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iPad 1 owners, do you really need more than 16Gb?

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brig2221

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 18, 2010
407
206
I've decided I will be purchasing the iPad 2 when it comes out. I know I want the 3G version for sure, what I'm unsure about at this point is whether or not I will need more than 16 Gb of storage.

I have an 8Gb 3GS now and am only using like 3Gb. I don't plan on storing a whole lot in the way of pictures, but I suppose I might want a few HD movies on it at once.

Anyhow, unless you are a huge video or picture guy, do you guys honestly see the need to have anything more than 16Gb of storage? I would hate to spend $100 on the larger 32Gb offering only to find I never need it. Then again, I would hate to only have 16Gb if I consistently would need more.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
 
Well, it will come with what, 14 gigs free? And an HD movie can be up to around 4 gigs so that only leaves room for about 3 HD movies without anything else on your iPad. I had a 16GB and was fine with it, but I didn't put movies or music on it.
 
brig2221 said:
I've decided I will be purchasing the iPad 2 when it comes out. I know I want the 3G version for sure, what I'm unsure about at this point is whether or not I will need more than 16 Gb of storage.

I have an 8Gb 3GS now and am only using like 3Gb. I don't plan on storing a whole lot in the way of pictures, but I suppose I might want a few HD movies on it at once.

Anyhow, unless you are a huge video or picture guy, do you guys honestly see the need to have anything more than 16Gb of storage? I would hate to spend $100 on the larger 32Gb offering only to find I never need it. Then again, I would hate to only have 16Gb if I consistently would need more.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Go for it.

As for me, I'm waiting for the iPad 3, but I'm more of a 32gb guy. I have a 32gb I4, and it only has 2gbs available. LOL.
 
I would point out that with implementation of Home Sharing, if you have a desktop that is always on, you have no real reason to load your iPad with a lot of music. You could put your favourite albums on it, for when you're out the house.

But you could just Home Share all your library and save the space that, that would have taken up
 
I'm a semi-pro photographer, so I want the 64 gig of storage. I currently have the 64gig iPad and it's over 1/2 filled, mostly with photos. Nothing beats showing clients and friends photos on the iPad. It's WAY better than using a lap top for the same purpose.

So, yes, I really need more than 16 gig.
 
I use my iPad for standard surfing/email/reading; some apps, and a selection of music and video.

16 GB has been tight, but enough. There have been times when it would have been nice to put a second full-length movie on, or to have more music, but the compromise hasn't been a big deal. If I'm going to travel, I just pick and choose.

And now with iTunes Home Sharing coming in iOS 4.3, music will be nearly moot. About the only thing I store music on my iPad for is to stream to my AirPort Express. Now I won't have to store nearly as much music. (For music-on-the-go, I have my iPhone.)
 
Very happy with 16GB. If I sell my iPad, I will get another 16GB. Not sure why the hell I got a 32GB iPhone.
 
16GB is fine for me as long as I don't put too many movies. I am going for 16GB this time again. But next time, I will get 32GB version at least.
 
brig2221 said:
I've decided I will be purchasing the iPad 2 when it comes out. I know I want the 3G version for sure, what I'm unsure about at this point is whether or not I will need more than 16 Gb of storage.

I have an 8Gb 3GS now and am only using like 3Gb. I don't plan on storing a whole lot in the way of pictures, but I suppose I might want a few HD movies on it at once.

Anyhow, unless you are a huge video or picture guy, do you guys honestly see the need to have anything more than 16Gb of storage? I would hate to spend $100 on the larger 32Gb offering only to find I never need it. Then again, I would hate to only have 16Gb if I consistently would need more.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
You answered your "worries" with your statement about wanting to store HD movies. If you want more space, or are concerned, spend the cash.
 
rdowns said:
Very happy with 16GB. If I sell my iPad, I will get another 16GB. Not sure why the hell I got a 32GB iPhone.
Click to expand...

It all depends on usage patterns, no? For example: I own the 32 gig iPhone and I use it to carry a wide swath of my iTunes library because I travel fairly frequently and I don't want to bring my iPod AND my iPhone every time. Personally, I'd be happy if there was a 300 gig iPhone so that I could dump my iPod altogether and have a single device with my entire iTunes library stored on it.
 
Surf Monkey said:
I'm a semi-pro photographer, so I want the 64 gig of storage. I currently have the 64gig iPad and it's over 1/2 filled, mostly with photos. Nothing beats showing clients and friends photos on the iPad. It's WAY better than using a lap top for the same purpose.

So, yes, I really need more than 16 gig.
Click to expand...

I totally get the fact that people will be using the iPad differently and will have different storage needs such as yourself. Hopefully my post didn't come off as if no one needs more than 16Gb.

