Getting an iPad tomorrow! Stupid or not???

[el-John-o]

So I'm going to the Apple store tomorrow to get the 64GB iPad, as an early Christimas present from my mother. And I was wondering if I should wait, since the next gen of iPads will be here soon, or just go head and get it.

I heard that the big thing for the next gen is the camera. And since I already have an iPod Touch 4G, the camera won't be very useful to me. So should I wait or not?

Treat Apple products like you would buying a new car. Look for the features you want, at the price you want, and then buy it. (But don't haggle, you'll look silly). The wonderful thing with Apple is that revisions are inevitable. That doesn't mean their stuff is quickly outdated, the iPhone 3G is still cutting edge technology. It's just that the iPhone 4 is more cutting edge, make sense? In other words, your iPad won't become obsolete and useless when the iPad 2 comes out. Just like if you bought a 2011 Automobile, it will still be a nice, pretty new car that will still run great and treat you well when the 2012's come out. Few people buy a new car every model year, and those people are idiots.

If we had a definite release date and KNEW what it was gonna be, sure. But we have neither. For me, if it's 7" like some people think, I don't even want it. So it would be silly for me to wait only to find out that they have revised the product in a way that no longer appeals to me, so I did nothing but wasted time.

As a closing argument on the side of waiting, however, the iPad 1 will undoubtedly drop in price, and eBay will be flooded with used ones at a low cost. Folks will want to sell their first gen iPads before they go out and buy the second gen. It might be cheaper for you to wait, but in the end, wait how long? Personally, I wouldn't buy into the hype that next month or even Februrary the iPad 2, that we've heard nothing about from Apple is coming out. It's more likely to come in April-ish, so do you wanna wait that long? And THEN you'll feel silly because by then, they will be talking about the iPad 3. Like I said, it's like buying a car, you never really get new, so just get what you want. It'll be updated soon, but that doesn't auto-break the one you've got.

 

[el-John-o]

Yeah, as last two posts have said, it is NOT a toy, very useful tool, I use it for work and personal in many ways I was struggling before trying to do it on my iPhone and I don't have to pull my MBP. Couldn't be any happier with the portability+capability combo.

You don't need a laptop either. Notebooks are really cheap. Notebooks as in "College ruled" 75 cents at Wal-Mart notebooks. Beyond that, deliver your presentations on posterboard, go to the library when you absolutely need to do research or whatever. Sure it's vastly inconvenient, but, and iPad, like a Laptop, like a Desktop, like a private space-ship, is a convenience that makes life easier, not a necessity. Also, for the 'Success' arguments, i.e. whose gonna take you seriously with posterboard and pen and paper, well, that's also not a necessity. Necessities keep you alive, and without them you die. Promotions aren't necessary for life, they just improve the quality of your life.

So in essence, what I'm trying to say is. Saying it's a useless 'toy' is wrong just like saying it's an essential tool. It's whatever the purchaser wants it for, but the bottom line is it's a convenience, and what's right for one person isn't what's right for another.

$0.02

-John

 

[maturola]

So in essence, what I'm trying to say is. Saying it's a useless 'toy' is wrong just like saying it's an essential tool. It's whatever the purchaser wants it for, but the bottom line is it's a convenience, and what's right for one person isn't what's right for another.

$0.02

-John

I disagreed since "essentiality" is very subjective, to me it IS essencial as I already said it, my iPad had replace my MBP in I would guesstimate about 70% of all my task, work and personal, where i was taking around my MBP to the Lab, to the conf rooms and even the sofa, now i take my iPad, easier to carry, easier to use and move around to use other tools. very happy in how it have change the way I use computers. It may be a toy for others.

 

[nospeed411]

For some reason, the resale value on iPads is utterly terrible. I can't sell mine and I really need the money.

obviously you have not tried hard enough...they disappear on craigslist in mere minutes at near retail prices....check ebay used ones sell for as much as new ones.

 

[el-John-o]

I disagreed since "essentiality" is very subjective, to me it IS essencial as I already said it, my iPad had replace my MBP in I would guesstimate about 70% of all my task, work and personal, where i was taking around my MBP to the Lab, to the conf rooms and even the sofa, now i take my iPad, easier to carry, easier to use and move around to use other tools. very happy in how it have change the way I use computers. It may be a toy for others.

As I said before essential as in what keeps us alive and what doesn't. If your iPad broke you wouldn't drop dead. Your still talking about a tool that makes your life easier, perhaps even allows you to make more money, but it's still not an essential product. I'm not dogging buying it, I'm just saying the argument "You have to have an iPad" is silly, just like the "iPad is just a toy not for professional use" argument is silly. It's just an iPad, use it for what you want.

 

[ScaryMerry]

I had this same dilemma, but I've noticed that whenever Apple gets ready to release a new version of a product, casings, parts, etc. are generally leaked and pics show up online about a month in advance. Happened with the MBP unibody, the iPhone 4, the newest gen of iPods- I think it's safe to assume that would happen with the next gen iPad. No leaks have surfaced, so there probably won't be a new iPad released until after Christmas, most likely in the spring. It's also unlikely that the nex gen will have retina display. Retina display on a screen as large as the iPad wouldn't yet be up to Apple's standards regarding battery life, etc. As for cameras, it would be unwieldily to put a rear-facing one on a 10-inch device and I don't care very much for video chatting. With that in mind, I went ahead and got an iPad on Black Friday.

 

[maturola]

As I said before essential as in what keeps us alive and what doesn't. If your iPad broke you wouldn't drop dead.

As I said, it is very "subjective" I wouldn't drop dead literally but it would affect me real bad since I depend on it for every day activities, maybe make me lose my job and drive my to suicide (lOL ok a bit dramatic, but you get the point)