely no one is debating that it'll receive significantly more RAM and a faster CPU. For me, these upgrades are important.

But if pdf viewing is all you really intend to do -- although I can't quite believe you'll feel that way once you've ditched your laptop -- CPU and RAM upgrades are pretty much meaningless.

Hope that helps.
 
I Don't Understand

Your question is confusing. If money is not an issue, as you say it is not, then why wouldn't you just go buy one? I don't get it. Then just buy the next one when it comes out. All of your data and programs and media, everything, will instantly be moved to the new iPad on your first sync, so why are you asking the question? I just don't understand.

If you want it, get it already. The longer you wait, the more you have lost. Again, with money being no object, buy buy buy. Why wouldn't you? Unless you are not telling us the truth and money does matter. It does to most people. That can be the only reason for not just buying one right now. You don't make sense buddy. Sorry.

BTW, iPad 2 is coming either April 2nd, or April 9th 2011, according to Japan sources and many many hours of research on the release date by me.
 
torbjoern said:
Didn't you try one before you decided to buy? I did and came to the same conclusion as yours. I will probably wait forever until Apple releases an iPad which is actually worth it.
Click to expand...

Yes I have one right now. My friend bought one and didn't now what to do with he (he thought it was really 'cool', then bought it and realized he had no use for it). I downloaded lots of games on it, and basically i'll pick it up, scan through my list of apps on the home screen, and try to decide which game to play. They are fun games, but not very deep. If you travel a lot it would be really good, but at home or at work I would just use my laptop or PS3. Also if you are walking about you can't just pull it out like a cell phone, it's way too big for that. Typing is too cumbersome and the screen is too small/low res to replace my laptop or PS3. It really doesn't have a purpose yet, and i'm hoping that the next evolution in hardware/iOS gives it more usefulness.

It's very cool and has a lot of pretty, fasionable 'wow' factor, but once you actually get into it you realize there isn't much substance. You have a very pretty app launching device that feels very disconnected and non-unified, and 99% of the apps in the app store are totally worthless. A majority of the apps/games in the top 100 lists have been for the last year, with the odd new one popping up here and there. Beyond the top 100, it's really hard to actually find an app unless you know exactly what you're looking for, or read a review or have it recommended to you. Apple also needs to do a big revamp of their app store.
 
Beach Bum Brent said:
BTW, iPad 2 is coming either April 2nd, or April 9th 2011, according to Japan sources and many many hours of research on the release date by me.
Click to expand...

Which are both Saturdays. I'm pretty sure Apple hasn't launched new products on Saturdays before.

OP: At this point I would wait. I'm in the same boat as you, and I have been deciding if I should wait or buy it since the beginning of this semester. I just couldn't get myself to keep it knowing the new one is just right around the corner.
 
effer said:
Clark,

The PDF viewing experience is unlikely to differ much between the iPad 1 and its sucessor.

Plus, no one expects the iPad 2 to be vastly different in form factor -- they're not going to shave an entire pound off of its weight or make it as thin as a credit card.

Therefore, I'd say your reasons are sound to buy an iPad tomorrow. But the question remains, how will you feel in 1-2 months when the iPad 2 is for sale?

Let's say the iPad 2 ships in a matter of weeks, offers a similar pdf viewing experience, but improves drastically in other areas. Assuming that you currently use your laptop to surf the web and do other computing tasks, the hardware upgrades in the iPad 2 might be worth waiting for.

Consider my current experience with the iPad 1:

Web surfing is often painfully slow. It's certainly many times slower than my laptop browser. I often hesitate to click links! Accidentally hitting a link (all too common on a touchscreen device) leads to a teeth grinding wait as going 'back' will often load the page you were just on from scratch.

Which leads in to my second point:

Multitasking is very limited on the iPad 1. If you are switching between the pdf viewer and Safari (or Mail, Pages, IM client, etc.), you will quickly find your apps reloading from scratch instead of instantly switching. This frequent and unexpected wait (there's no warning when an app is dumped from memory) becomes highly annoying.

Out of all the speculated iPad 2 hardware features, absolutely no one is debating that it'll receive significantly more RAM and a faster CPU. For me, these upgrades are important.

But if pdf viewing is all you really intend to do -- although I can't quite believe you'll feel that way once you've ditched your laptop -- CPU and RAM upgrades are pretty much meaningless.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

I strongly disagree with the bolded part. PDF's are very slow on the iPad 1. Flipping pages gives lag, stuttering, and checkering. Zooming is also often laggy and stuttery. I think more ram and faster hardware would make PDF viewing MUCH smoother and nicer. And these PDF's i'm talking about are 10-30 pages, maybe 1-5 megs. With large PDFS it would be an even bigger difference.
 
clarkkent18 said:
Right now, I am a full time student and I work full time. All of my textbooks (over five books that weigh a ton) I have on pdf. format. I am tired of reading my books on my laptop and I want to iPad NOW. I know there is a lot of talk about the new iPad 2 coming out soon, but I really need one now to for all the reading that I have to do since I work full time and go to school full time.