I was just asking those with iPads already, for basic surfing, Apps, a little music, and a few videos here and there, do you really forsee the need for more than 16Gb? Thanks!
 
brig2221 said:
Hopefully my post didn't come off as if no one needs more than 16Gb.
Click to expand...

Not in the least! I'm probably not the average iPad buyer and I know that. In fact, I've never been the average i-device buyer going all the way back to the first generation iPod, so I'm well aware of the fact that everyone has different usage patterns when it comes to these products. I personally need the 64 gig, but I'm fairly confident that the average consumer probably won't ever fill up the 16 gig version.
 
I have a 64gig wifi. I put a bunch of video on it and keep it pretty full.

I could have probably lived just fine with 16gb. I would have just had less options on what movie to watch. :)

Long story short, I didn't NEED more than 16gb. But I sure enjoyed that fact I did.
 
MrWillie said:
I am a 32 gig guy, but very rarely go over 16. I like the buffer. I also use a Nano for music.

If you have an iPhone, why get a 3G iPad ?
Click to expand...

My guess is that I won't use the 3G functionality nearly as much as I think I will. That said, I can't see spending $650-$750 on such a cool mobile device like this and not at least have the option to use it in areas where Wi-Fi might not be available. Just my humble opinion of course.

This is also the main reason why I am struggling with the 16 vs 32 Gb model. Price not being a concern I would still probably only get the 32 gb model as I would never see myself needing more, however, price is a concern. My thought was that I would rather spend the extra $130 for a 3G model based on my explanation above, and then possibly save a $100 but going with the 16Gb only.

I just don't want to gimp my iPad with inadequate storage, but also don't want to spend an extra $100 just to feel better about it in my mind, but never actually use the extra storage.
 
I had a 64g WiFi unit and even with streaming most of my movies via either Netflix or Air Video and filling up my Dropbox account, I STILL kept running out of space.

If all you are going to do is use the browser and some lightweight email, then 16g is likely fine.
 
3goldens said:
I would never get a 16GB unit, never.
Click to expand...

Mind explaining why?

Op, I'm in the exact same boat as you. I'm a photographer so I need around 400-500 high res pictures on my iPad. That's apx 2gb.

I plan on keeping maybe 2-4 gbs of music max.

Movies...nope. I will stream from my home server when needed.

Mostly my iPad will be filled with apps.

Do I need 16gb or 32? I can't decide!!! HElp?
 
rdowns said:
Very happy with 16GB. If I sell my iPad, I will get another 16GB. Not sure why the hell I got a 32GB iPhone.
Click to expand...

i agree. I have over photos on my Ipad and still have room to spare. As far as storing movies on it, why would I want to when I watch them via netflix or comcast.

Just my opinion, but 16 gb is more than enough for my Ipad and my Iphone4.

Bigger is not always better. It's how you use it that counts right?
 
I have the 16GB version and have had no issues. I have the 32GB version of the iPhone 4, but I have almost 2000 songs, several movies, and a GPS app with 2+ GB of on board map data, where as on the iPad I have a movie or two and "regular" apps (the largest is probably Infinity Blade). I use the iPad more for computing at home, where (especially now with iOS 4.3) my media is accessible over my home network, so I don't need the massive amounts of storage space, and haven't come close to filling it.

Unless you're putting massive amounts of media on your iPad, you're probably safe with the 16GB.

As far as the wifi versus wifi+3G, the better solution for me has been just the wifi. I can either use MyWi mobile hotspot app (jailbreak only, $20 one time purchase, uses you're exisiting data plan), or I can use the mobile hotspot feature built into iOS 4.3 and pay an extra $15 to $20 on my data plan for the data, whenever AT&T announces availability. In either case, you're saving at least $120 on the cost of the iPad, and will be paying some amount extra for the mobile networking. For as often as I need it, this solution works for me.
 
If you're the sort who keeps up on what his iDevice has on it, then 16gb can work. I myself have a 32gb iPad, with 2 gb free. A lot of what has taken up the space on my iPad isn't movies or music, but apps. Especially games like Infinity Blade, all the stuff I write with Pages, and a large number of PDFs that I like to look at with Fast PDF. I even read a few comic books & manga that I view thru Comic Book Reader.

The iPad is all about versatility and having 32gb offers that. I edit the apps & content on my iPad now & then, but I don't want it to be a major concern, so I prefer the greater storage.
 
I have a 16GB iPhone 4 and I can say it's tight.
You can make it work but it'll be annoying. 32GB is a safe bet.
One would probably get the 16GB only because he couldn't afford the 32GB one, or maybe he just didn't need it and he was sure about it.
From my experience I can say that 32Gb would be a lot more comfortable.

Also take into consideration the fact that apps will grow larger especially now with better hardware behind them.

Ultimately if you travel a lot more space is evidently needed since you won't be home as often.
 
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