Fastjon4, for $100 more, you can get a 32GB iPad 1 3G on AT&T's website brand new with warranty.
Actually, the 32Gb and 64GB versions from ATT are the same price.
And I've been considering doing that - buying one from AT&T. Tax where I live is 9%, so ATT's 32 and/or 64GB gen1 iPads are $529+tax= $576. That's without a protective case. I'd have to spend (approximately) another $25 for a case if I got it through ATT, so the total would be $600. But you get a free month of the $25/month 3G... so just call it $575. If I went with AT&T I'd get a 64GB version, but I'd be spending $135 more than I would spend on a used one, out of warranty, through ebay. The thing is already a year old, so I don't really want to spend a fortune on it. ... I'm honestly not sure which is the better buy.
Some of the other people in this thread mentioned depreciation.
A new 32GB 3G iPad1 purchaced last year at an Apple store where I live cost $729+tax ... so about $800. Last week they were selling on ebay for about $520, today they are selling on ebay for $420. It's a little higher on craigslist, but you have to pay ebay commission if you are seller, so let's just say if you had one of these today and wanted to sell it, you could get about $420 for it. (or around $440 if you include a case). That's a 53% drop in value (original retail purchase price to resale value) in less than a year. If they drop in value an additional 50 to 55% over this next year (a reasonable guess) then this time next year they will be worth $210. So let's just say it cost $210/year to own a 3G 32GB iPad that is one model out of date.
If you buy the new model, soon after launch date, you'll pay around $800 with tax. You'll lose around $380 in value in one year's time. $380-$210= $170. $170 is the (estimated) premium of going with new over used.
That's a little over $14 per month more.
We have seen that a 16Gb wifi only iPad depreciates about $250 in one year's time (They sold new a year ago for $449+tax...so aprox $550, now they sell for about $300). So the cost of ownership of one of those models (if purchased new, just after they come out) is about $20 per month. If you purchase a year old model for $300 and it declines in value to $150 in a year's time, then the monthly cost of ownership (of an old model, purchased just after the new ones come out) is about $12.50. I would say if you are going to get a 16GB wifi version, it is worth it to get the new model.
For someone (like me) who wants a 3G 32GB iPad:
- It costs $210 per year, for the first year - which is $17.50/month - to have a 32GB 3G iPad that is one generation out of date.
If you get the 3G 32GB iPad1 and go with the $15/mo. 200MB/month data plan, you'll be spending $32.50/month ($390/year) on your iPad.
If you get the $25 2GB plan, you'll be spending $42.50/month ($510/year).
- It costs $380 per year, for the first year - which is $31.66/month - to have a 32GB 3G iPad that is of the current generation.
If you get the 3G 32GB iPad2 and go with the $15/mo. 200MB/month data plan, you'll be spending $46.66/month ($560/year) on your iPad.
If you get the $25 2GB plan, you'll be spending $56.66/month ($680/year).
For someone like myself, who wants a 3G iPad with more storage than the 16GB offers, I think the value of the iPad2 vs iPad1 is much less clear.
Calculating it this way, I have decided that the new one is too expensive. I can afford it, but there are other things I'd rather spend my money on. I want 3G and at least 32GB of storage... so I'm going to get the first generation model.