I do not know when the iPad 2 will be released, but having an iPad now will really help me in my studies. My question is should I wait until the new iPad 2 is released (I know it could take months before I am able to get my hands on one) or should I just got for it and get the iPad now because I need it for school?

Money is not really the question for me, but the need for it is up there. With all the talk that is going on should I wait or just go for it and get it now??

Please don't just say," wait to get it", or "get it now". What ever you opinion is, please back it up with links or more information that you have about the what’s going on.

Thank you for your time
Clark

PS
MODs, if I post this in the wrong area, I am sorry and please more it. This is my first posting and I hope it is not my last.
Click to expand...

Afte re-reading your post, if money isn't an object (i'm guessing parents are buying) get it now, set it up and use it for your text books with goodreader, and then when the iPad 2 comes out, sell it and upgrade. OR, if you find it works just fine for you, wait for the iPad 3.
 
Gryzor said:
Please define "full time", because there are no rules that govern how many hours constitute full-time. You could do 16 hours study and 16 hours of work, both of which are technically full-time if they are defined as such by the organisation. That's still only 32 hours total, which in many places is not even considered full-time, so...

If you want an iPad NOW, get an iPad NOW. I disagree that you NEED one though, because you only need air, food, water, warmth and shelter. If you want to avoid buyers remorse, wait for iPad 2, or just buy one now and take the loss when you sell it. Does it really need people to tell you what to do?
Click to expand...

I think the OP's question is silly so I won't really address it, but unless you can get one for $250 or less on craigslist why would you even ask this question?

BUT there are rules (actually dependent on your university) that define full time college students in the u.s. and it varies if you're in undergrad or grad school. Typically a full-time undergrad is being enrolled for 12+ hours a semester and grad school is 9+ hours. This of course varies by university, but these are the typical numbers.
 
thesmoth said:
I strongly disagree with the bolded part. PDF's are very slow on the iPad 1. Flipping pages gives lag, stuttering, and checkering. Zooming is also often laggy and stuttery. I think more ram and faster hardware would make PDF viewing MUCH smoother and nicer. And these PDF's i'm talking about are 10-30 pages, maybe 1-5 megs. With large PDFS it would be an even bigger difference.
Click to expand...

Good Reader works excellent for me. And this is with multiple 300+ page documents. No stutter, no lag... nadda.
 
Gryzor said:
Please define "full time", because there are no rules that govern how many hours constitute full-time. You could do 16 hours study and 16 hours of work, both of which are technically full-time if they are defined as such by the organisation. That's still only 32 hours total, which in many places is not even considered full-time, so...

If you want an iPad NOW, get an iPad NOW. I disagree that you NEED one though, because you only need air, food, water, warmth and shelter. If you want to avoid buyers remorse, wait for iPad 2, or just buy one now and take the loss when you sell it. Does it really need people to tell you what to do?
Click to expand...

Full time as in, I work 40 hours a week and I am taking a full load of units (12 units is a full time) in college. I know that all that I need is food, water, air and so on to live. But with my books for all of my class are ONLY on pdf and not having a hard copy it is kind of hard to pull out my laptop just to read my books at work, on my break were I do not have the much room

I know that it is really hard to read the iPad outside in the sun and I was hoping that the iPad2 would fix that problem.

No mommy and daddy are not buying the iPad for me, I am paying for it. I am given federal money (FAFSA) to do with as I see fit to help me in my schooling. I can pay rent with with it, buy a computer,pay for my books, or get in iPad .

The only real thing that I will be doing with it is reading and reading along. Yes I might pull it out at work to check something on the internet, but 99% or the time will be all reading.

The one that I am looking at getting is the 32GB 3G. I have no need for the 64 and yes I know it is only like $100US more, but why spend it if can buy more apps or food on campus with it.
 
If you need it now, buy it now -- I would recommend buying a used one on craigslist or similar to minimize the cost of ownership if you later choose to move to an ipad2. Thats what I did in January.

(and as a side note, remember that "federal money" is money taken from other people and companies through taxation; although you're within your rights to use student aid money as allowed, and there are valid reasons to spend tax money to support students, please don't forget who earned it in the first place)
 
jmpnop said:
New iPad will come out in April and personally I won't get anything AT THE END OF THE CYCLE. Definitely worth the wait if you ask me. The update may not be huge but the current one simply isn't future proof (especially the 256MB RAM which is half of what smartphones have)...
Click to expand...

Yeah, def. Well worth the wait at this point in the life cycle. Won't be long now ;)
 
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